ysrcflyer

I am looking for ideas that you members have for painting checkerboards. I am trying to finish my GP Extra 300 in the Wagstaf scheme and I suck at painting. I will be using Lustercote.

bdphil

My Feedback: (26)

The only difficult thing about painting checks is masking them. I think it's easiest to mask the entire checkerboard in phases. First you need to know the size of your blocks and how many rows you will want. Then lay down some 1/8" 3M blue vinyl tape outlining each row. The trick is to actually be spacing the rows of tape so you end up outlining every other row. Think of this: if you want each block to be 1/2" by 1/2" then you will space your tape (defining the rows) at 1/2" between the first two rows of tape and 1/4" between the second and third row of tape. The net effect is when you spray, you'll only be painting every other row of blocks. Then you come back with the tape and mask off each block keeping the spacing the same as the rows (1/2" between the first two strips of tape and 1/4" between strip 2 and 3). Once you've filled in the blocks that don't get paint - you can spray.

Now you've got every block painted in every other row. Go back and start over, laying out the blocks in the remaining rows making sure you will be painting the correct blocks.

That's a very difficult method to describe, but probably the easiest method to actually use. If you try to paint every block all at once, you'll have to mask each block individually and keeping your allignment and size is really tough.

Hope you can visualize what I'm describing?

Here's a check job I did a while back:

Ben

ysrcflyer

Yes I can-that was my problem, I was trying to figure out how to paint them all at once.

BTW-has anyone tried the paint mask that they use on lexan bodies on abs cowls? I was also thinking of trying this-lay out checkers and remove every other one.

bdphil

My Feedback: (26)

You mean Liquid Mask? I didn't think of that stuff, you could probably do all your checks at once pretty easily with that. I bought some to try but haven't used it yet.

Ben

CafeenMan

I've never painted checkerboards and hope I never do, but if I did, liquid mask would be the first thing I'd try (on something other than my model as a test). Then I would try frisket film. Then I would try parafilm. Then I would go with masking if I hadn't given up on the idea. Actually I would probably stick down some shelf paper on my glass table and cut a very accurate checkerboard and then mask square by square. By the time I was done, I would be over any desire to do another checkerboard ever. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm already over it.

wadster

ysrcfler,
I used to do alot of racecar lettering,painting & pinstiping. I painted a thousand checkered flag patterns(unfortionalty LOL).It is a pain,I will agree. The easiet way that I found to do it was kinda like what bdphil said except if I wasnt going around curves I wouldnt use blue fine line.3m makes a green fine line wich you cant stretch like blue fine & you can get it in 1/16" width.
Lay out your check pattern with a grease pencil or somethinng simular.So now you have a panel that looks like a tic tac toe board.Lay your tape down on the edges of the vertical & horizontal lines.If you start on the left side of the vertical line stay on the left of every one.Then lay your tape on the horizontal lines.If you start on the top line stay on all off the top lines or if you start on the bottom line stay on all the bottom lines.Once thats done figure out wich squares will be painted & wich ones will be showing your base color. Now take a sharp razor blade & cut the tape where it overlaps.Your squares that have the base color showing thru should have the perimeter of the tape on the inside of the lines you drew & the squares your painting should have the tape on the outside of the lines.After thats done take some 2" masking tape & cover yhe entire area.Burnish it down real good around the edges of the fine line so you wont get bleed marks.Now take another sharp blade & cut right down the center of the fine line tape.It wont take much pressure to cut the masking tape so be careful not to mar the surface below.After thats done re burnish the edges & clean off the panel with wax & grease remover or what ever to get rid of the oily finger prints.Now its time to spray! (One thing I forgot to mention,I dont know what kind of surface your painting but whatever it is make sure you scuff it up & clean it good before you paint.)Apply your paint in a few coats instead of one heavy coat.
Once your done painting,let the paint tack up & then peel all the tape off.Dont peel it off when its still wet but when its tacky.This is the technique I used for flame jobs on harleys,graffic jobs on street rods or whatever else I had to paint that took alot of symetric layout that I couldnt do free hand.
Hope this can help, Scott


P.S. bdphil, Somerset is beutiful country, I spent alot of weekends at Jennerstown Speedway.That turn one wall really hurts when you hit at at 120 mph.The E.R doctor told me I should take up R/c airplanes.Ever since I did my ribs dont hurt as bad.(LOL)

Shogun

My Feedback: (2)

Did a checkerboard nose on the cowl of a Midwest Extra 300 for a friend last spring and learned quite a few things during the process.

First off, this is a project that will test your patience to the limit. Next Lustercote is a pretty good paint for doing a complete part, like the whole cowl at once. Lustercote when used to spray complex patters with a lot of masking will drive you nuts. If you have never used this paint before you need to practice with it to figure out the coverage characteristics and the flashing times required to get a good result. THIS IS IMPERATIVE unless you want to waste a couple of $8 cans of paint and then stip it off and start over, cussing the whole time.....ask me how I know this....

What finally worked for us, after MUCh trail and error, was getting away from the preay can completely. Lustercote is a laquer and I found that it lays on way to heavy when applied from the can, easily running on you and resulting in the potenetial homocide of anyone nearest to you when you realize what has just happened.

Do this, spray some of it in a container, I use those 1 oz. airbrush bottles that are available at the LHS, and let it outgas for a few minutes. Next thin it with a little laquer thinner, it doesn't take much just enough to get the paint to the consistency of milk. If you don't have an airbrush get one, nothing expensive. Badgers model 350 is less than $30 and works well. Use the airbrush to apply the paint and you will get razor crisp edges along your masks. Trust me on this, you simply don't have the control with the can's spray nozzles, they lay it on way to heavy and have a nasty habit of spattering on the final coat, ruining that perfect finish you just worked so hard to acheive.

I actually like Lustercote for painting whole cowls and landing gear, get great results when following the directions that are on the can to the letter. The trick is to lay on a "dust" coat and let it flash, almost dry to the touch but still slightly tacky. Lastly apply the final coats wet and wait for them to flash in between applications, about 10 minutes.

CafeenMan

Shogun - I keep reading that Lustercoat isn't really fuel proof though. Did you overcoat it with something else? Is your friend using glow or gas?

ysrcflyer

Thanks guys! A lot of info in a short time. I do have a Badger airbrush and I have experienced the splattering that you talk about. My problem was trying to spray more paint to cover up the splatter and then, major runs!

On the tail I cut out individual pieces of MonoKote and attached-I have 0 problems working with Monokote.

Painting is another story.

With all your ideas I have a lot better picture of sucess with the cowl.

I better get going, the mall show is only 1 month away

FletchNJ

I was thinking about this. Instead of masking TWICE, why not just mask of the entire area, then paint in color 1, then place the strips on as descripbed (protecting color 1, and spraying color 2?

For example if I want a horizontal black and white check stripe on the Stab top, I would mask off a 1' wide sripe and do the white, now when I block the stripes in and spray the black, I will have the check pattern I want. The downside is that you are adding a second laer of paint to the black squares. Not sure if this is a problem or not.

Shogun

My Feedback: (2)

I have found the stuff to be quite fuel proof once dry. My friend has a gas plane but I used Lustercote on the cowl of my Citabria Pro and got great results and have ahd no problems with fuel getting on it.

wadster

fletchnj,
You could do that but then you would have to cut each square perfectly and then get registered on the part perfectley.That would be very tediouse.Then the second problem is with that many pieces of masks in place you run a good chance of not getting the corners stuck down real good and then the paint will bleed under the mask.

FletchNJ

I see your point now. I was doing it in my head. What I was proposing would give you dots! not checkered! I was about to ask you to clarify until I drew it out on paper......DUH!

I'll just be sitting here quietly inthe corner......[&o]

rdcracer

My Feedback: (2)

Get some Bob Divey liquid mask. It is very easy using this stuff. Make sure you lay down 4-5 coats and let it dry completely. Use a flexible ruler and a fine sharpie to lay out the pattern. I have a steady hand so I cut it freehand using many sharp exacto blades and very little pressure! Lay down the light color, mask peal off the dark color squares and spray the dark color. It is really simple.I have even done tear patterns like this with an airbrush.