I am in the same boat as you.I bought koverall and know its good material.but I need a spray gun and I am a newbie so I read these posts trying to understand what I am getting into.as for the gun I have a pretty descent touch up spayer .the same or very similar to the chrome one shown in this thread.I was going to go to lowes or wherever and buy a decent sprayer as I do have a 3 gallon compresserfrom sears for use with a brad nailer.now I am learning there is a spray unit called hvlp.I am willing to buy one but understand it has to be one that is compatible with a std. compresser.anyone got a name of one?as for paint I decided to go with a water based paint (nelson) as it has little odor and dries quickly.

to make it more confusing for me at least I looked at solartex and thought ok lets go there but ,then I find nelson hobbies has a fabric covering as well and is competitve with solartex.

the koverall was purchased thinking I had it all thought out and given its cost if I go another route its not an arm and a leg.I simply dont know which way to go.I want a fabric finish as I am building a scale plane and even found a resource for rib stitching called pink -it.

do I change gears or do I stick with koverall and go with a water based paint like nelsons or a standard latex or acrylic house paint.?

I am not worried about the cost too m uch as I do agree with warbirds that you spenda ton of hours building and regarless of what it looks like if the covering or paint is crappy what have you got?

Nelsons covering is solartex, he just gave his a new name

curious are there any videos here or you tube showing how to cover using solartex or koverall.?

Dennis, to me, using Solartex is the same as applying a plastic film, only easier.

Sorry. Don't have a vid, but here's a few pics.

HVLP stands for high-volume, low pressure...In other words, you can spray with less air pressure, so your sears compressor will work just fine. You can pick-up an inexpensive hvlp gun from Harbor Freight for $20.00 or less. I use a 4 oz., gravity feed detail gun and it works great, and it cost me $9.95 from Harbor Freight. For me the only drawback is the 4 oz capacity, next time I'll get one with a larger paint supply. Conventional spray equipment works just fine...If you've got it you can use it. It seems that there are alot of builders out there who haven't tried to paint, or haven't used a spray gun....In the words of Nike....Just Do it! Paint a cardboard box till you've got the technique down. Honestly it's not rocket science and with a little trial and error you will get it. point & shoot. Yeah you have to figure out how thick/thin to mix the paint and perhaps how much air pressure to use...probably 25-35 pounds depending on your equipment, you need to run the paint through a filter when you fill the paint reservoir, you probably need a moisture trap on the spray line...and you have to figure out how much paint to dispense (turn a needle valve on the gun)..trial and error, piece of cake

exactly. i am doing just that. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_68...page_14/tm.htm


i even linked to the painting area of my build. although i'm using nelson paint, i'd like to try warbirdcolors next. i have a moisture trap at the compressor and the pressure regulator at the gun and it works great. and i am finding that a hvlp gun needs thinned paint.

I looked at your plane very very nice.I time to time like to build a pattern ship.I was looking at eurkea rc and they have some fabulous vintage patterns.last year I built a kaos from my old bridi plans and had a ball.my leanings now are toward scale but I still see another dirty birdi or troublemaker in my sights.and if I ever get this painting down I can envision a very classy looking ship.you did a great job on the blue angel.

thanks warbird thats encouraging .I was totally frustrated last night as I now realize my compressor is a bit puny but I cant see going out investing hundreds to play catch up and get a big air compressor until I am certain this is the direction and way I am going to go for most of my projects.I am a newbie so buying an inexpensive HVLP doesnt bother me.and for all I know a conventional one may produce a finish I am comfortable with but I sense not.frankly not having painted anything but houses and every stinking room in it at least twice (lol) I dont know what kind of finish to expect but I certainly appreciate a good job when I see one.

what I finally figured out in my case is that a mini gun would likely be okay.I also understand that the capacity of air is low and likely cant keep up with continous spraying but with your recommendation I dont mind having to wait for the tank to replace air or running .I did see that harbor freight has several tanks that will push 4 to 7 cfms under 150 dollars but until I learn and get past that "learning curve' I think what your suggesting is fine.it turns out I have a touch up gun that unfortnuately has no instructions but at lowes I did see several guns under 40 dollars.

yup "just do it""..I think I have some boxes lol to practice on .

last night I think I read alot of posts on the sw build thread.and found yet another but simple building tip that heretofore never thought to aply to building planes.specifically I sometimes have a problem making a straight alignment on an open box fuse like the sw but it never ocurred to me that my laser guided level would solve that problem .great tool and even at 60 I can still learn..and to be honest had I seen toms build thread way back I would be telling everyone how it flies instead of being behind the old eight ball .

aint this hobby fun?

You'll get that Spacewalker, completed and flying. You're asking good questions, and getting good answers.

It's up to you to apply what you've learned.

cloudancer, I have used Nelsons Paint alot. There is anouther way to paint your plane. I have used a black foam brush, and if you get it thinned right it looks as if it was sprayed. try it also on a box or a sheet of plastic. Just anouther way......

I may try that jacque its all new so I get to experiment .

thanks cloudancer03. i hope i inspired you to join us over at the classic pattern forum.[X(]

Jacque, i just tried the roll and brush tonite. the paint was put on a practice plane, sprayed on the top, rolled and brushed on the bottom. here's the link: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_68...page_14/tm.htm

I bought a SATA Dekor 2000 fine finishing spray brush from EBay. It's so expensive, I don't want to use it in case it gets clogged!

Hello yel914,
Did you apply the Minnwax Polycrylic with a brush or spray. Do you think the polycrylic wouldfuel proof the latex paint rather than using the nelsons over the paint as you described?
Thanks.

check my thread out (listed above) i used minwax extensively in that build thread, i just brushed it and sanded as needed. and it's not fuel proof (nitro). i will apply a nelson's clear as a fuel proofer.

Stupid question, can Klass Kote be mixed for other colors?

T craft, I don't believe the poly is fuel proof, thus the Nelson's clear coat. I suggest spraying the poly on in light coats. If applied too heavy, it can puddle inside the wing-ask me how I know this! A few light coats to fill in the weave is what you're after.

yel914,
Thanks for the tips. Can/should the poly be thinned with water before spraying? I'm thinking some of the Rustoleum water based colors might be good over the polycrylic.
Thanks Again,
Dave

the poly can be brushed then sanded smooth. add some filler primer, sand again and rustoleum paint will work perfectly.

Thank you so much David. Can't wait to get on it!!

A few years ago, I tinted Klass Kote to some specific colors for a scale bird. Extra paint was purchased, to aid in the shading process, along with some base colorants.

All products used, were from Klass Kote.

I sent nelson an email regarding the koverall.and I'll get it clarified.but maybe you guys all know.I am going with koverall and going to use nelson paints .Do you need to dope or treat the koverall with anyhing prior to applying the paint.I know with solartex I can simply use nelson paint over the raw fabric but I was told I can do the same with koverall is that in fact true?I am using nelson paints for low odor quick drying and a host of good reasons but was advised to go ahead and use my koverall and simply apply the paint. just not sure if I can paint over faric like koverall without pre application of something.