FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

Hi,

I just purchased the set of clear coat with the crosslinker, and have been tring it all day.

I had to thin the clear coat a lot more than recommended because it is too thick and will not spray. I am using a regular tocuh-up gun (always do without a problem). I was told to use many thin coats instead of less and thicker ones.

My question is, and I understand it is normal, the clear coat seems to have added some rough texture to the airplane, it is not smooth. Will it go away eventually, or did I do something wrong? I can always light sand and try again.

Thanks,

David

CurtD

My Feedback: (1)

I've used the clear coat successfully on several aircraft. There are several things you'll need to experiment with to find the right combination to get a good final surface. I normally use an airbrush to do this (it actually goes pretty fast). You don't want to thin it too much as you'll get lemon peel because it dries too fast.

Try adjusting your pressure to spray the paint with less thinning (I usually thin it 30 to 40%). Spray the first two coats VERY thin, just barely wetting the surface. Don't worry about the surface roughness at this point but if you've got the pressure and paint flow right, it'll flow out pretty smooth. Also, you can speed up drying between coats with a heat gun or hair dryer. After two light coats you can apply the next coat a little heavier so that it wets out and flows but doesn't run. We're talking a relatively thin coat here, not like you would do with enamel or else it 'll run. This takes some practice to find just the right method but if it doesn't look right you can just wipe it off with a wet rag before it dries and start over. After the third coat is dry you can put another light coat if it's not shiny enough. If you want to go more coats than that be sure you wet sand lightly with 320 or 400 grit before the next coat.

I like the Nelson clear because it is crystal clear and doesn't yellow. I've used it to seal and fuelproof decals too, with excellent results.

CurtD

FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

Curt, I have ben experimenting all day. The model ahs about 5-6 coats and it is not shiny at all. It's lemon peeling. I thought this would go away as it dries but it doesn't. I guess you cannot use a touch up gun for this. I have very small airbrush, I'll try it tomorrow.

So it is cool to sand it before resparying all over againt??
Can you get the clar coat to shine if it is done right??
David

CafeenMan

FalconWings - I've never used Nelson, but I have a couple comments.

First, never ever try a new product directly on your model. You know why now.

Second, the reason paint turns to sandpaper is for one of a few reasons:

* Using too much air pressure
* Spraying too little paint (dry-spraying)
* Spraying in a way that paint is deflecting off one surface and onto another such as near the corner of a wall. That's probably not the problem here.

From your description I think you're using too much air pressure.

FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

CafeenMan, you are right. Problem is, I can't lower the pressure any further (Im at 30psi). If I do it will not spray.

I need to buy an HVLP gun and start from there. I don't think I can use Nelson's with my regular gun.

Thanks,

David

Scott G

Hello, I'm new to painting in general and Nelson paint is the first one I tried because I wanted to spray in the house, so take my information with a grain of salt.

I painted this cowl with the nelson red, white, and clear. I set my pressure at 35psi and thinned about 10% per the instructions. As you can see in the picture (around the flash reflection) there is slight orange peel but it is not too obvious. I didn't follow CaffeenMan's advice, too antsy. I just practiced right on the cowl...

I was using this cheap spray gun from harbor freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46719

I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a nice gun only to find out I can't paint worth a crap.

Initially, I tried to use an Tamiya airbrush but found that the paint would clog it very quickly. I think the solids in this paint are larger particles than what the airbrush would have liked so I got the gun I linked above and it seems to work well given that I'm a rookie.

Sorry if the message is a little scattered, it's past my bed time,
Scott.

CafeenMan

Scott - Most paints will go through an airbrush, but the problem is that you can't keep it wet long enough to flow out so there end up being a lot of areas that have dry-spray.

I recently sprayed Klass Kote epoxy enamels through an Aztec airbrush using the hi-flow tip, but I had to thin the paint over 50%. It was close to 60% reducer to 40% paint. It sprayed fine, but it was a small part. I would have done the same as you for the cowl - use a spray gun. An airbrush is just too small.

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

Have you tried adding FloTrol to the Nelson paints/clear ? If I remember correctly, Nelsons is a water base paint. You may want to give that a try. The FloTrol will retard the drying time, the amount of FloTrol used will determine the retardation. In any case, do a test panel first.

FWIW - I use latex almost exclusively. I add 1 - 1 1/2 caps of FloTrol per quart of UNDILUTED latex, then I thin it down for spraying. I normally spray at 25 - 30 psi with the airbrush. I use a "cheapy" electric HVLP sprayer for large areas.

For clear coating I use a water base polyurethane. I add the FloTrol at the same rate, then thin it down for spraying. I have found that the water base poly safely goes over ALMOST anything and is fuel resistant to 10% nitro (maybe more). By resistant, I mean if you clean your planes at the end of the day you should have no problems, however, if you let it sit overnight the clear coat will soften a little.

One other thing, latex will be dry to the touch in about 20 - 30 minutes, but it takes AN AVERAGE of 7 - 10 days to fully cure, the same with the water base poly.

Hope this is of some help.

FalconWings

My Feedback: (57)

I used my airbrush last night and it is somewhat better. I guess I was expecting the product to be a lot better, it's not. Im still getting some orange peel, but not as bas as before. Nelsonis no automotive clear coat. It is not glossy nor as smooth, but it seems to protect which is what I want.

David