Sourkraut

Hi Guys....What do you put over sanded balsa before painting??

Thanks

Curt

Bass1

Not sure what people use now days but when I painted balsa (in the old days) I used several coats of clear dope then painted with the color dope of your choice. Now I just use an iron on film.

sscherin

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what kind of part are we talking about?

Sourkraut

I am talking about a complete airplane... Great Planes F14 Tomcat. I want to paint the plane instead of covering it. I was just wondering what the proper procedure is for getting the sanded airframe ready for automotive Base/Clear. Do you glass, resin bond, dope or what????

commpilot5

I used clear coat mixed with talcam powder, brushed it on and let dry and sand it down with 250 and work up to six hundred wet and dry. then if you want you can use resin and brush it on and squegee it down and let it dry and then sand with wet and dry 400 then 600' be sure to use a little extra hardner with the resin and dont make the mistake I made and didn't use enugh hardner and it never dried. I had a mess

commpilot5

[:-]I used clear coat mixed with talcam powder, brushed it on and let dry and sand it down with 250 and work up to six hundred wet and dry. then if you want you can use resin and brush it on and squegee it down and let it dry and then sand with wet and dry 400 then 600' be sure to use a little extra hardner with the resin and dont make the mistake I made and didn't use enugh hardner and it never dried. I had a mess

EF

I use tissue and sanding sealer.
It really seals the wood well even adding some strength to the outer skin.
Then the "usual" wet & dry.

saramos

The most common way to prepare a fully sheeted balsa model for paint is to cover the model in .5 oz fiberglass cloth and resin. The two traditional resins are epoxy and polyester. Two alternatives to resin are waterbased polyurethane and lacquer.

Check this site out. It has a lot of great information.

www.airfieldmodels.com

Scott

sscherin

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here's a good thread on fiberglassing

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_52...tm.htm#5247353

MP3_tilaco

Who did painted monokote? I'm building Top Flite P-40 and the model on the box was painted over monokote clear.

horace315

My Feedback: (15)

put a few coats of resin on it sand down to 400 to 600 wet dry paper then paint it like you would any fiberglass.i used clear urathane after doing one that way to fuel proof the paint,turned out beautiful

da Rock

Anything that raises the grain saves you time.

Guys who wanted perfect surfaces and the least weight would mist water over the surface. It'd raise the grain and they'd sand it off.

If you just want a good finish, any first coat that seals some is good. A coat of clear of whatever paint you're using does good.

If you want more surface strength, silkspan (it's actually a paper made for the purpose) gives a lot of strength. As much as you'd get from Ultracote/Monokote. Want more surface strength, use light glass cloth and paint it on with urethane. But then you paint with something that will stick to it. Or go a bit heavier and use fiberglass resin or epoxy. Everything works. Some easier than others.

But least effort for most people is simply to use whatever they plan to use for the top coats. Use clear until the grain is filled (sand between coats) and your overall job will be lots lighter.

Some primers that match the paint you're using are worth trying IF they're not heavy with filler. If the primer can is heavier than a paint can of the same size, don't jump to using that stuff on a model airplane you plan to fly for fun. But primers fill grain and make for slick finishes. So does sanding. So you may want to just use a coat of clear and some sandpaper.