Scott McCrory

I'm building a Sig Liberty Sport and have covered it with Super Coverite and ready to paint. Has anyone painted WITHOUT using nitrate dope first? If so, what primer and paint did you use to get a fuel proof finish, and good adhesion? I've never used dope and would like to avoid the extra steps involved with it. I know Coverite recomends nitrate dope before painting, but I would think with modern technology that there is some paint that will work without using the nitrate dope first. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

clear water based polyurethane

TomCrump

I've done it without using nitrate. Seveer pain checking developed.

carrellh

You can use the paints Jerry Nelson sells without dope
http://www.nelsonhobby.com/paint.html

From the link above:
Clear doping of polyester fabrics commonly used on larger model aircraft need not be filled or primed with clear dope. The paint is applied directly onto the raw fabric. A lighter weight finish is the result of using this paint. Crosslinker required on open fabric surfaces.

Top_Gunn

My Feedback: (6)

I've used Nelson's paint on both Superfabric and Worldtex without dope and with good results. I think Worldtex is much the same as Coverite, but someone who knows for sure may want to either confirm this or correct it.

foodstick

I don't know what kind of finish you are looking for..but if you want to try an experiment (cheap) give this a try.. iron a scrap of your covering to a scrap of wood, then go to the local craft store, by a small bottle of acrylic paint, just sponge paintbrush the paint on the cloth . I usually clear with rustoleam for gasoline powered planes.

This works good for WW1 birds, and for more of a scale finish..if you like deep shiny show quality looking planes you may not like it. the paint is only a couple bucks to try though..see what you think.

by the way , I have learned that you never know how good it will cover, some light colors work great..some dark ones look awful..for old fun scale ..its perfect..

I will add, there is a bunch of weathering over the basecoat on these two planes.

Scott McCrory

Time for an update. After a vacation to northwest Iowa over the 4th of July weekend for my mom's 80th birthday and some golfing with her, I finished the covering and made a test panel to try some of your suggestions. First I tried Krylon H2O primer. After drying for a couple of days, I tried scratching with a fingernail, and it was easily sraped off. Next I tried some Nelson's paint that I had from another project. Great results! But I still wanted to try foodstick's suggestion. I went to Walmart and bought some of their Apple Barrel brand acrylic craft paint for $2.49 a bottle. I must say I didn't expect much, but was I ever suprised. It stuck just as good, if not better than the Nelson's, for a fraction of the price! The Nelson's and Apple Barrel were applied with an automotive touch-up gun and thinned with water. After one day of drying I was able to mask for the next color using 3M blue low tack masking tape. Absolutly no paint peeled when removing the tape!!! Only one more color to spray, and then a couple weeks drying time before clear coat. Now, gloss or semi-gloss? Thanks to everyone for the great ideas. I'll post some pics when it's finished.

Scott