I am thinking of painting my Mig 3 with latex and would like some tips thoughts on spraying through a touch up gun and airbrush. Also any ideas of a good durable clear coat to throw over the top for protection. I want the finish to end up flat. I am looking for proportions on thinning. What to use (I have heard of the windshield washer fluid). Also the best brand. This aircraft is running gas so it is not as much of an issue as Glow. Also what about air supply pressure? Best PSI and if a water trap is needed or any other issues with the gun itself. I am new to spraying.
Thanks for any help.

i've sprayed latex with as cheap of a hvlp gun as possible and it flattened out fine. i used floterol (sp?) and windshield washer fluid as many have instructed and had no problems. a little practice and you will be fine.

I spray with about 30 pounds of air pressure. My thinning is windshield wiper fluid that I got at Safeway. I usually thin at about 25 percent, but that would depend on your spray equipment. I do use a water trap on my air line. The clear coat can be applied with a flat finish. I used Varathane from the Home Depot and it comes with different levels of finish so make sure that you buy the right can. You will need to let the Latex dry for at least a week in warm temps before clear coating. Good Luck, Dave

I've done a couple or three planes in sprayed latex. All the above info is good. Flotrol is made by Flood. See Roy Vailencourt(sp?) web site for a very complete how to article.
Walt

oh yeah, water traps. i use one at the compressor and the disposable one at the gun. both are pretty cheap to buy.

I've sprayed latex house paint thinned with water, but haven't tried thinning it with windshield fluid. So, what's the benefit to using that instead of water?

I think the windshield fluid thins the Latex better than regular water. It mixes quicker and the paint seems to flow better. It also drys a little faster. These are just my finding's and are not based on any other facts other then I have used Latex with water as a thinner and the fluid just seems to make things easier. Dave

Thanks for the tips guys. I do have a good compressor and an automotive type touch up gun. I will post back with results.

So how has the varithane held up durability wise? Is it resistant to fuel? I am finding raw gasoline is very damaging. Almost more so than glow fuel. At least as it effects paint finishes.

Thw windshield wiper fluid has alcohol in it, It reduces the surface tension, and evaporates faster than water.
Ed

Check out the latex info on Roy Vaillencourt's website, [link]http://www.vaillyaviation.com[/link], as described previously. It's a wealth of good stuff. I'm on my second plane with latex and liking it more and more. The down side, I think, is the clear coat. This is where I am on the clear coat so far:
-Nelson's Clear Coat-good product, expensive, a bit difficult to apply in very dry Utah.
-Klass Kote- 2 part epoxy, pricey, but this is the one I'll try next. Supposed to be the bomb.
-KBS Diamond clear- I found this at an auto paint store and tried a dab for a sample. One part clear, fuel proof, takes a long time to dry though, thinning could possibly be a problem on latex but staight from the can looks great. About $48.00 per quart (ouch)

Need to investigate:
Clear wood floor finishes with a catylist.
Clear cabinet finishes with a catylist

Minwax Polycryllic, Krylon has several variations of clear including a water-based one.
Walt

I am going to try aa clear coat we use at work for flooring and exterior use called Bona "traffic". It is water based and it does take a while to dry, but is quite durable. I will try it on a test but I can spray it and the best thing is it will be free.

BONA is the floor finish I was wanting to try, so please post the results. BTW, I tried Krylon Crystal Clear on advice from my LHS. Gas ate it up right away. I've since heard that only some of the Krylon stuff is fuel proof, something about reformulation due to environmental concerns.

Rustoleum is. But I do not know with Gas. I want to be able to spray the clear from my gun. I do not want rattle cans.

the previous posts are pretty much right on, Floetrol by flood, and windshield washer fluid works for spraying water based material,there both detergent based products which help the flow of latex,and like corectly stated break the surface tension, but its not a major factor when spraying models because of the minimal amounts of paint used.

WWF has alcohol which also aids in drying since it evaporates quickly, but unless its cold out its really not necessary, and when using light colors the blue tint can affect the color of the paint.

I will add about 5%denatured alc. to tap water when I am looking for quicker dry times or when its a bit chilly or humid out

I use about 35-40% water and slowly build my coats up using my touch up gun, rather than less water and heaver coats, just enough paint to cover the surface is good enough.

when I use my airbrush I thin a little more 50% water, at about 25- 35lbs. pressure,if you use a short hose, say less than 15ft then a water trap helps, but I usea 50' hose for my nail guns, and have not had any water issues, since a model is so small, moisture gets trapped in the long hose if there is any, if you live in a humid area then its more of a issue than where I live near the coast.

as for paint my personal favorite has been www.warbirdcolors.com paints there actually catalized urathanes, similar to catalized floor, and funiture finishes,and are fuel proof when catalized.

I have had really good results with the Benjamin Moore Aura line, it has very good coverage with less material used, I know some prefer, or decide to use, low quality materials for spraying models, and they work fine, something to consider when choosing paint, high end material, B M,Sherwin Williams, etc... tend to grind the raw materials to a finer finish which allows the paint to flow through the gun easyer, the base resins are also of a higher grade, and the price diference between a qt. of low end Vs.high end paint is negledgable your results and tool life will benifit from the couple of extra dollars spent, personal preference of course.

as for clear coat the warbirdcolors has a good satin clear for fuel proofing, I have also had luck using Varathane Diamond floor finish as long as the clear has had a few weeks to fully cure its alcohol resistant, meaning wipe it down after your flying day or it will soften up if raw fuel is left on it for extended time,oil based Varathane is fuel proof but has a slight yellow tinge to it when sprayed over white.

these are my observations so far in the modeling area using water clean up materials, some examples of water based paint, my Top Flight P-47 60 kit painted with warbirdcolors, and my repainted ESM FW190 ARF painted with warbird colors and BM Aura house paints.

Sorry, I fly exclusively e-power and I sometimes forget issues presented by gas and glow fuels. Krylon does have two different formulas for it's clear coat. One is water-based, the other is oil" based. don't which, if wither, is fuel proof.
Walt

I have read after reformulation the "clears" in almost all rattle cans are not fuel proof, something they changed in the formula possably for VOC compliance(VOC=volitil organic compounds) http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/vocs.html other than lust-er-coat which is kind of a bummer to use at times just for the rank smell, but often inconsistant finishes you get with it.

the only one for sure is the oil based Varathane in a spray can, I haven't tested there water based Diamond spray yet since I usually spray it or brush it out of a can.

another note on the Varathane Diamond, I use it exclusively for glassing my planes, after it cures it sands to a nice smooth powder, not rubbery at all like some water based materials, and there's virtually no odor, which my lovely wife appreciates, no need to stir that pot,all water based materials need cure time to be affective if there not they will melt at the first sign of fuel,a good test for glow resistance is take some denatured alcohol on a Q-Tip swab and wipe it over a particular paint,if it comes up with color or a reaction occures then its not glow resistant, same with gasoline.

with Gas some areas have alcohol in there gas so its a good idea to test your local fuel against the paint your using, I plan on clear coating my FW190 with the warbirdcolors satin even though I am running a Gas engine for just that reason, in Ca most if not all fuel has alc. added

I would never trust Rustoleum after a plane painted with it turned into a gooey mess downstream from the exhaust (glow). I found the clear Rustoleum was even worse than the colors. That's after 2 weeks of curing.

Nice note on buying higher quality paint to get a finer grind for the pigments...makes sense. I'm pretty tired of messing with dope so this is something I'll have to try. Nelson's is expensive, but if I'm only buying the top coat it's not so bad. It's worth knowing your plane won't turn into a disaster after a few flights.

Jim

Well, I got the mig painted today. i need to do some detail work but it worked quite nicely. It took a little bit to get everything sorted out. It seemed to like 40psi the most and thinned maybe 1/2 and 1/2 . looks really good. I did find a bottle of Nelsons clear that I have lying around. i may try that. I am not sure I have enough though. Only one little pint bottle. Will this go over the Latex OK? I used Behr. I do have the little catalyst bottle for making the Nelson's somewhat fuel proof.

It did get a little wrinkly as i was letting it sit out in the sun. I have sine removed them from the wing. I was painting over Solartex. It will be quite lovely I believe when it is all done.

Looks good so far. Latex gets easier to spray the more you do it, from my experience. You should be able to reshrink the Solartex with a heat gun without any problems. That's another nice thing about latex paint. The Nelson's will go over that finish just fine. If you foam brush it on, you might just have enough. You lose a bunch to overspray if you spray it on. Either way, it won't be fun, but it will be fuel proof!

Don't forget to add the cross-linker to the Nelson's clear if you need it to be fuel proof. I would put on at least three coats if you spray it on since the Nelson's is applied in thin, mist coats. Fewer coats = pinholes, which will allow fuel to slowly get to the paint underneath.

I am in the process of painting my Dynaflite Chipmunk with latex and so far I am not getting the results I had hoped for. First off, I do not have spray equipment and have been using both a good quality synthetic brush and a small foam roller. The paint is Rustoleum (Painter's Touch) Premium Latex and the color is sun yellow gloss. The wing is covered with natural Solartex and the fuselage is fully sheeted and fiberglassed with Minwax water based polycrylic. Brush marks are visible even though very light pressure is applied while painting. When rolled the paint appears somewhat moddled in that darker yellow spots are visible on the lighter areas. On the plus side, with 2 coats, the additional weight seem minimal. My next attempt will be with a Preval portable sprayer.

I have added 1 oz floetrol to 4 oz of latex and thinned with about 2 oz. of water. I didn't use the windshield washer fluid as I thought the blue color would tint the yellow to a light shade of green. Also, the following day the water separates from the latex in the left over paint. Is this normal?
Are the mix ratios O.K.? Should I try a different brand of paint? Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks,

DaveB

I have you seen these articles? I was never successful either rolling or brushing latex. MY results spraying with latex has not been as good as others can do. I've had good success with Warbird Colors paints, and want to try Nelson's paints sometime.

This P 40 was painted with Latex using a Badger airbrush. The paint mix was 10 parts paint, 2 parts Floetrol, 3 parts water. Latex is not fuel proof. Varathanes are not 100% fuel proof, they also will "Yellow" over time. Very noticeable over light colored surfaces. The clear coat on the P40 is automotive 2 part polyurethane gloss clear. Completely fuel proof. A compatible "flatting" agent was added to the clear to remove the gloss.

Ed S

Chuck,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I had seen the articles previously, but spraying isn't an option for me, unless it's the small portable Preval sprayer. Maybe additional coats may help but I don't want too much added weight espaecially if it's my technique and paint formula that causing poor results.

DaveB