First steps to a better finish.

I've brushed on the paint on my 2 Ukeys and the result is dreadful! Runs everywhere and I suspect it's very thick (and heavy).

In the future what do you suggest I do?

I don't want a 20 pointer just your average decent finish.

Shall I stick to aerosols or buy a cheap spraygun (Badger 250?) & can of propellant? I don't want anything too bulky - lack of space.

What finishing products do you recommend?

Once again - I must reiterate that I'm not after concourse mirror like finishes here so bear that in mind.

Once again you are likely to get a multitude of answers from what others have used (but not all necessarily good). My own recommendation would be an inexpensive spray gun and compressor. The canned propellant will eat you up in time and cost more than the compressor. Otherwise, SIG used to package some of their dopes in spray cans. I am sure you will get some recommending Kryoleum (you get the idea) which may be a bit heavier, but not as much as brushed on, and is readily available and affordable. I am still partial to dope, but then, you are going after a utility finish.

Leonard --

Apparently, you and I were typing at the same time, and you finished 15 minutes before I did!

I agree that a compressor and gun are a worthwhile investment, and your note made me realize I spoke of one thing of which I have no knowledge. I have never used those portable aerosol spray devices -- I just assumed they worked well enough to do the polar gray step.

Anyway, my note was not a response to yours. I didn't read yours until I posted mine, so if the posts sound a little goofy together, that is a timing problem on my part, even though I cited you in my post. That was based on previous posts you have made.

Hey, Larry, we do that all the time. So, unless you keep two browsers open and check to get the latest update on who has posted (??) there is always a good chance that someone else is posting while you are posting. We didn't disagree--just slight variances on ideas which is what he is looking for. There are a variety of approcaches here, not any of which is "absolutely" right. But we definitely all agree that it is foolish to spend a lot of time on a "perfect" finish for a plane that may soon crash (although we hope not.)

The good finishes that you see at the Nats take about 2/3 of the total building time (twice as much time spent applying the finish as it did to construct the whole plane...and these are complex planes!)

What you want here is a quick builder with a utility finish that looks OK, protects the plane from the oil, etc., and doesn't add horribly to the weight. If it looks nice, that is a bonus, but if it takes too much time to do, it makes you fear flying the plane.

Go for it, guys.

Here is what I did, and I was happy with the results. First, remove the controls, drill all holes, (gear and engine) and build a tank mount. I notched the fuselage so the bellcrank would be flat, not with little ears pointing up. Lay the wings aside, and add them after you have finished the airplane.

Brush on enough coats of clear and sanding sealer, and sand between coats, so the cedar is well filled, and the stab /elev is decent. Don't even think about the Leonard approach of covering anything with silkspan for a quick and dirty finish. I maybe had five coats total. Use Brodak for minimal time between coats for sanding. Don't bother with 600 paper, just 400 wet.

Now, go back to Leonard's approach. Spray on a couple of coats of Brodak Polar Gray, sanding between coats. Doesn't take much time, and really makes a good base. I used my compressor, but no reason the aerosol thing wouldn't work. You are sanding most of it off anyway.

Have your Big Strong Handsome Wife hold the plane, and spray on a couple of coats of Krylon. With a good base, it will shine quite well. We don't care about the extra weight of Krylon, because we are painting a smaller area of the model than normal.

No clear over, and strip decals. Bolt it together, epoxy on the wings, and you are done.

You could try this:

Ultracoat on the wings, polycrylic clear as filler on the fuse and tail surfaces - no paper because it's water based. Sand the polycrylic so it's smooth, since it was water based you can now paint with whatever you like, my choice would be automobile color touch-up spray cans which are Acrylic Laquer.

Jim --

Obviously, you don't have a U-Key. You can't do any finish on the wings that I know of. The wings are foam, and covered with the ugliest, wrinkliest, baggiest clear covering one could imagine. It is part of the U-Key charm, and I would hate to see it change.

After I install some fuse doublers I give Ukey's a VERY light sanding, glue the wings on, tape off some stripes or whatever out a few inches on the wings & shoot the thing with Rustoleum. Rustoleum will stick to the covering on the wings as long as you scuff the surface with a Scotchbrite.
Nils

I wanted a down and dirty protective finish on my Ukey 40--and I wrestled with how to just do that.

I had an OLD spray can of yellow Pactra formula U urethane. and sprayed a very light coat on all of the bare wood. Directly on--no silkspan, no filler, nothing. It allows the wood gran to show thru and is almost transparent.

Then, I put on a couple of light coats of Polycrylic--on recomendations that it was fuel proof. It goes on cloudy and drys fast to clear. It turned out great--even over the yellow tape hinge on the elevator.

But now, all of the elevator, and one side of the fuse aft end are very sticky. I wipe the thing down after every flying session using windex and paper towels.

I made a mistake one time and left the plane uncleaned.

I never use anything other than 10% fuel.

The Polycrylic is softening up alot. I dont know if its the windex or the oil, but something has gooed it up.

Still flies ok tho--just the bugs are stuck all over!

IF I had some yellow dope, I would have used a Preval and sprayed it--but be careful of dope around the foam wings.

Rustoleum should work also.

THe whole point of these is to keep things simple.

FWIW

Yet another approach..

Coat all bare wood with Z-Poxy Finishing Resin brushed on with a throw away acid brush, wipe all excess off with paper towels before it sets. The next day sand it with 220 grit sand paper then spray on your choice of rattle can paints. I used LusterKote which is a little more expensive than Rust-Oleum..

The Z-Poxy insures everything is completely fuel proof and provides a solid surface for the paint.. Quick.. light.. easy.. repairable.. and 3 days from start to flying...

>Yet another approach..
>
>Coat all bare wood with Z-Poxy
>Finishing Resin brushed on with
>a throw away acid brush,
>wipe all excess off with
>paper towels before it sets.
>The next day sand it
>with 220 grit sand paper
>then spray on your choice
>of rattle can paints. I
>used LusterKote which is a
>little more expensive than Rust-Oleum..
>
>
>The Z-Poxy insures everything is completely
>fuel proof and provides a
>solid surface for the paint..
>Quick.. light.. easy.. repairable.. and
>3 days from start to
>flying...
>
>Bob

Basically the same thing I did. I thinned the Z-Poxy 50% with denatured alcohol and let it soak into the wood. Once it set up I use some thick blades (such as those which come with the Master Airscrew razor plane) and scraped off the excess Z-Poxy a la the old Hobby Poxy method of decades ago. That leaves the low spots still shiny but I left it that way - all I wanted to do is fuel proof the wood.

For my U-Keys (a 35 and a 40) I used an approach similar to that described above by Bob Reeves. After a basic sanding of all the wood parts with 220 dry, I brushed on two coats of clear dope, with approximately four hours between them, and allowed them to dry for twenty-four hours. After sanding with 220 dry, I applied to the 35 two quick coats of LustreKote white primer and, to the 40, two quick coats of rattle can RustOleum white clean metal primer. I allowed both to dry for twenty-four hours. After sanding with 320 dry, I gave the 35 two very light coats of LustreKote color and one wet coat with roughly five minutes between coats. Similarly, on the 40, I gave it two light coats of rattle can RustOleum color about fifteen minutes apart followed by one wet coat after another fifteen minutes. Frankly, I was quite amazed with the results. Some grain is visible, but it is certainly sealed and the finish is quite smooth and hard and has decent gloss. It makes me wonder about the results that could be obtained with some effort. For the intended purposes of the U-Keys, however, the results are more than adequate.

Just a word of warning, Tony. U-keys become aerodynamically unstable and very unsafe if they don't have enough paint drips and glue blobs to provide the proper turbulator effect. Take yours this instant out to the driveway and throw it down hard several times. Repair it with five minute epoxy and gorilla glue. Then it will be airworthy.