Brodak Dope

Friend at the field wants to paint a warbird of some sort and wanted to know how to make Brodak Dope flat and not shiny. Any suggestions on how to do this? He is looking specifically at the black and brown. Guess Brodak already has an OD that is flat.

I have had good luck shooting Sig Flat Coat over Brodak dope. I have read some conflicting stories here on the SSW Board, but have not had any trouble with this. I use Brodak thinner 60/40, 20 psi, and a Badger 400 or 150 with medium tip.

Depending on the project (ie. how many decals he is planning to use), your friend would want to do the initial coats as glossy as possible. This means that he should seal the flat Olive Drab with gloss clear. In fact, I seal the whole project with gloss clear before I start with the markings. The gloss surface allows the water slide decals to go on with less chance of "silvering". Finally, he can seal and cover the project with the Flat Coat and do any weathering after that.

This is the same procedure that we use to build plastic display models. Different paint (usually), but same techniques.

Good luck and have fun,

Ron King

One way to make a paint appear flat is to add just a touch of talcum powder to it. The amount will vary with the degree of dullness you may want. There are dull coats available that spray over the final paint, but I don't recall if they are fuel proof and they come in small amounts. Testors, for one, makes it, but I use it on model trains. They call it "Dull Coat Lacquer". Caveat: try on a test piece first-always.

I have found that I can mix Brodak Butyrate dope with automotive PPG acrylic lacquer metallic as well as Randolphs butyrate thinner. I suppose you could mix Brodak dope with other acrylic lacquer thinners. Test this out.

You should be able to purchase acrylic lacquer "Flatener" additive to add to your paint. Knocks the shine directly proportional to the amount of flatener you add. I did this with polyurethane paint on the Lancair. I am sure it is available in acrylic lacquer. Be advised that flatener while it gives you a duller finished look. The roughness or texture will allow the paint to hold dirt grease and grime on the often contacted surfaces. So you need to pay special attention to cleaning your plane. Eventually the surfaces will display a worn look on heavier used areas or a somewhat shiny surface on rubbed areas.

Bob Smiley
A Lancair 360 builder/pilot trying to be a modeler.