Help with Paint.....

Friends,
I need a little help. My son got a Flight Streak Trainer for Christmas. He wants a paint job like the photo on the box. Can some one suggest how much paint to buy. Looks like I need some type of red, white and black dope. Question is how much, and do I use thinner? Also what is the best way to get a smooth line between colors. Will masking tape do the job. We will be brushing this on as I do not own a spray gun. We have only built 1/2's and have been using the "rattle can's" of paint. Did not really care so much on the smaller trainers. We know there life span is short.
This will be a bigger project for us and would like to get a nice paint job.

I think your best bet would be Rust-Oleum spray cans in the colors you need. It is fuel proof and goes on really well. The only drawback is you are going to have to wait a day or two between colors as it takes a while for it to dry.

The easiest to get tape to use for a quick and dirty masking job is electrical tape. The right stuff is 3M fine line masking tape but you will probably need to go to a automotive paint supply house to find it.

For a quick and dirty sport finish... Coat all bare wood with finishing resin (Z-Poxy or SIG). I mix the finishing resin 50/50 with denatured alcohol and brush it on. After all the wood is covered and before it cures wipe as much as you can off with paper towels. This seals the wood and doesn't add a significant amount of weight. After the finishing resin is cured (overnight) sand with 320 just enough to knock the fuzz off. If you don't care about the grain being filled you can skip the filler and it is ready to paint.

To fill the grain I mix Corn Starch with Brodak clear thinned 50/50. Brush on a couple of coats with light sanding between coats. Sand the final coat almost all off and brush on one coat of 50/50 clear to seal the filler. Brodak clear dries well enough to sand in a couple of hours so the entire filling step can be done in one day. The next day sand the final coat of clear with 400 just enough to smooth the surface and it is ready to mask and paint.

>For a quick and dirty sport finish... Coat all bare wood
>with finishing resin (Z-Poxy or SIG). I mix the finishing
>resin 50/50 with denatured alcohol and brush it on.

Where can I find the Z-Poxy or Sig?
Also what is denatured alcohol? And where can I find it?

>>For a quick and dirty sport finish... Coat all bare wood
>>with finishing resin (Z-Poxy or SIG). I mix the finishing
>>resin 50/50 with denatured alcohol and brush it on.
>
>Where can I find the Z-Poxy or Sig?
>Also what is denatured alcohol? And where can I find it?
>
>
>Thanks
>Paul

Paul, Denatured alcohol is available at any decent hardware/paint store. It will be labled as such, or "Shellac thinner". Good stuff to thin epoxy with. Good idea to wear vinyl surgical gloves when working with epoxies, and they'll probably have them too. Also single edge razor blades. Steve

LAST EDITED ON Jan-13-04 AT 10:42 AM (CDT)
 
Hi Paul,
Sounds great that your son is interested, and keep him that way.
As for the dope. Since it is an all wood structure, a trainer, and a "project" to learn on, I would get the following:
(1) pint Balsa Filler; just brush it on the wood and sand it smooth.
(1) pint White; paint the whole plane white first to give a uniform
color to the trim coats.
(1) 8 oz. can red
(1) 4 oz. bottle black
(1) Quart Clear
(1) Quart Thinner
All this may sound like a "lot", but any that is left over will be used on the next project.
1. Put about 4 coats of clear on first, sanding lightly after the second, and subsequent coats.
2. Put on a couple coats of filler, sanding after each.
3. Put on two to three coats of white, wet sanding with 600 after the first coat then 800-1000 after the second. The third coat should be nice.
4. Put on the red. Maybe two coats will be needed.
5. Black, probably will need only one coat.
6. Clear overcoat as needed.
This should give you a nice finish, not very heavy, and will be practice for the coming projects.
All dope should be thinned. (Sig gives directions for thinning for brush use, I think Bridak does, too)

I would get all Brodak (or Sig) to keep everything compatable.
A very nice finish can be done with a brush!

Not as complicated as it sounds, not a front row finish, but very serviceable and should look nice.

Bill <><

EDIT: Bob's finish will work, too. Talc can be substituted for corn starch, and the rustoleum will be quicker as well as looking good.

I for got the "masking question", sorry.
I like to use the 1/8th" wide 3M blue vinyl masking tape that is available at any auto parts shop that sells auto paints. It goes around curves really well, and doen't seem to lift the paint from the substrate as bad as others. The translucent green "fineline" plastic tape 3M doesn't do as good a job IMHO.
If you can only get the crepe style paper masking tape, you need to seal the edges of it with a thin, small amount of clear dope before painting the trim colors to prevent the trim from seeping under the edge.
IMHO (again) is easier to lay out the trim scheme with 1/8th" tape first then mask with whatever you choose. If you are brushing the paint, you will not need to mask a very large area.

Bill <><

If model airplane dope, brushed on, (minimums) 8 ounces red, same white, and you might get away with 4 ounces black. Get yourself a 16 ounce can of clear, because, if you have some left over, you always can use it on your next model.

And a can of thinner.

Disagree a little, Bill. You're making this a little too elaborate for a trainer, although everything you suggest is correct. You don't really need to fool with the filler on this trainer, for example.

Maybe he is training to be a builder and a flyer.

leon99:+

No problem Currell.
At least I didn't go into the silkspan covering and all! LOL!!
Couldn't hurt, though, to get a feeling on using filler and sanding, etc., to see what is happening when you do it. (??)
I am with you, on the dope. What ever isn't used can be used on another one. I can't ever seem to have enough clear, even when I was able to get it locally in gallons! LOL!!
Thanks
Bill <><

Paul,

If you were/are happy with the way your ½A trainers came out, the same finishing steps should work. After all, the Streak Trainer is just a .15 sized all balsa airplane, that is still a basic trainer and will have a fairly short life expectancy, too. Make it pleasing to the eye at about five to six feet, make certain that it is fuel proof and fly it learning and enjoying as you go.

Learn flying on the planes that are straight and light, but not necessarily gorgeous. When you do build that glistening wonder, you won't be nearly so nervous about putting it through its paces or crashing it. It's my experience that the more time I spent building a plane, including attempting that shiny finish, the more cautious I was and the slower my progress has been. Granted, I've enjoyed almost every flight, but that fear of losing a great deal of time and effort by taking a risk now and then has hampered my progress. It's one of the major reasons that I'm still a duffer instead of a competitive flyer.

I know that this answer does not actually address your questions, but it is something to think about.

Thanks Old Sourdough,
You always give me great advice as well as everyone that has taken the time to answer my simple questions. I do want to be a better builder and try to teach my boys to take pride is what they build. I understand about the FS just being another trainer and not to spend a lot of time and money trying to get it to look like the photo on the box. So my plan it to use ALL of the info posted here. As always thanks for the great ideas and advice. We will do our best to build it right, and look nice from 4.5 feet away.
Thanks
Paul:7

What specific Rustoleum paint am I looking for?

Any of the gloss enamels except clear and the metalics.