| Image Comments |
| edbecky | 07-Jun-20 08:26 |
| 2nd sanding. A little more fill in spots and one more fine sanding and dope. Never done this before so should I cover or sand and paint as is? Pros and cons, please. |
| David Duckett | 08-Jun-20 11:25 |
| Covering with silkspan eliminates the wood grain and provides a uniform surface all over the model. It also strengthens the structure as painted wood is still soft. Whether you cover it or not I suggest you paint on three coats of thinned nitrate dope and sand smooth first. If left uncovered apply another coat of filler and sand smooth before any doping. |
| edbecky | 08-Jun-20 12:14 |
| Dave, I knew from watching your builds that you covered with silkspan. Thanks for your input. |
| Don C | 08-Jun-20 16:33 |
| Ed, I have to agree with DD. I was waiting for his response before chiming in. I've tried the automotive filler/primer and it works for smoothing, but it works better if the model is first covered with silkspan and doped. Here's something different as long as we are discussing this. A couple of days ago I talked to a modeler up here who builds RC with foam. He has used water based polyurethane instead of dope, Said it works well and eliminates the problem of fumes. I may give that a whirl to see. Thoughts anyone? |
| edtherenderman | 08-Jun-20 16:46 |
| Don, I for one would be interested to see how this works. The tissue/dope works well and is tried and true, but always looking for new ways. I think I remember someone using white gesso paint, but I can't remember if that was a final finish or for filling. |
| heywooood | 08-Jun-20 18:44 |
| I was using it to raise the wood grain after the third application of spackle/filler and sanding down to 220 grit. But I have since reverted to using the Deluxe branded ‘sand n seal’ instead. It hardens the balsa, card stock, and filler and it levels better than Gesso (no brush strokes to sand out) |
| Creosotewind | 10-Jun-20 12:58 |
| Minwax makes a water-based polyurethane that I've used over glass cloth on top of foam kits. It's the stuff you get from the hardware store. |
| Don C | 10-Jun-20 14:54 |
| Creosotewind - The main question I have is if it will dry quick enough to use it for covering with silkspan. I've used it on wood and like it, but I'm thinking it may work better for coating after the silkspan is on. |
| Creosotewind | 11-Jun-20 12:41 |
| I think as a very thin coat it would work with silkspan. It does dry quickly and it can be sanded between coats. It does make a great top coat as well.. |
