Help re-painting 500 size fuselage...

[SamS]

What's that guy called on here who paints canopy's .. is it Phil ?

And what's his forum name ?

[Boggy]

Buckers

[SamS]

Thankkss Ron

[Cthulu]

thanks for the info on the 2 pack boggy. I think I will have to use aerosols. I'll check halford for the type of primer you mentioned. If im just buying spraycans, can you recommend a specific brand or would halfords stuff do. When I was looking at tamiya paints I noticed there were different types like -MS,PS,TS etc. I dont know which one I would use.

does the guy "buckers" that SamS mentioned do custom paint jobs? I may drop him a PM if he does jobs for other people.

Thanks for the info and suggestions,

cheers,
L

[dan-eboy]

I know Halfords do 'Upol high 5' aerosol primer, that'll do for primer. Then any standard car aerosol or you could use the RC styro range as it's made to not melt/react with foam and plastic etc. Then a single pack aerosol lacquer if you want. When you put primer on - lots of dry coats not wet ones!
And if you can't remove the windows then as someone mentioned you can get 3 or 5mm fineline tape for edges, stick to 3M masking tape and you can't go wrong.

[Cthulu]

I know Halfords do 'Upol high 5' aerosol primer, that'll do for primer. Then any standard car aerosol or you could use the RC styro range as it's made to not melt/react with foam and plastic etc. Then a single pack aerosol lacquer if you want. When you put primer on - lots of dry coats not wet ones!
And if you can't remove the windows then as someone mentioned you can get 3 or 5mm fineline tape for edges, stick to 3M masking tape and you can't go wrong.

Thats the stuff I was looking at on the Halfords website. Thanks a lot for the great info. I always knew repainting could be a fairly complicated process for someone who's never done it before, but Im beginning to feel like Im ready to attempt it.
When you say "dry coats" of primer, not "wet", do you just mean to allow the primer to dry properly before applying another coat? How many coats of primer is normal? How do I know if I need to wet sand the primed coat or if its fine for the next coat?

You guys are probably getting bored of me asking all these questions, so sorry about that! Its just quite a lot of money spent on this fuselage so far, so I want to make sure im certain of what Im doing.

Really appreciate all the help given so far,
cheers,
L

[dan-eboy]

I don't mind i quite enjoy spreading some knowledge! It's not too hard it's just having the balls sometimes, like you wouldn't wanna take some 80 grit to your car to key it for filler - bit scary the first time!

when i say dry i mean dust it on from a distance - so it goes on looking like films of dust/specks, mainly on the first few coats and let it dry between coats (only a few mins) After first few you can start to get a bit heavier with it, but don't wet it up straight off. The main reason is wet coats can sit on there for a long time and cause reactions/melting and other problems, a few dry coats help hold back any reactions/silicones etc. And heavy coats normally means runs!

With aerosol primer id say 3 dry coats (you might not even have covered all the red) then maybe 2-4 wetter ones to cover the red completely.
Remember your not trying to make it shiny thats what lacquer is for - just even coverage.

you may be able to go straight over with your colour if you dont get any runs - in which case give it 30-40 mins to dry then straight over with colour.
But if you get runs or have lots of nibs (dust etc in paint) then you may want to flat it with wet&dry first.

It all depends how good you want it to be! Hope this helps let me know if you need anymore help.

[dan-eboy]

Oh and last thing- before you paint use some panel wipe or something to remove any grease, silicone etc, or cheaper would be some fairy liquid squirted in the water and scotch it up wet, then try not to get too many greasy fingers on it! LOL. I'd prob tape a straigtened coat hanger to hold it from while you paint too and hang it up to dry

[Cthulu]

I don't mind i quite enjoy spreading some knowledge! It's not too hard it's just having the balls sometimes, like you wouldn't wanna take some 80 grit to your car to key it for filler - bit scary the first time!

when i say dry i mean dust it on from a distance - so it goes on looking like films of dust/specks, mainly on the first few coats and let it dry between coats (only a few mins) After first few you can start to get a bit heavier with it, but don't wet it up straight off. The main reason is wet coats can sit on there for a long time and cause reactions/melting and other problems, a few dry coats help hold back any reactions/silicones etc. And heavy coats normally means runs!

With aerosol primer id say 3 dry coats (you might not even have covered all the red) then maybe 2-4 wetter ones to cover the red completely.
Remember your not trying to make it shiny thats what lacquer is for - just even coverage.

you may be able to go straight over with your colour if you dont get any runs - in which case give it 30-40 mins to dry then straight over with colour.
But if you get runs or have lots of nibs (dust etc in paint) then you may want to flat it with wet&dry first.

It all depends how good you want it to be! Hope this helps let me know if you need anymore help.

thanks a lot dan. thats helped a lot. If im looking for a matte finish, would I avoid lacquering? When I start it, I'll pretty much be referring to this thread to keep on the right track. You've detailed what I need to do really well, so thanks for that. Im not expecting it to go without mishap, so you may hear from me soon!
I really appreciate all the help from yourself, boggy and the others. Hopefully, I'll post up the end result once im done.

thanks again,

Atb,
L

[dan-eboy]

No worries, if your going for matte then no laquer - which makes it easier thats the hardest part! Put some pictures up after i'd like to see it! You'll be fine - let me know though if you get stuck

[Cthulu]

Thanks again!
good to know that lacquering is the trickiest part... matte it is then!!!
I'll be attempting it over the next week or 2, so i'll post a pic up once im done.
fingers crossed......

cheers dan,
will keep you posted on how it goes,

L

[dave j]

when i painted my air ambulance i used halfords spray paint in aerosole tins and found it easy to use it is all water based acrylic i also used their laqure but i have found to my dismay i need to re laqure it with 2pk as the single pack turns to mush if you get nitro on it but if your doning an electric heli then you will be ok with single pk

[Cthulu]

when i painted my air ambulance i used halfords spray paint in aerosole tins and found it easy to use it is all water based acrylic i also used their laqure but i have found to my dismay i need to re laqure it with 2pk as the single pack turns to mush if you get nitro on it but if your doning an electric heli then you will be ok with single pk

Thats good to know. Pretty sure theres a halfords in the nearest city to me. The heli's electric, but Im planning on leaving the heli matte, so I wont be lacquering anyway.
Thanks for the advice,
Cheers,
L

[dan-eboy]

How's it going? you started it yet?

[dave j]

you can get a matt laquer from halfords hope your well on your way with the project and enjoying it