How to repair a paint wrinkle spot?

[ksm2001]

First I want to say hello, and think this forum is great with alot of knowledge and great members. I logged on back in December once I got the reborn rocket building bug back in me and built some MPR's in the past 6 months and got a lot of info from this forum on building techniques. I've been searching around on the forum for a small problem I ran into while painting but can’t quite get my answer so I thought I’d ask for some help

I’ve used Rustolium 2x Painters Touch many times with very good results and my current project an Estes Saturn V my wife and kids got me for Christmas is at the paint stage. I primed it with Rustolium 2x painters touch grey primer, sanded the paper tube parts somewhat after 24 hrs and waited another 24 hrs before painting with Rustolium 2x painters touch gloss white. I turned out perfect, except for 2 spots showing in the picture.

My question is to fix this do I sand the wrinkles down to the tube up to the smooth parts and prime the sanded area and then sand the primer some to match the original surface height or do I just paint it with the gloss white after sanding? And how long should I leave it before repainting. I don’t have a deadline since its going to be a display rocket and want it to stay pretty.

Thanks
Ken

[hornet driver]

Your most likely going to get a couple different responces to this but here's how I handle it. Let your current paint cure out all the way---2-4 days. Next I would --MOIST-sand the area . Don't sand it all the way to the tube. Just knock down the raised areas. You should have some little worm looking areas when your done. They may/should be recessed a tick. Use some glazing putty on them and then resand lightly. lightly reprime the area and sand smooth. Repaint as needed. The ticket here is not to have a heavy hand.

[GDJ]

^^ What he said. I've had paint go weird for unknown reasons sometimes. What Hornet driver said is probably the only way to really fix the problem.

[SteveF]

I like to double/triple the recoat(not the within an hour time, the 1 to 3 day one) time when I use enamel rattle cans to eliminate that problem. I think they dream up those times in a climate controlled lab with constant warm temp & low humidity

[ksm2001]

Your most likely going to get a couple different responces to this but here's how I handle it. Let your current paint cure out all the way---2-4 days. Next I would --MOIST-sand the area . Don't sand it all the way to the tube. Just knock down the raised areas. You should have some little worm looking areas when your done. They may/should be recessed a tick. Use some glazing putty on them and then resand lightly. lightly reprime the area and sand smooth. Repaint as needed. The ticket here is not to have a heavy hand.

Thanks Hornet I'll follow your suggestion which shouldn't be to difficult I think. Thankfully it was only in the 2 spots that can be masked and painted with out having to repaint the entire tube. I love the building but the painting is not my forte yet, but I'm learning, especially with the rattle cans. And like like Steve mentioned I have to be patient with the time span enamels take to dry properly. This just surprised me that it happened on a primer base with 48 hours at around 72F before top coating.

[Rex R]

I like 'bondo easy finish primer'.

[Mushtang]

I'm really starting to hate paint. I am building an R2D2 kit at the moment. The instructions just say to glue the white plastic halves of the body together and then paint the top dome with silver (after masking off the rest of the body). Instead, I sprayed primer over the entire body, then painted it all white. It came out great and looks MUCH better than it would if I'd followed the instructions.

However, masking the dome and painting silver resulted in a couple of areas that wrinkled within 2 minutes.



I plan on taking sand paper to the areas and sanding until the wrinkles are all gone, then hitting the top with another 2 coats of primer, and putting silver on the primer without a layer of white. Then I'll remove the masking and it should look okay.

[LW Bercini]

Your most likely going to get a couple different responces to this but here's how I handle it. Let your current paint cure out all the way---2-4 days. Next I would --MOIST-sand the area . Don't sand it all the way to the tube. Just knock down the raised areas. You should have some little worm looking areas when your done. They may/should be recessed a tick. Use some glazing putty on them and then resand lightly. lightly reprime the area and sand smooth. Repaint as needed. The ticket here is not to have a heavy hand.

I had just painted the final coat of 2x and put the model away in a closet to dry. Then next day I found the holder stick had fallen over and allowed the model to fall across the edge of a box. It cut a linear "divot" in the paint across the tube

I did pretty much the same steps that Hornet describes and now there are no signs of the original mark.

[ksm2001]

I picked up some Bondo Glazing putty today so I'm hopping to get a chance to try sanding and applying it this week.

Rex, the Bondo easy finish primer sounds good also, but is it compatible with other manufactures top coats?

Mushtang, that sucks about your R2D2, all the time and work building the rocket to look good and hopefully fly great only to find out even by following directions from the paint manufacturer this happens.

I have to paint the silver on the fins and lower part of the fairings on the Saturn V which now are gloss white. Let me know how it works out after spraying primer then silver over the white. I did prime the display motor nozzles then sprayed them silver and they turned out great so hope yours works out also.

And even if all the stars and moon are aligned right for the perfect paint job, gravity takes over and knocks over LW's rocket. We just can't win some times but that's part of the hobby I guess.

Thanks everyone for your input and advise, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Ken

[Rex R]

it acts like it is a lacquer based. I haven't noticed any problems (knocks on wood)...
rex

[ksm2001]

I wanted to update with some pictures on my fix that was suggested by hornet driver. first I let the paint cure for 4 days before doing anything, then sanded the wrinkles down to the smooth top coat area, then cleaned out the worm like groves of sanding dust. I used the Bondo glazing and spot putty suggested which is more like a cream and very easy to apply and left it dry over night since it softens the paint a bit until its completely cured. I then sanded the Bondo smooth to the top coat and primed, I left that dry for 3 days and sanded down the primer then masked off to the edges and wraps that wouldn't show the repaint and repainted. What turned out was a perfect paint job. I'll wait for about 4-5 days before starting on the silver and black to give it all time to cure.

thanks again hornet

[Rex R]

oooo, nicely done.
rex

[Eric1]

Very nice! Good Luck on the flights!!!!

[Marc_G]

Remarkable correction to the painting artifact. I've never been so successful in fixing a problematic spot!

[ksm2001]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Eric1, I don't think I'll be flying this one, I was planning on when I first got it and even have some E18-4 24/40 reloads for it. But with all the time spent on this build so far I think I'll keep it for display only. Maybe some day I'll get the nerve too.

[hornet driver]

Glad we could be helpful---H

[Mushtang]

Your repair looks great! I hope you post pictures of the final paint on the Saturn V!! I've always loved that rocket and I can tell yours looks a lot better than mine already. Mine is also not for flying, just for hanging in my office.

I used a thick wire and bent a second piece identical to the one near the top that is used to connect the parachute to, and installed it through the wall at the bottom, up above where the engine bells slide. I use the two wires to suspend it from the ceiling with fishing line.

[ksm2001]

Thanks Mushtang for the comment. Your Saturn looks great also! Hats off to you and anyone who has built one. It's a VERY big job building and painting but well worth the effort when its done.

I'll definitely post some pictures when its completed.

Ken

[ksm2001]

I had a bit of time this weekend for masking and painting, I also got some great info from Mushtang on spraying a coat of white before applying the black to keep sharper lines. It worked out great, thanks!

So far I only have the third stage black painted and alot more to go. The nozzles are finished and service module is complete using aluminum trim monokote traced and cut out from a template found in the Century rocket manual.

[GDJ]

Damn, that looks good!

[hornet driver]

OVER THE TOP NICE !

[ksm2001]

Thanks for the nice comments GDJ and hornet.

[Mushtang]

Well done!! I think I'd like to have another crack at building this kit someday after seeing how much fun you're having. I'm not sure my wife would want me too though, the build occupied our kitchen table for way too long.

Good job on yours! I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the black paint and the decals.

[ksm2001]

Saturn V is done. This build was fun but found out over the process it takes patience, especially the masking and paint . I have been building and run fast electric RC boats as a hobby for many years but have to say the Estes Saturn V was the most detailed and time spent from anything I have built, but well worth the effort. Overall I'm very happy how it turned out. The build isn’t anything new and most was built following the included instructions and Chris Michielssen’s build on the model rocket building web site which was a great help. A couple things that I did different from the instructions were instead of using spray adhesive for the wraps, I used foam safe CA glue. For gluing the centering rings to the BT-101 tube epoxy was used instead of carpenters glue. One suggestion that was mentioned to me by Mushtang was to paint the lower black wrap first then follow the lines up to the interstage, this suggestion made the black sections line up nicely.

[GDJ]

Absolutely beautiful!

[ksm2001]

Thanks GDJ,
I really enjoyed building the Rocket. Masking and Painting was the most challenging for me since I don't like painting but gained some confidence from this project. My kids want me to fly it but my wife and I talked them out of it. I told them they can push the launch button on any of my other rockets, so they agreed to keep this one on the ground.

[GDJ]

Thanks GDJ,
I really enjoyed building the Rocket. Masking and Painting was the most challenging for me since I don't like painting but gained some confidence from this project. My kids want me to fly it but my wife and I talked them out of it. I told them they can push the launch button on any of my other rockets, so they agreed to keep this one on the ground.

I think that's pretty fair. Build a more basic version for flying, but leave this one alone. It's perfect!

[hornet driver]

You know , it will be calling you as you sleep! That's what they do ! First the build and then later-----"hello is there anyboby out there"---I hate those -Pink Floyd rockets--they have a mind of their own. BTW---OUTSTANDING !!----H

[ksm2001]

Thanks for your comment H. yes, lol but before I fly it I'd need somthing to make me "Comfortably Numb" just in case it becomes "Another Brick In The Wall"