Curtis Enlow
Well-Known Member
Honestly, you could probably use SC Johnson Paste Wax or any pure Carnuba-based car wax and get similar results as long as the base finish is good.
Perhaps I should clarify. Thus far I've polished exactly one LPR rocket (Alcubierre), and I really wasn't comfortable with the process in the various nooks and crannies. I didn't go on to apply a finishing wax coat because after the polishing I was done. As such, I didn't achieve a high-gloss finish. It was really smooth though.I find polishing small LPR rockets to be unpleasant. I would probably be all in on it with larger rockets though.
Thought I'd drop my $.02 in again since I use Krylon exclusively to paint my rockets. You can spend a LOT of time messing around with this product and that, following this lead and that about floor polish etc, but at the end of the day, you want your rocket to look good with a minimum of effort, right?
With that said, PROPER prep for paint and PROPER curing followed by PROPER sanding/polishing is all that is needed. Case in point: The photos here are shots I've taken of rockets I've painted exclusively with Krylon primer and paint. These finishes may not be show quality, but they are damned good, even upon very close inspection, so much so that people ask how I get that finish on the rocket.
Simple: PROPER prep, proper paint application, proper curing, and proper sanding/polishing. In short, I let the paint cure for a few days, then wet-sand it starting with 600 grit and finishing with 1500 grit. Wipe the rocket down to remove most of the water, then polish with Maguire's Scratch-X (don't ask me why; it just works very quickly, better than their regular polish), then Maguire's Auto Polish. Wipe the residue off and admire your SHINY newly painted rocket.
Btw, SKIP the clear coat. It will only give you problems when you go to make repairs/repaint down the road. ALL rockets eventually get some "road rash". If you've complicated the paint/decals with a clear coat, that's one more thing that you have to deal with to get the rocket back to flight-ready. The black rocket in the shots below gets an orange nosecone for fall flights, especially around Halloween, then it's back to black the rest of the year - switching colors is easy if you've ONLY put one type of topcoat on the rocket - think about that...
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WOW...
I don't know what you mean by those not being "show quality." If that black rocket were a car, I would be afraid to test drive it, because I know I couldn't afford to damage it!
I like Krylon. I get pretty good results with it. I use Rusto Filler Primer first, and once my primer is smooth enough, I use the Krylon.
I have tried sanding and polishing, but only a bit. I seem to remove color. I know there's a way to do it without damaging the color you've applied, but I haven't taken the time to figure that out. I'd like to know more, of course. Maybe I'll have to practice on a few small scratch builds using the products you've mentioned.
I use a foam brush to apply it. Some folks spray it out of a standard spray bottle, slightly diluted with Simple Green (@Gary Byrum recommends 3 parts Future to 1 part Simple Green). Others airbrush it, thought I don't think I've heard any details on that. I may try switching to the spray bottle approach, although it means I'll need to move the process to the shed.Do you have to airbrush the floor polish on? Can you use a paint brush? How long do you need to let it dry?
Hi Michael, from my friends in the guitar business, they use Krylon base colors and clear, some guitars get 30 or more coats of clear, but.........krylon takes about 30 days to CURE, yes cure, the paint has to cure, not dry but cure, to a hard, sandable finish. ..... .02$
30 days to cure x 30 coats = 900 days = about 2-1/2 years to build a guitar.... Holy Schnikeys!
Thought I'd drop my $.02 in again since I use Krylon exclusively to paint my rockets. You can spend a LOT of time messing around with this product and that, following this lead and that about floor polish etc, but at the end of the day, you want your rocket to look good with a minimum of effort, right?
With that said, PROPER prep for paint and PROPER curing followed by PROPER sanding/polishing is all that is needed. Case in point: The photos here are shots I've taken of rockets I've painted exclusively with Krylon primer and paint. These finishes may not be show quality, but they are damned good, even upon very close inspection, so much so that people ask how I get that finish on the rocket.
Simple: PROPER prep, proper paint application, proper curing, and proper sanding/polishing. In short, I let the paint cure for a few days, then wet-sand it starting with 600 grit and finishing with 1500 grit. Wipe the rocket down to remove most of the water, then polish with Maguire's Scratch-X (don't ask me why; it just works very quickly, better than their regular polish), then Maguire's Auto Polish. Wipe the residue off and admire your SHINY newly painted rocket.
Btw, SKIP the clear coat. It will only give you problems when you go to make repairs/repaint down the road. ALL rockets eventually get some "road rash". If you've complicated the paint/decals with a clear coat, that's one more thing that you have to deal with to get the rocket back to flight-ready. The black rocket in the shots below gets an orange nosecone for fall flights, especially around Halloween, then it's back to black the rest of the year - switching colors is easy if you've ONLY put one type of topcoat on the rocket - think about that...
View attachment 383521 View attachment 383522
Thank you!
For coats, I do it this way (and the spray tip is important for even application). In recent years, Krylon has put a tip on their spray cans (the yellow tips) that absolutely suck! They send paint out of the can in a circle spray pattern, which is horrible for any sort of good results.
The old white tips that you could turn 90 degrees to change the spray pattern direction was the key to getting good even coats, and only ACE Hardware seems to have those now in their "ACE" branded paints, which I've confirmed with Krylon are made by Krylon for ACE - nice that they put the good tips on something they're making, right?
Anyway, I put an initial light coat on, then let the rocket/part sit for about 20 minutes. Then I come back with a heavy coat, let it sit for another 20 minutes, then come back with another heavy coat, wait another 20, they a final heavy coat. I let this, depending on the color, sit for as long as 48 hours before hitting it with the sandpaper; some colors can be wetsanded in a few hours as some of the paint color formulas cure quicker than others...
The Jayhawk looks awesome! I just try to keep it simple because the rockets, if they're flying, are going to get banged up a bit - the nature of the beast. I like to go back and make repairs and repaint. If there's clearcoat over decals or hindering my getting to the paint, that's a step I don't want. I can sand a 3"dia/48" tall rocket down and prep it for a new color of paint (if I wanted to do such a thing) in about an hour if there's just paint in my way. Decals under clearcoat increase that time as does the clearcoat and compatibility later with basecoats/clearcoats, then new topcoats.
Yes, there are many ways to skin the cat.
PS: The Pup is a scratch build; most of my rockets are scratch builds - I like starting with self-sourced components, then putting it all together to make something that flies...
I think there is a size consideration, as well. I'm currently painting a 63" rocket and I think I am hitting the limit of what a rattle can will do as far as a nice, even, consistent and cost-effective coverage on a larger ship.
I'm using Dupli-color, which is nice paint, but it took two $12 cans for the base coat, alone.
If it's the lacquer, there's your answer. Artist lacquer is much more pigment dense...at the same price and dozens of colors.
I think there is a size consideration, as well. I'm currently painting a 63" rocket and I think I am hitting the limit of what a rattle can will do as far as a nice, even, consistent and cost-effective coverage on a larger ship.
I'm using Dupli-color, which is nice paint, but it took two $12 cans for the base coat, alone.
Is that the brand?
I like how Dupli-color flows, but...wow, it takes a few coats to get consistent coverage. I do like the quick dry between coats of lacquer, tho.
As others have pointed out, spray guns are awesome, but unless you have a fairly beefy compressor and some ventilation and proper PPE...
Wrinkling paint is an annoying problem and nose cones seem to be the worst offenders. I’ve pretty much switched to Testors exclusively for plastic cones. I think it’s all about how aggressive or “hot” the solvent component of the paint is and since Testors is specifically for plastic models it seems to work better. Yeah, those little cans are pricey and getting a good color match can be tricky but compared to the pain caused by ruined paint jobs it’s worth it to me. YMMV.
The Dulpi-Color sandable surfacer primer is a high-build that fills spirals beautifully with a smooth outcome. And it's sandable within a half-hour. Absolutely awesome. As is the cost. I'm going to try the Kilz just as a cost comparison.The wrinkling is odd; I think that is a formulation issue. In fact, i seem to remember something about actually using dissimilar paints to get the wrinkling as an effect on purpose...
But, adhesion on plastics is a problem. I refinished a very old plastic case for a Honda two-stroke outboard once, taking great care to scrub, sand, primer, wet-sand, repeat endlessly and final coat with gloss enamel. It's looked awesome! And the first time it flexed...it all peeled right off.
I went to the auto-parts store and bought some Dupli-color Adhesion Promoter for plastic bumpers, etc., for my nose cone. Their paints are pricey, but good quality and lay-down much nicer than rattle-can hardware store paints. Their primer is not 'high-build' but is smooth and flows nicely; Krylon primer feels rough and less adhered in comparison. Do a search on Dupli-Color here; lots of good info.
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