Estes V2

[cjp]

Been away for a few years,decided to build one of my two Estes V2's.What's everyone using to attach the motor mount,and the fins to the plastic tail section ?It calls for Super gel,but I do have epoxy and know that will add weight.

 

[Antares JS]

Any plastic-to-paper joint gets CA from me. Epoxy is overkill for LPR alongside being heavy.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

I used JB weld plastic bonder for my recently finished V2. @Antares JS is probably correct...

 

[cjp]

I did not want to use epoxy,CA was never very popular for builds in the past but again most kits were all paper tubes and balsa fins.I'll go with the super gel.Thanks guys.

 

[dpower]

Any plastic-to-paper joint gets CA from me. Epoxy is overkill for LPR alongside being heavy.

And it doesn’t adhere to plastic as well as CA.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

I have a "primer" to be used on plastic with CA, and to be honest I think it's just concentrated isopropyl (rubbing) alchohol. It's helped on other plastic CA joints around the house that wouldn't bond without it. I didn't think CA did that well on the kind of plastic used for the V2, hence my choice. JB Weld plastic bonder is indeed a 2 part made for bonding to plastic, and I learned my lesson about using it for the fin fillets; but I don't think it adds much weight to the sleeve fit between the tube and boattail. For more high-performance joints, it may be a viable choice.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

The hard part for me is making sure the fin tab is glued to the motor mount. The fin will have a harder time adhering to the outside if the inside isn't secured. I probably just used TB2 (actually I think it was TB3 at the time). Lately, I've been using TB Quick&Thick for my LPR fillets. I'll use epoxy if I want thicker fillets.

 

[Back_at_it]

Sand the plastic with 100 grit and use either CA or Epoxy. Both work great and neither will fail on you in a LPR. One thing I did do was replace the paper centering rings with plywood and ensure that they were glued into the tail cone using epoxy with a fillet. The motor mount with an upper ring then extends up into the body tube so you have an additional mounting point.

Don't be concerned with weight on the V2. It's a great flier on the D12-3 and you can always step up to the Aerotech E20 or E30 for more altitude.

 

[cjp]

Well I painted the airframe that came out great but the nose cone had some light spots.So after 48 hours I went for a light coat and within a few minuets got the dreaded orange peel!Same can and followed instructions.Now will wait a day or so and begin sanding it all off before trying again.I used Rustoluim 2X and no primer.Never had this problem with this paint.Glad the rest of the rocket turned out nicely.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Well I painted the airframe that came out great but the nose cone had some light spots.So after 48 hours I went for a light coat and within a few minuets got the dreaded orange peel!Same can and followed instructions.Now will wait a day or so and begin sanding it all off before trying again.I used Rustoluim 2X and no primer.Never had this problem with this paint.Glad the rest of the rocket turned out nicely.

I suspect the time of day can be an issue. Here in the tropics, I avoid painting in the morning to avoid the humidity. Sometimes I have to try again and again until it’s right, especially with the white/black on the Spacemonkey V2. I really tried hard to avoid using a brush but eventually enough is enough.

 

[cjp]

It was morning,68 degrees low humidity.Only thing I can figure was when I painted it 2 days ago it was around 60 and I kept it in the garage till the next day and maybe the cool temps at night delayed the curing.Should have waited an extra day.After I sand it down and wash the nose cone in soap and water I'll try again.It was a new unused can about 3 years old I had in the basement.I shook the can for 3 or 4 minuets and had no problems on the first few light coats.

 

[KenECoyote]

Well I painted the airframe that came out great but the nose cone had some light spots.So after 48 hours I went for a light coat and within a few minuets got the dreaded orange peel!Same can and followed instructions.Now will wait a day or so and begin sanding it all off before trying again.I used Rustoluim 2X and no primer.Never had this problem with this paint.Glad the rest of the rocket turned out nicely.

I used to use Rusto 2X exclusively for all my rockets before I stopped about 5 years ago and recently using Rusto 2X I've been getting orange peel and wrinkling like crazy! I'm wondering if it was some formula change. It's been very frustrating since even the clear coat seems to wrinkle after I've gotten a decent finish on the rocket. Only thing that seems to help is a LOT of very light coats and drying in-between.

 

[KenECoyote]

Also I could be wrong, but didn't the Estes V2 kit suggest Plastic Model Cement to glue the fins to the plastic boat tail? I think I used that on an Estes Canadian Arrow (stretched V2) and it worked fine.

 

[BEC]

Pacer Formula-560 or Beacon Foam-Tac or Fabri-Tac. I also generally follow jeffyjeep's approach (https://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=14277) that allows internal filleting of the fin root to motor mount tube joints, though in my case not with epoxy. My V-2 and my Silver Comet were both done this way and the fins are SOLID.

 

[James Duffy]

Also I could be wrong, but didn't the Estes V2 kit suggest Plastic Model Cement to glue the fins to the plastic boat tail? I think I used that on an Estes Canadian Arrow (stretched V2) and it worked fine.

Tube type plastic model cement might work, but I doubt that liquid cement would produce good results.

Having built several (six?) of these in the past, I can heartily recommend epoxy for both the bond and the fillet.

James

 

[cjp]

Don't think I'll used this again,I'll finish the nosecone and move on to another brand.Will try sanding tomorrow.I was thinking about this a little while ago and remember about 15 years ago I had this happen on my body tube and nosecone but I believe I used a different primer from the paint.Like I said no primer this time.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Rocket n00b said that plastic cement can crack so epoxy or thick CA is a better choice. Can anyone confirm?

 

[cjp]

Sanded all the paint off of the nose cone,then washed it in soap and water.Found some Rustolium auto grey primer.Shot a light coat on and then after 30 min. repainted.Really turned out great.Will in the future use Dupli-color .I'm going to start on my second V2 soon.Going with epoxy and Titbond II not really going to worry about weight.I should add I painted the rocket apple red and will put some black pin stripes on it,not carzy about the yellow and black and not concerned about accurate paint schemes.I happen to like red.lolThanks to all for their responses.I'll post a picture when finished.Going to let the nose cone cure for 3 or 4 days.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Sanded all the paint off of the nose cone,then washed it in soap and water.Found some Rustolium auto grey primer.Shot a light coat on and then after 30 min. repainted.Really turned out great.Will in the future use Dupli-color .I'm going to start on my second V2 soon.Going with epoxy and Titbond II not really going to worry about weight.I should add I painted the rocket apple red and will put some black pin stripes on it,not carzy about the yellow and black and not concerned about accurate paint schemes.I happen to like red.lolThanks to all for their responses.I'll post a picture when finished.Going to let the nose cone cure for 3 or 4 days.

The paint gods are not benevolent and require constant sacrifices.

 

[cjp]

Finished with some striping,keeping it simple and clean looking.Second one will be built soon.Would like to do a Red Max theme if I had the decals.Will have to look into something like that.

 

[messedupryan]

I painted the rocket apple red and will put some black pin stripes on it,not carzy about the yellow and black and not concerned about accurate paint schemes

I'm right there with you on the accurate paint schemes, I think this turned out great!

 

[teepot]

Try stickershock23 for the decals.

Finished with some striping,keeping it simple and clean looking.Second one will be built soon.Would like to do a Red Max theme if I had the decals.Will have to look into something like that.

 

[cjp]

Thank you for the kind words messedupryan,I was thinking about Stickershock23.I have purchased decals from him and they are very high quality.This V2 will go in my 3 year old Grandson's room until he's a little older and then I'll take him out and put it up.