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- Mar 26, 2015
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I am in the final stages of prep for my Vintage Der Red Max. (Balsa N/C and I had the cut the balsa fins myself, I have had the kit for at least 20 years).
After finishing the build I used the diluted elmers wood filler over the entire rocket. Then sanded everything smooth and did the wood filler for a second coat. I sanded that all the way down to 600 grit and then I applied a coat of water based sanding sealer. Sanded that down to 1000 and did a second coat sanding it to only 400 based on the recommendation of the primer I am using. (I think, maybe I saw that somewhere else). When I went to my shed to apply the primer the rocket was smooth and looked great. As I was applying the primer I noticed deep scratches in the nose cone and one of the fins. I am not sure how they got there and I know they were not there when I finished sanding. I suspect that it happened when I set the rocket down on the outdoor work table I have before I opened the shed. It was pretty windy and it fell over and slid a little on the rough surface of the table. I had hoped that all the prep work would have made it a little more durable than that. Am I doing something wrong? Is it always going to be this soft or will the paint help? I used the wood filler to fill in all the scratches, and I am back to square one.
Suggestions?
After finishing the build I used the diluted elmers wood filler over the entire rocket. Then sanded everything smooth and did the wood filler for a second coat. I sanded that all the way down to 600 grit and then I applied a coat of water based sanding sealer. Sanded that down to 1000 and did a second coat sanding it to only 400 based on the recommendation of the primer I am using. (I think, maybe I saw that somewhere else). When I went to my shed to apply the primer the rocket was smooth and looked great. As I was applying the primer I noticed deep scratches in the nose cone and one of the fins. I am not sure how they got there and I know they were not there when I finished sanding. I suspect that it happened when I set the rocket down on the outdoor work table I have before I opened the shed. It was pretty windy and it fell over and slid a little on the rough surface of the table. I had hoped that all the prep work would have made it a little more durable than that. Am I doing something wrong? Is it always going to be this soft or will the paint help? I used the wood filler to fill in all the scratches, and I am back to square one.
Suggestions?