Newbie Finishing Questions....

[Toast_Man]

Ok just a quick background before I launch in to my question. I fondly remember launching rockets with may father in the early/mid 80's. I decided that I would try and share this experience with my son, although admittedly since he is only 4 I get to do most of the fun stuff.

I found a local fellow who was getting rid of his childhood rocket collection and for $50 I found myself with 14 rockets abour 1/2 of them flyable, 4 portapad launching setups and a bunch of engines/igniters/wadding.

I am a constant tinkerer and I have too many irons in the fire to make this a serious hobby but I would like to clean up some of the rockets that I have with a new paint job.

I had a no name double action airbrush with a fine needle and found that it was to fine for this job. I invested in a Badger 250 and that worked awesome. Not a precision instrument by any means but an acceptable replacement for a rattle can. I have been using the cheap apple barrel craft paints and have had decent results.

My first endeavour has been a small rocket called the twister that is supposed to separate in to 2 pieces and use a helicopter decent. I am painting it baby pink for my daughter....she wanted her own rocket and she is a daddies girl that knows how to get what she wants.

The paint went ok but when I put the Future on it seemed that the pink paint dissolved and allowed me to see some of the grey primer underneath. (I will do white next time for sure as the grey was a pain to get good coverage on) I think my problem was that I didn't give the acrylic craft paint time to cure....It felt dry so I hit it with the future after a couple of hours but I suspect that may be why the paint had "issues"

I have been considering 2 ways to fix this and would like some input.

1) mix future and paint and add more coats
2) sand the future, recoat with pink, future on top of that.

Which method would work the best?

Also, have seen elsewhere on the net the mention of mixing "Simple Green" with the future for a high gloss finish. Any thoughts on this, does the green affect the clear color?

Also if I used a heat gun would it speed up the curing of the paint so that I could get in more coats in a shorter time?

Thanks in advance

 

[luke strawwalker]

Future is dissolved by Future itself, but of course getting it all off is the problem... after all you wipe the stuff on to apply it, so obviously that's going to leave SOME behind.

Windex and other ammonia cleaners will dissolve Future and remove it. That's probably the best way to go-- use a clean rag(s) or paper towels and go over it a couple or three times with ammonia to get all the Future off. Let it dry thoroughly, maybe wipe it down with a damp cloth/paper towel to make sure you get everything off and let dry again, and then if any sanding or other prep work is called for, do that, tack it off to remove any dust, and then repaint as needed.

Probably a good idea to allow AT LEAST 24 hours before top-coating, maybe more depending on your location and climate. I can primer here and be sanding it in 2-3 hours some days, but then it's 99 degrees or so and windy, and even with the humidity up in the 70% plus range stuff dries FAST because of the heat. BUT, cooler conditions, especially HUMID and cooler, VASTLY slows that process.

Hope this helps! OL JR

 

[Handeman]

Love the Twister. It's a great rocket and really gets out of sight on a C6-7, binocular flights to 1,200+. I understand about getting that great paint job to get the least drag and highest altitude. BUT, I am also a proponent of 15 foot paint jobs. If it looks good 15 feet away on the pad, it's a good paint job.

My advice, don't get too wrapped around the axle getting the perfect paint job, even if it is for your daughter. It will only last one flight and the residue from the ejection will coat the lower half and even on a A8-3, if you fly it where the grass is more then 3" high, there is a good chance you'll loose one half or both.

Have fun and don't sweat the paint.