what sanding sealer is best?

[surdumil]

My favorite sanding sealer method so far is to apply a coat of Aero Gloss Balsa Fillercoat, sand, then apply successive coats of Aero Gloss Sanding Sealer, sanding between each coat, and continuing until I can't see any grain ripples when the surface has light glinting off. This usually takes around three sanding sealer coats. This is a lot of work and lets off a lot of noxious fumes, but yields nice results.

I've also tried using Shur-Patch Featherweight Spackling. I one-litre tub of the stuff. It's dried out, but comes back to life when water is added. When thinned out, it fills balsa nicely, but dries kinda soft. The product is no longer available in my neighborhood, and I suspect it's no longer available elsewhere.

I tried Delta Ceramic All-Purpose Sealer, but tried only one coat. It was odorless which is really, really nice. I was concerned that the single coat seemed to dry pretty thin and that it would take a lot of coats to finish the job. It seemed to take a relatively long time to dry, as well.

I tried Mod Podge as well. It's used to paste and protect decoupage images. I don't recommend it. It never looses its stickiness and is pretty much impossible to sand. The brush tracks you leave behind never go away, giving you a pretty ugly finish that you can't sand down.

After reading the Delta Ceramic endorsements in this forum, I think I will give the product a much more serious trial. It's much, much cheaper than the Aero Gloss stuff in my neighborhood, doesn't stink up the joint, and gives a finish that's harder than the spackling but may be a bit softer than Aero Gloss Sanding Sealer.

Dwayne Surdu-Miller
SAROS #001

 

[gpoehlein]

Originally posted by surdumil
I tried Delta Ceramic All-Purpose Sealer, but tried only one coat. It was odorless which is really, really nice. I was concerned that the single coat seemed to dry pretty thin and that it would take a lot of coats to finish the job. It seemed to take a relatively long time to dry, as well.

I gave my latest rocket two coats of the All-Purpose Sealer, and the fins feel nice and smooth. The only problem I'm finding with this stuff is that the sandpaper clogs really quick with it, and it wants to "ball up" as it comes off the balsa. (I have to sand a few strokes, then wipe the sandpaper and the work off and then go again.) I found keeping a damp paper towel on hand to wipe down the fins as I go works pretty well (kind of like a tack rag). I used to use the aerogloss as well, but I think having to keep wiping the work and sandpaper down is worth the tradeoff against the smell (a little inconvenience beats a headache any day of the week! )

Greg

 

[dtomko]

Originally posted by Rob Fisher
For a very easy method with no fumes & water clean-up I use Elmers carpenters wood filler in white. It comes in a tube. All I do is squeeze a little into a cup, add a little warm water & stir it to an almost paint-like consistancy. Brush it on like paint with a brush, let dry & sand. I've gotten great results with just one coat! It's so much simpler.

Another vote for this one from me. It thins with water really nicely; actually. it's pretty smooth right out of the tube. After thinning in a cup, I usually put it on with my finger and rub it in a bit. Sands very easily.
Drew Tomko

 

[slackdaddy]

""""I'll 2nd the use of Deft Spray Lacquer Sanding Sealer.

Its one of the best sealers I've ever used, and as a veteran of many applications of Aerogloss "dope", in the long run its much quicker and the results are always what I expect. I've used it for the last 4 or 5 years, and will never go back."""""


I picked some up at Lowes, sprayed the Red Barron and I am in the proccess of sanding.

I noticed that the Deft can says to top coat with LACQUER!
I also saw on a "compatibility chart" that lacquer was not compatible with enamal paint ??

My 50+ can collection of spray paint is 99% enamal, so is deft a no go with enamal top coat ?

Thanks,
Slack

 

[Micromeister]

[I noticed that the Deft can says to top coat with LACQUER!
I also saw on a "compatibility chart" that lacquer was not compatible with enamal paint ??

My 50+ can collection of spray paint is 99% enamal, so is deft a no go with enamal top coat ?

Thanks,
Slack [/B][/QUOTE]

Slack:
Deft is a lacquer based material, as long as the primer is completely dry, which it has to be to do any effective sanding you can overcoat (topcoat) with enamel just fine. Don't try to re-primer over dried enamel color coats with Deft or any other lacquer based material.
General rule is Enamel over Lacquer...OK
Lacquer over Enamel.. NEVER!...ClearCoats are NOT an exception...however Clearcoats can be applied with some specific precautions. do a search on clearcoats for more info.

 

[slackdaddy]

Meister,
Thanks! thats what I "thought", but was not sure from My Hot Rodding days.

I am In the middle of 4 kits, I am using:
Deft, Spray Kilz, Enamal spray color coat, testers brush on Enamal,
Decals, and Spray Enamal clear coat.

I will drop this thread and follow up in the "Spray Can" thread in the Techniques section.

Of course I will have pictures !

Slack

 

[Stymye]

all I can say is,thank goodness for airbrushes .. no more half empty cans piling up and suprise reactions to ruin all that hard work.

I'm also a fill-n-finish user ..I thin it a little , brush on a single coat sand it and it's smooth. I don't see why multipule coats would be necessary.normally one coat fills the grain and than some.

If I want to stiffen the fins before I fill them, I scrape straight yellow glue across the fins with a plastic card. it soaks in pretty quick and can typically be sanded in less than 30 min.
than I apply the filler. I like the fact that its all water based and no smells, and can be done at the rocket table inside the house.

in the end,whatever works for the builder is the way to go.

 

[stizzed]

Originally posted by BobH48
I have used plain old spackle. I rub it into the balsa with my finger and then let it dry. Afterward, sand it until it's almost all gone. I then use Minwax Polycrylic as a sealer. I put on a couple coats and sand it with 600 grit paper. Then a final coat and it's ready. You can then prime, sand, and paint.

OBTW - It's a water based product and doesn't stink at all. Plus you can clean up your brushes with soap and water.

If your not too particular you can just paint over it without primer. Thats what I did on these.

Hey Bob!

Bullpup fetish much???

Michael

 

[BobH48]

Originally posted by stizzed
Hey Bob!

Bullpup fetish much???

Michael

Not just Bullpups.

I tend to be a little obsessive compulsive so when I build something, I build a couple different sizes at the same time.

That's why I have 6 Goblins, 4 Phoenix, 3 Mercury Redstones, etc.

 

[Grenadyr]

I'm currently building a Thrustline Aerospace Tribute II that has a fairly large balsa nosecone. As I have a tendency to overbuild quite often I decided to attempt to strengthen the nose cone with thin CA as I have soaked balsa fins with it before with good results. After a little research I decided on soaking epoxy into the nose cone for strength and finishing instead. I heated the nose cone up to 150 degrees and brushed on 2 hour epoxy with a paintbrush. After letting it set for 2 days I sanded it with 220 grit on a random orbital sander to smooth it out as much as possible. Another coat of epoxy w/o the pre-heating and another 2 days of leaving it alone yeilded a very smooth and strong finish. My next step is to rough up the surface a little and spray it with automotive primer before figuring out the final color I want.

As a side note the random orbital sander with 220 grit sandpaper is my favorite way to get the fins smooth at this point. The random pattern for the sanding leaves you without swirl marks and avoids the build up you commonly get on sandpaper when hand sanding something "sticky".