Tips for Using Hobby Paint
Thinning the Paint:
Applying the Paint:
Most of the time I spray the paint, but I just put the finish coat on a Rearwin Speedster with a foam brush, and it looks just like the sprayed parts. Bear in mind, our paint is a mechanical bond paint so you must scuff up the area to be painted. I use a worn piece of 220 grit sand paper. I know it seems contrary to what most of us do to final sand with 220, but the paint will not stay on unless you scuff it up and if you do, it will not come off. Another good way to scuff the surface is with one of those green scouring pads.
Multiple Coats and Sealing:
If I find I need another coat the following day, I scuff between coats. But, when painting multiple coats, about 20 minutes is all the dry time you need and scuffing is not required. Of course temperature and humidity will vary the drying time. If you need heat or AC on your chosen paint day, then it is the wrong day to paint! You should be able to paint your entire project in a weekend even with lots of graphics, although I put on a flat clear to make sure I have sealed everything.
Decals:
In the event you want to apply decals, it is important to lay down clear gloss where the decal will go and then cover with flat clear, unless of course you want gloss. These comments were mostly aimed at warbird paint work. If you don't do decals in this way, the clear parts will have a slightly foggy look to them. I learned this lesson the hard way on a Mosquito that turned out very nice, but you could see that there were decals, which detracted from the overall quality of the airframe.
Camo Paint and Using "Insulation" Foam:
Another technique we are using now on the camo paint work is to use 1/2 inch foam. It is round and can be found at the hardware store for insulation purposes. We spray one side of the foam with 3M photo mount spray. Lay out the foam in the pattern you want and then mask off the balance and you will get a very nice soft camo line. I actually buy my foam at the automotive paint store, but it is expensive. I also will sell this foam to customers who want soft camo lines for $10 for a single roll, which is usually adequte for an average warbird.
If you have other questions, please don't hesitiate to call 303-670-1336, or click on "Contact Us" from the web site for other contact information. I have used this paint for a decade and painted many of my own and others' projects even before I bought the Nelson Hobby business.
- Put 4 oz (1/4 pint of paint) into a measuring cup of some sort. I get my measuring cups at the local paint store.
- Once you have the paint measured into the cup, using the lid from the paint container add two (2) cap fulls of water.
- Next, add 28 drops of cross linker (7 drops of crosslinker per once), stir, and let stand for a few minutes.
Applying the Paint:
Most of the time I spray the paint, but I just put the finish coat on a Rearwin Speedster with a foam brush, and it looks just like the sprayed parts. Bear in mind, our paint is a mechanical bond paint so you must scuff up the area to be painted. I use a worn piece of 220 grit sand paper. I know it seems contrary to what most of us do to final sand with 220, but the paint will not stay on unless you scuff it up and if you do, it will not come off. Another good way to scuff the surface is with one of those green scouring pads.
Multiple Coats and Sealing:
If I find I need another coat the following day, I scuff between coats. But, when painting multiple coats, about 20 minutes is all the dry time you need and scuffing is not required. Of course temperature and humidity will vary the drying time. If you need heat or AC on your chosen paint day, then it is the wrong day to paint! You should be able to paint your entire project in a weekend even with lots of graphics, although I put on a flat clear to make sure I have sealed everything.
Decals:
In the event you want to apply decals, it is important to lay down clear gloss where the decal will go and then cover with flat clear, unless of course you want gloss. These comments were mostly aimed at warbird paint work. If you don't do decals in this way, the clear parts will have a slightly foggy look to them. I learned this lesson the hard way on a Mosquito that turned out very nice, but you could see that there were decals, which detracted from the overall quality of the airframe.
Camo Paint and Using "Insulation" Foam:
Another technique we are using now on the camo paint work is to use 1/2 inch foam. It is round and can be found at the hardware store for insulation purposes. We spray one side of the foam with 3M photo mount spray. Lay out the foam in the pattern you want and then mask off the balance and you will get a very nice soft camo line. I actually buy my foam at the automotive paint store, but it is expensive. I also will sell this foam to customers who want soft camo lines for $10 for a single roll, which is usually adequte for an average warbird.
If you have other questions, please don't hesitiate to call 303-670-1336, or click on "Contact Us" from the web site for other contact information. I have used this paint for a decade and painted many of my own and others' projects even before I bought the Nelson Hobby business.
 |
 |