Fuel Proofing

[Kit Morpeth]

I have been using Spectrum satin fuel proofer on painted cowls and to be honest find it wanting even after leaving for the recommended period of 1 week before flying. I believe there may be other products that people may have tried and I would appreciate gaining knowledge of those experiences.

Kit

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Clearcoat from Solarfilm is good....for firewalls you can't beat a coat of epoxy resin though....

[Ben B]

I believe with the satin spectrum you have to wipe it down pretty much as soon as you land. IE it's more fuel resistant than fuel proof

Satin fuel proofer is always going to be a bit borderline due to the finish, gloss will work much better.

[Bob Cotsford]

i used to find Spectrum Gloss Clear pretty good. Perhaps the satin is a little permeable to the fuel allowing it to attack the underlying paint and lifting the satin with it? I'd be tempted to try proofing with gloss clear then just using to satin to overlay the gloss.

As Steve said, Clearcoat is brilliant, but you need to be careful what type of paint you use it over and I'm not sure if it's available as satin or matt

[Kit Morpeth]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the helpful advice. I'll try the gloss Spectrum and see how I get on. Its so annoying to watch a nicely finished cowl slowly crinkle and start to peel.

Many thanks

[Codename-John]

try Klass Kote clear, its epoxy based, its available in gloss or matt finish, brush on or can be thinned for spraying too, its great and you can use it over most paint finishes

[Kit Morpeth]

Thanks John,

I'm gonna get a selection of products and see what comes out best.

[001]

International Paints yacht varnish (if you can still get it) is great for internal fuel proofing. Too yellow to go over a paint finish.

[Max50]

I've seen yatch varnish stocked at B&Q. Does any varnish act as a fuel proofer ? . I'm sure someone on the forum said varnish worked OK!.

[stuey]

I tried a sample of Clearcoat over some Warbirds colours water based paint. It is fuel proof up to 10% but I had some fail when raw fuel got on it. The Clearcoat was wiped on and started to soften the Warbirds, but did not react other than that. It might well work ok if sprayed over rather than brushed. It does seem difficult to find a solution that works long term without some kind of drawback. The paint on my Kyosho Spit cowl has never reacted to neat or burnt fuel, I wonder what they use?

Edited By stuey on 24/07/2013 22:09:44

Edited By stuey on 24/07/2013 22:10:55

[001]

The only one I have ever used was made by International, mainly because a large tin goes a long way!

They are made to stand up to salt water and long exposure to sunlight. I don't know about ordinary varnishes.

Ronseal do a yacht varnish why not ask them what solvents, hot and cold it will stand up to?

[Rick Tee]

Oil based polyurethane varnish (exterior) thinned down 50% with white spirit works great on all internal parts, fire walls etc. Use 4 coats, allow 2hrs drying between coats and 4 days cure before getting any fuel on it. It soaks into the wood, so any splits, cracks, scuffs are still fuel proof.

Edited By Rick Tee on 25/07/2013 06:29:39

Edited By Rick Tee on 25/07/2013 06:36:03

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I've used water based polyurethane floor varnish (Falcon Skincrylic to be precise) over B&Q emulsion painted brown paper to great effect for fuelproofing 1/12 scale combat models where it results in a slightly gloss finish reminiscent of many modern display warbirds. I haven't tried it on anything with a "good" finish though but you can use it as soon as it's dry with no apparent softening - I've even applied some in the morning and flown it in the afternoon after an hour or two in the airing cupboard (the model, not me!).

[FlyinBrian]

Posted by Codename-John on 24/07/2013 18:03:31:

try Klass Kote clear, its epoxy based, its available in gloss or matt finish, brush on or can be thinned for spraying too, its great and you can use it over most paint finishes

I'll second that!