DB Hurricane paint and finish.

[Tim Flyer]

Coming on nicely 👍 Great cammo! Don’t forget to clean the windscreen 😉

[Chris Walby]

Looking really good there Jon, what are you going to use as fuel proofer over the excellent paint job?

PS, I assume it will be straight on to the low oil content fuel when it comes to running the engine?

[Jon H]

Yea it will be on the diet fuel from the off. I dont see any need to run with more.

In recent years my go to fuel proofer has been Mr Epoxy from Mick Reeves. Its an absolute nightmare to use, i mean really its just awful, but it does seem fuel proof even if it never actually seems to set solid. Anyway i have a little of it left but its no longer available so i might use that stuff in the area around the engine and then just use some clear matt enamel over the rest. I used clear enamel on my La7 on the areas that do not get that oily and after 10 years its still hanging on.

[Ron Gray]

Try Sadolins P67 Jon, it's tuff as old boots and sprays really well (thinned of course). The only downside is that you have to buy a fairly large tin of the stuff. You can get it in gloss or satin finish.

[Jon H]

How do you thin it Ron? I have to over enamel so its a bit dodgy with cellulose

[Ron Gray]

There is, of course, Klass Kote which you can have a matt finish catalyst, costs quite bit (£42 for 1/2 pint) but it is real quality stuff.

[mal brewer]

I've always used 2-pack clear varnish as supplied to motor vehicle re-finishers.Sprays beautifuuly,but you do need full breathing gear when using it. I don't know if matt or egg-shell finish is available,might be worth trying a paint supplier.........Mal

[Ron Gray]

Posted by Jon - Laser Engines on 01/07/2020 09:29:14:

How do you thin it Ron? I have to over enamel so its a bit dodgy with cellulose

Cellulose thinner! Spraying over enamel is OK as long as you go really light with the first coat, a real mist coat is needed. Once that's on then you can spray other coats but, again, don't go over thick with the coats, light and many is the mantra!

[Jon H]

Posted by Ron Gray on 01/07/2020 10:31:15:

Posted by Jon - Laser Engines on 01/07/2020 09:29:14:

How do you thin it Ron? I have to over enamel so its a bit dodgy with cellulose

Cellulose thinner! Spraying over enamel is OK as long as you go really light with the first coat, a real mist coat is needed. Once that's on then you can spray other coats but, again, don't go over thick with the coats, light and many is the mantra!

I have to dust the Mr epoxy on too as that is thinned with celly. Hmmm, not sure what do do as the p67 isnt cheap. Still cheaper than klass cote though

[Scott Edwards 2]

For painting large models I've switched to useing automotive basecoat paint and 2K laquer. Totally fuel proof, and lovely to work with, but you do need an eff off mask. Max Meyer do a semi gloss (code 0750) coupled with their fast hardener (code 8000) and their universal thinners. I use it to fuel proof engine bays too. Nothing gets through it.

[Jon H]

Will the thinners eat enamel though? I like enamel's as they are easy to spray and easy to work with. I also dont need to set up a biohazard exclusion zone around the shed to cover off the fumes. The snag is, they melt when you spray over them

[Scott Edwards 2]

Posted by Jon - Laser Engines on 01/07/2020 11:38:22:

Will the thinners eat enamel though? I like enamel's as they are easy to spray and easy to work with. I also dont need to set up a biohazard exclusion zone around the shed to cover off the fumes. The snag is, they melt when you spray over them

I don't know ☹️ You're very welcome to blag my supply of the stuff to have a go with though ?

[Alan Gorham_]

Like Scott, I now paint my scale IC models with automotive basecoat and use 2K clear as fuelproofer. I've used gloss and semi gloss and both are impervious to glow fuel.

I have tested the ability to overspray 2K clear over the following paints with no ill effects, but as already discussed, they key is to mist on the first coat and make sure you've covered the entire airframe before hitting it with a heavier top coat:

Halfords rattle can acrylic

Humbrol enamel

Warbirds Color waterbased

Tamiya Acrylic

Flair Spectrum enamel (now called Guild)

Obviously make sure your base coats are fully cured hard before spraying on the 2K.

[Jon H]

Cheers Scott. I might pinch a little and just test it on something. I could paint up a test piece and see if it gets munched by the thinners

[Ron Gray]

I have used Flair Spectra fuel proofer and whilst others don't rate it, the models I've used it on (especially in engine bays) have been fine.

[David P Williams]

I use this - they sell a matting agent too so you can mix from gloss through satin to matt. It's always worked well for me, last model sprayed striaght over enamel no problem, even with a small amount of cellulose thinners.

[Tim Flyer]

On my Chipmunk I used RC Colours clear polyurethane as exterior “fuel proofer” on the cowl and oratex covered surfaces.  I had to do that as my rattle can paint was acrylic based and I didn’t want to play” Russian Roulette “ with whether the Tuff Kote fuel proofer may react. The polyurethane is certainly oil resistant but where the cowl has been splashed with raw fuel near the air vent by filling, there is some very slight surface bubbling after around a dozen flights and Some messy filling. . Given the convenience of polyurethane I would probably use it again . What I’m doing now is connecting a silicone line from the vent back into the fuel can when filling, which prevents messy spray damage.

Edited By Tim Flyer on 01/07/2020 14:02:57

[John Stainforth]

Jon, you definitely should paint up several test pieces for your fuel-proofing. (Klass Kote is a superb paint, but it is very aggressive on almost anything else.) I had four failures with test pieces with my S6b before I found something that worked.

[Martin McIntosh]

A bit late probably but just saw it from another thread. For WW2 finishes I now use Rustins Clear Plastic Floor Coating in satin. My recent Chippy is done with this. About four coats on the cowl area since I am using 20% nitro in the YS. Not perfect but pretty good. It comes with a 250ml can of their proper thinners and a 500ml can is available on ebay. Other than PV67 it is the nearest thing you can buy to Tufkote and the thinners will even restore a brush which has set solid.

[Jon H]

I didnt realise it had been over a year since i updated this..oops. 

 

I have now 'finished' the model and i am just doing the last bits of radio install, adding weight for c/g and waiting for the paint to dry. I shot the model with the guild fuel proofer in the end just for simplicity and i am waiting for it to fully cure. Its been about 2 weeks now i think, but it still smells of paint so more time is needed before i get it all oily. 

 

Its fine though as i needed the time to get the battery in, throttle and the scary part..check the c/g. 

 

A date with the scales reveals a need for just under 2lbs of lead in the cowling and leaves me with a 22lb model all up. This isnt too bad and is better than i was fearing. She is no lightweight, but 22lbs is ok and while it wont have unlimited vertical using the laser 240, the full size didnt either. 

 

I dont expect much from my Hurricanes. As long as they do nice swooping passes with barrel rolls and the odd loop thrown in i am perfectly happy. If i want mental performance and really sharp scale aerobatics i will just fly the Sea Fury. 

 

I hope it will fly this year and 2 club mates have same scale spitfires getting ready to fly. We might have one huge maiden day and get them all done! 

[Steve Dunne]

My 81"/82" Spitfire and Hurricane - 22lbs and 21lb, both fly very well on Laser 180s.

What am I doing wrong?????

 

Steve.

[Jon H]

I thought those two were under 20 i have to confess. As for what you are doing wrong i am not sure you are doing anything wrong, although that H9 Spit at 22lbs is a bit alarming. I expected it to be 18/19. 

 

I think my Hurricane would be much lighter if i had the more up to date built up wing. My wing weights a ton so i can imagine a new build being 20lbs without too much trouble. Not that it matters. With plenty of area 22lbs is hardly a big deal for it but i do wonder how some have made them 30lbs. Did they build with with bricks or something? Who knows. 

[Jon H]

Been quietly working on the Hurricane for a few weeks and today was the day. 

 

To recap a little, the model ended up at 23lbs and the 240v was giving a healthy 8500rpm on an 18x8 menz. I did a ground run last night to get everything set. 

 

So with much trepidation i took it to the field and launched it down the runway. All in all, it could not really have gone any better. My complete guess at an accurate c/g and control throws proved to be correct and apart from a few minor snags the model flew brilliantly. Its extremely stable, rolls beautifully, and has a very confidence inspiring solidity in flight. To my surprise the 240v was more than enough for the 23lb beast and scale Hurricane speeds were achieved at just over half throttle. It loops better than my La7 using the same power plant and prop and yet the la7 is nearly 4lbs lighter. How does that make sense? Fuel consumption for the 240 was good as well with my 6 minute maiden leaving half tanks and my 8 minute 2nd flight leaving barely under half tanks. I will set the timer for 8.30 for total time in the air of 10 mins plus reserve. Total fuel aboard was 22oz. 

 

Anyway i had two good flights and then stopped as i found a number of snags that need to be fixed. 

 

Current snag list includes replacing the undercarriage door that made a bid for freedom, glue the dummy radiator back on as the glue i used is already giving up the ghost, repair the elevator servo mount which cracked for some reason, paint the inside of the flaps as i forgot, and a few other minor items. 

 

All in all very pleased with the model and i hope to get it fixed up and back out next weekend. 

 

 

[Don Fry]

Nice.

 

[Outrunner]

Fantastic!

 

Great photos too, very atmospheric.

 

Those flying shots could be a full size Hurricane