Matt fuel proofer

[Jon H]

I have tried to spray a number of the solarlac range of paints. The red was the worst, clearcoat next, then silver, then the cream wasnt too bad. Admittedly its possible my airbrush is not up to the task, but it managed everything else and each was sprayed in the same way, same equipment etc. The issue i had was that the paint 'dried' in the time it took to travel from the gun to the model. Even in cold weather, i would get the overspray in the atmosphere turning into giant floating blobs of candyfloss. Just weird. 

 

As for solarfilm, if they wont actually send you anything then they might as well be dead and buried. Certainly i was under the impression that the current site was just selling off the last of their stocks and no more was being manufactured. It seems strange to keep making the stuff if you arent going to send it to anyone, how does that work? I doubt many of my customers would bother if they had to arrange their own postage. I cant get my head around that. 

[dave windymiller]

You can get quite a good matt finish with aerokote by spraying on a very fine misting layer as a final coat!

[Ron Gray]

When I sprayed my LA-7 with Clearcoat I decided to try an inexpensive spray gun (recommended by Klasscoat!) rather than using my more expensive compressor / air brush / spray gun equipment, it is the Preval sprayer which runs off disposable compressed air 'bottles'. Half expecting it to be a flop I was pleasantly surprised at the results, it had no problem spraying Clearcoat and one compressed air bottle was sufficient to give the model 2 + coats plus several coats around the cowl. That was with the warmer weather of last summer but I used it again last December to spray the wing of the Spatman plus, as I had some thinned Clearcoat left I also sprayed the Radjet (finished with acrylic paint on lam film on foam). In both cases it sprayed on without any problems proving that you don't need any fancy equipment to spray Clearcoat.

 

When I spoke to Andrew at Solarfilm he said that they had supplies of both Clearcoat and Solarlac but he wouldn't sell me the recipe (I did ask!).

 

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Ron Gray

[Engine Doctor]

Matt enamels like Humbrol when fully cured will accept fuel proofers like Clearcote , Aerocote etc that have an agressive thinner and  can be sprayed over said enamels but don't spray a wet on wet coat . A light coat followed by a wet coat is enough . Gloss enamel NC Humbrol will always pickle IME so I won't use it on anything other than diesel powered models. I can't comment on flair or their latest incarnation s as haven't used them with fuel proofing over coat.

I built a glow powered ME 109 Funfighter around 15 years ago and was flown a few times a year . Fuel was either 10% or 20%  fully synthetic depending what we in the flight box on the day .That was sold last year and paint was still very good even around the engine bay That was Matt enamel brushed and left a couple of weeks to cure then sprayed  with Tough coat or Aerocote ,can't remember but very similar products. Most fully cured enamels give a reasonable fuel resistance but not always fuel proofing . The best single pack proper fuel proofer by far IMO is Clearcoat by Solarfilm . As said it's still available but you either have to collect or arrange collection. It dries to a semi gloss but a matting addictive is available.

Look on Solarfilmsales.co.uk  The Solarlac coloured enamels are not quite as fuel proof, more fuel resistant.

I hope he doesn't take the recipe to grave with him or just lock it away when he packs up .  Well done Ron for asking him.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Engine Doctor

[Lima Hotel Foxtrot]

On 26/02/2021 at 18:49, Ron Gray said:

Just to clear the Clearcoat situation up. Solarfilm are still in existence, they haven’t gone bust and that is where you will get Clearcoat from. They will not deliver do you have to make your own arrangements for collection. 

That is an INSANE business practice. I looked at the website and it's as if they don't want the business.

[Ron Gray]

I think it’s fair to say that rather than just close their doors, they are running the business down until all stock has gone. Certainly that’s what’s happening with the Solarfilm and similar iron on materials, once stock has gone, it’s gone. Now I don’t know if the same is true regarding Clearcoat as I think that is produced for them ( just a guess) but Andrew certainly gave me the impression that there was plenty of stock and he didn’t mind me broadcasting that fact here on the forum.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

On 26/02/2021 at 19:59, Jon - Laser Engines said:

 Even in cold weather, i would get the overspray in the atmosphere turning into giant floating blobs of candyfloss. Just weird.

I've seen that effect with incompatible thinners.

[Martin McIntosh]

I have posted this elsewhere on here but for i/c warbirds I now use Rustin`s Clear Plastic Floor Coating in satin. Don`t try to use it neat because it dries before you can brush it out, but used with a little of the supplied thinners, (also available separately in 500ml tins) it brushes on easily with no brush marks. The thinners will also clean up a fully hardened brush if need be. My new Chippy is done with this: I put four or five coats on the cowl but only two on the fus. so have a bit of bubbling at the overlap, probably because I was a bit too hasty to run the motor (20% nitro).

For a gloss finish I use Sadolin PV67 which is very similar.

For an electric model you cannot beat Dulux Diamond Glaze which is water based.

 

Jon, If you want to try the Rustin`s just pm me and you can get some of mine because I have loads left.

 

[Jon H]

1 hour ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

I've seen that effect with incompatible thinners.

 

I was using their own brand thinner! 

 

Martin, thanks for that. I might give it a go on the next one. Assuming there is a next one in the near future, i am rather short of room

[Nick Somerville]

I used Klasskote on my P47. This was my first go at spraying with a compressor and spotting gun as have always used rattle cans previously. I cut my teeth spraying the primer coats and So had a reasonable feel once starting on the KK. Expensive as it is it has rich pigmentation so a little goes a long way. I did the olive and grey using a matt catalyst and then airbrushed the insignia, registrations and nose art using SMS Modellers acrylic lacquer. Also highly pigmented and ready to spray from the bottle. Brilliant stuff.  I then needed to fuel proof the acrylic areas so chose to give the entire model a clear satin Klasskote top coat. Following Phil’s advice a few mist coats over the acrylic allowed to harden for an hour before the final spray and the SMS didn’t blink.  Will definitely be my choice of paints again next time.

klasskote is expensive but on a good model is a worthwhile investment. I have more than enough satin and matt catalyst and reducer  for my next model and enough Olive drab and Grey too should I choose to build another USAF aircraft.

[Ron Gray]

@Jon - Laser EnginesThe thinners could be out of date. I had this happen me when I was spraying a front skirt for my VW camper and I suddenly had floss and lumps all over it ruing the finish. I had to let it dry then rub it all down again. I spoke to the supplier and he sent some more that was in date together with some more paint to compensate! Second application went on fine.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Ron Gray

[Andrew Calcutt]

I use ronseal hard glaze it comes gloss or satin,it seems to cover any paint finish enamel or acrylic.Dries pretty quick,you can get it at b&q etc.

[Scott Edwards 2]

Having had so many problems with incompatible paint combinations, poor adhesion, and fuelproofer that isn't fuelproof - I've now switched to automotive paint. Cellulose filler primer, then automotive basecoat for colour and insignia. Topcoat is a two pack lacquer. 

 

The basecoat I use is the Nexa brand (ICI) and then Max Meyer lacquer in semi gloss on top. It's totally fuelproof, and as tough as the stuff on your car doors. A paint vendor can make any colour you fancy.

 

The downside - you can't buy less than 500ml of paint, and a gallon of laquer, but it does last and is far cheaper per CC than Klass Kote. The pigment is too big for an airbrush, so you need a compressor and a simple spray gun. You also MUST have a decent mask.

 

The laquer can be brushed too, so I mix small quantities and use that for fuel bays and firewalls. It's the mutts nuts.

[Andy Stephenson]

I just looked at some of the Nexa brand products but there is a bewildering array of components like adjusters, flip controller and air dry low-break hardener. The trouble is where to start with these complicated automotive products, give me the old dupli-colour spray can any day.

[Nigel R]

22 hours ago, Martin McIntosh said:

Rustin`s Clear Plastic Floor Coating in satin

 

I've tried (but mainly thanks to lockdown, not in anger enough to confirm its durability) 'normal' gloss Rustins Plastikote - certainly smells like the older 2 pack proofers, and seems to dry very hard too. 

 

[Martin McIntosh]

I am pretty sure that the Rustin`s and Sadolin products are as near as you can get to Furniglass (Tufkote). On the plus side, the latter at least can be stored mixed. I left some in the freezer for quite a while but it is now out of there and still fine to use.

[cymaz]

[Martin McIntosh]

Unfortunately all the sites listing `tex, Solarlac etc are sold out unless you wish to do all of your models in purple or similar!

[Scott Edwards 2]

20 hours ago, Andy Stephenson said:

I just looked at some of the Nexa brand products but there is a bewildering array of components like adjusters, flip controller and air dry low-break hardener. The trouble is where to start with these complicated automotive products, give me the old dupli-colour spray can any day.

 

Yeah, professional paint systems are mind bogglingly complex, completely beyond me too ☹️

 

I can certainly say what products were recommended for me by a painting Pro though, and work fabulously:

 

Nexa Autocolour Basecoat.

 

Max Meyer 0200 for gloss lacquer, with Max Meyer 8000 hardener.

 

Max Meyer 0750 for semi-gloss, with Max Meyer 8000 hardener.

 

Thinners for all the above - Max Meyer 4310 Universal 2K Thinners.

 

For spraying I use a cheap HVLP gravity fed touch-up gun (£20 or so) and a 24 litre 9.6 CFM compressor from SGS (£95). Spraying large glow models is a monumental pain in the butt and I hate it. It's a necessary evil to though.

 

[Andy Stephenson]

Scott,

 

Many thanks, it's always good to get some expert inside knowledge.

 

A.

[Jon H]

Scott, is that gloss lacquer clear or does it dry with a yellow tint? Also does it dry rock hard pretty quickly? I ask as the acrylic lacquer i have used on my recent guitar build seems to need months to dry. After 2 weeks its dry, but if you dig your finger nail into it, or even leave the guitar resting on a textured surface, you are left with an impression. This means i cant play the bleedin thing so for the next one i want something that will actually go rock hard within a few days. 

[Scott Edwards 2]

3 hours ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

Scott, is that gloss lacquer clear or does it dry with a yellow tint? Also does it dry rock hard pretty quickly? I ask as the acrylic lacquer i have used on my recent guitar build seems to need months to dry. After 2 weeks its dry, but if you dig your finger nail into it, or even leave the guitar resting on a textured surface, you are left with an impression. This means i cant play the bleedin thing so for the next one i want something that will actually go rock hard within a few days. 

 

This stuff is well 'ard mate. Designed for the motor industry which wants to get jobs through as fast as possible. It dries very quickly, and fully cures within 24 hours at a guess. 

 

I've never noticed any tint, but if you leave a mixed pot to cure, the gloss goes very fractionally brown, and the semi-gloss goes cloudy. No idea why, but I've never noticed it on a model.