Varnish

[tiny-james]

I have been told to varnish my new plane when I get it to seal it from water.

 

Does it matter what Viarnish I use? I have Acrylic Varnish that is water based can this be used. 

 

I have just seen in RCM&E a sealing and protector Varnish is this what I need to use. 

[Nigel R]

What plane are you asking about?

 

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Methanol, patrol or electric, is it a seaplane ?.

[GrumpyGnome]

If it's foam, any water-based varnish will offer as much protection as the 'specialist' products (not a great deal of protection tbh!}.... can't imagine what else you'd have that needs varnish. 

 

I think my pots are all from pound shops - gloss, matt and a sort of in-between.

[tiny-james]

Sorry yes 

Phoenix s 1600 foam

Riot trainner foam 

[David Davis 2]

Electric foamies are not really my thing though i have owned a couple of Foam-E WOT 4s and an Acrowot. I never applied any sort of varnish to any of them and they flew quite satisfactorily. I cannot see why you'd need to apply varnish to an electric foamy.

 

I do apply exterior grade polyurethane varnish to the engine and tank bays of my i/c powered models to prevent the glow fuel going into the glue joints and weakening them.

[SIMON CRAGG]

I use a polyurethane gloss varnish on my Tundra seaplane, purchased from Screwfix.

 

Model still looks pristine after a lot of flying of a lake.

 

Same as Grumpy Gnome, No need to spend a fortune on specialist "varnish" IMHO.

[tiny-james]

So at video point 105 there is wire skid protetors will I need these adding to my Glider (grass airfield) and if so what is the shape of the wire under the foam to stop it spinning over

 

 

[EarlyBird]

He looks like a novice to me.

 

The wire on the wing tips is to stop damage when landing on hard surfaces, on grass they are not needed.

 

Steve

[tiny-james]

 

Steve thanks for the advice yes he is a beginner/novice if you watch the video longer he goes FVP to fly and sprays black stripe on the underside of one wing

[Engine Doctor]

I painted a Kyosho T33 with artists acrylic , water based , paint years ago then sealed it with a coat of Ronseal water bashed varnish. This kept the paint looking fresh and bright up to it's demise nearly 10 years later due to a servo failure. 

Only downside to the Ronseal varnish is that it feels slightly sticky on damp evenings but this never affected its finish.

The T33 was made of expanded polystyrene so using other paints like auto acrylic was a no go. Most modern models are made from expanded polypropylene , a much tougher material that takes other paints without dissolving .

Always test paint on a small area first....just in case.

 

[GrumpyGnome]

The other advantage I found is that in the damp, models painted with varnish do not get a 'bloom' - ones painted with a 'specialist' product do get a 'bloom'......

 

Gloss also makes my little Arrows Hawk look soooooo much better.

 

And to mirror other people's comments, no, you don't need to add skids etc. to your Phoenix.

[EarlyBird]

22 minutes ago, tiny-james said:

 

Steve thanks for the advice yes he is a beginner/novice if you watch the video longer he goes FVP to fly and sprays black stripe on the underside of one wing

What makes you think he is a novice?

IMO an expert's gives better advice.

 

 

[EarlyBird]

and

 

 

[Andy Stephenson]

To answer the OP's question, there is a product made specially for treating foam...

 

Foam Armour

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Andy Stephenson

[GrumpyGnome]

14 minutes ago, Andy Stephenson said:

To answer the OP's question, there is a product made specially for treating foam...

 

Foam Armour

 

 

That's the stuff that blooms in the damp, and is no tougher than pound-a-tin wood varnish, in my view.

[Shaun Walsh]

I didn't bother varnishing my Riot, it's still fine, not like new but OK. One thing I did find was that the wheels are in line with the wing servos so if it's wet the servos get covered in spray from the wheels. I covered the servos with gaffer tape to keep the worst of the water off. A more elegant solution would be to use moulded servo covers. 

[GrumpyGnome]

Hooefully  your Riot isn't a belly lander 😁

[Shaun Walsh]

35 minutes ago, GrumpyGnome said:

Hooefully  your Riot isn't a belly lander 😁

I do have a large belly but not big enough to land a model on.🤣

[Erfolg]

As others I have coated many of my models using WVP (Water Based Varnish).

 

I have used it purely as a coating also as a laminating resin. Although mostly  used as an adhesive for Glass cloth. As a product type it/they work well. On cloth multiple coatings are normal.

 

I have used a number of different products, Aski (a flooring trade product), Ronseal Hard Glaze, Wickes WBV, a few I have now wiped from memory (although OK). The trade product was by far the hardest, and fast drying (designed for high foot traffic areas) and trade people do not want to hang about. The Hard Glaze is harder than most of the other home use products, although far more expensive. At the end of the day they were all fine for my purposes.