Solly Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I am just finishing a Short Seamew scratch-built model, and have covered it with nylon, using Balsaloc to tack it in place round the edges. This was sealed with 2 coats full strength shrinking dope and 2 thinned coats of non-shrinking dope. Fighter Aces paint was then applies by brush, and all looked well. After 5 days, some of the areas where Balsaloc had been used popped up in a series of bubbles and ridges. At the moment I am ironing these down, which of course removes the paint!, and bringing the surface back with grey primer and wet&dry before re- painting. The only cause of this I can think of is that both Balsloc and the paint are water-based, and some kind of reaction is occurring. I have used this excellent paint in the past with good results, but not with Balsaloc. Anyone else had this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy watson Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 This is a strange one, as surely the 4 coats of dope completely seal off the balsaloc from the paint? The guy that runs/distributes the paint is very active on another forum that has been down recently, but is now working again.......... I'm sure he will be happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Hi Andy. I have spoken to Phil at Fighter Aces and he is as mystified as I am! He certainly has not heard of this problem before. The frustating thing is that as the days go by, more bubbles appear. I can only hope that they eventually stop, otherwise it means stripping the model and starting again. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonSpencerUK Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Hi All Not really on subject I know, but can you point me to where I can get Fighteraces paint? I've tried googling, but with no luck. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Ron. you can contact Phil at [email protected] or tel. 0191 3883815 Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonSpencerUK Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Cheers Gordon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Whiting Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Gordon, It's been years since I have bothered to used slik and nylon , but never ever used Balsaloc. I'm sure Balsaloc and dope are inconpatible. My covering was immersed in warm water, excess water was removed, then draped over the pretreated airframe and doped on. It dried tight but cloudy, but that was no problem as it was painted These days If I want a fabric look of a WW1 I use Solartex. This last weekend (13-14 June) at RAF Halton was a meet of DH Moths, a mixed bag of 40 + beautiful Moths. Many had fantasic paint finishes, so good was the finish, you would never believe they were fabric. Edited By Terry Whiting on 16/06/2009 08:07:59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 Hi Terry, thanks for the comment. I suppose it could be the dope/balsaloc combination that's causing the problem. It's just that all was well until I applied the paint. Actually over the past week the problem has considerably worsened and I have now stripped all the covering off down to the bare wood and am about to start again, but without any balsaloc. You can imagine how I felt as all the decals and lettering were in place! Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowerman Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 What a sad tale, all that work and material gone to waste Just a thought how will you be sure that all the balsalock is removed before re covering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I don't know much about this paint but I would think that Balsaloc is pretty inert (I've always suspected it to be a very expensive way of buying PVA) but that's not the case with dope. I wonder whether it's the dope thinners maybe still coming off in small quantities that are reacting with the paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Thanks for the replies. I am covering the airframe firstly with dope and tissue to get a good seal, then using doping nylon on top before painting. I have covered previous models using dope and Fighter Aces paint without any problems, this is why I suspect the Balsaloc as being the culprit, especially as the bubbling only occurred on the areas which had Balsaloc applied. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walts Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 When I covered the tail surfaces of the Warbirds Hurricane with sig koverall I initially used balsa loc to fix the fabric, then doped over it. The dope immediately started to 'eat' the balsa loc and the fabric started coming lose! so I doped it all on, sealed it with a few coats of 50/50 dope and it took the WBC paint no trouble. I would suspect that the dope had done the initial damage, but you appeared to have got away with it until the fabric was wetted out again with the water based WBC paint, as that dried off it must have slightly shrunk the fabric and started to lift it from the dissolved balsa loc. Really I'd say that balsa loc is only really suitable for putting on coverings that are water tight to start with......Lite span etc. then anything that is applied to the surface doesn't actually get to the sealed in balsa loc. Walts. Edited By Walts on 02/07/2009 17:17:43 Edited By Walts on 02/07/2009 17:18:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Thanks Walt. I'll keep you posted when I get to the painting stage, --again! Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solly Posted December 26, 2009 Author Share Posted December 26, 2009 Happy to report that the model is re-covered in Sig Coverall ( using dope NOT Balsaloc) and painted with no signs of lifting. Oh Joy. I don't suppose I'll ever find out what really happened but I know what to avoid in future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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