coating plane with minwax questions

[sierra_bravo]

Hi,

I've finished building my ft bloody wonder and i had some questions about coating it with minwax.



how much would minwax weigh
what are the pro and cons
if all the servos are installed could i still coat the plane
how hard is it
can i then paint with normal spray paint


Thanks

 

[Capt_Beavis]

I haven't done this, but it is interesting to me. Have you reviewed the minwax article?

http://flitetest.com/articles/minwax-on-your-plane

 

[abieex]

Its really simple and Ive done several planes with it. Not much weight at all, I really don't see any downside,paint around the servos, very easy. I used an airbrush with water base latex but you can use acrylic. Watch the FT video. Good luck

 

[Bricks]

I have used Shellac in a spray can with great success water proofs and seals the edges very well. Once dry cannot discern any weight gain from it. Can even put tape on the foam and pull the tape up with out wrecking the foam. I have done some fooling with the Shellac and even if puddled on the foam board will not lift the paper.

 

[sierra_bravo]

I Practiced painting on some scratch foam board and the minwax did not chew the foam so hopefully tomorrow i'll paint my plane.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Jaxx]

I have used Shellac in a spray can with great success water proofs and seals the edges very well. Once dry cannot discern any weight gain from it. Can even put tape on the foam and pull the tape up with out wrecking the foam. I have done some fooling with the Shellac and even if puddled on the foam board will not lift the paper.

The Minwax turns the paper into a rigid shell, and that's what I like about it. Does the Shellac spray do the same?

 

[mjmccarron]

The Minwax turns the paper into a rigid shell, and that's what I like about it. Does the Shellac spray do the same?

In my experience, you want to stay away from aerosol products until you have brushed on a coat of min wax. The solvents in the spray will detach the paper from the foam. The brush on method is by far the best. To really make it last, seal the exposed edges of the foam board with either the hot glue method or iron over method. Both have been covered in FT articles.

Mike

 

[Jaxx]

Yeah, I think I'll stick with the Minwax. I really like how tough it makes the models.

 

[Bricks]

In my experience, you want to stay away from aerosol products until you have brushed on a coat of min wax. The solvents in the spray will detach the paper from the foam. The brush on method is by far the best. To really make it last, seal the exposed edges of the foam board with either the hot glue method or iron over method. Both have been covered in FT articles.

Mike

The spray Shellac will not lift the paper or eat the foam even if you soak it, if you use colored packing tape as I do I can pull the tape off the foam with out pulling the paper. Flying in the snow up here if I don`t get a good coating to water proof the plain especially where the flight pod and battery goes in after one take off with the prop kicking up snow into the fuselage won`t be long there will be no plane left. That is where the spray shines I can spray the inside of the fuselage to water proof.

 

[Capt_Beavis]

Bricks, you should consider doing a demo article.

 

[Bricks]

Bricks, you should consider doing a demo article.

I did I will see if I can find the URL and link it here. It was just a few days ago.

It is in the scratch build forum....Another way to water proof foamboard

 

[sierra_bravo]

how long should i let my plane sit after coating before i fly it

 

[JasonEricAnderson]

FYI, my experiences with the poly coating:
http://flitetest.com/articles/polyurethane-treatment-of-dollar-store-foam-core

http://flitetest.com/articles/poly-treatment-and-painting-of-a-nutball

After a year the bare white paper on the foam core does yellow quite a bit. But then, I also still have airframes that are dollar tree foam and are a year old and flyable.

 

[sierra_bravo]

I am going to coat my plane tomorrow(hopefully). Thanks for all the help.
sam

 

[ttprigg]

I intend to try the spray shellac- I like the Minnwax polyurethane however it can be a bit sloppy. I use "latex" gloves and a cheap throwaway brush from Harbor Freight. Brush on to cover everything and then wipe off with a paper towel. When I'm done, every think goes in the garbage... If you've got a friend to help, it works better to tag team the process. I generally let it dry over night... One thing I notice is that it will continue to "off-gas" for a few days. You may get some -push back if you keep them in the living room. definitely a tough surface though.
I've wondered about "pre-treating" the DTFB. Anyone try that?

 

[lazermule]

What I have heard on pretreating the DTFB is that it somewhat prohibits the hot glue from sticking to it. That said, maybe if you were to let it fully cure and then rough up the glue joint areas with a sanding block or scotch brite maybe it would work. Maybe worth a test? I like the minwax finish, seems very durable.

LM

 

[Barron.Barnett]

A word of warning on the Shellac, it DOES lift the paper if you soak it. *Ask me how I know* That storch wing is never going to be quite right.*

Light coats building up seems to be the correct answer.

*I ended up putting it on heavier than I wanted because I couldn't easily see where I had applied from where I hadn't, that is until I fully saturated. After I did that all hell broke loose. I might go the minwax route for round two.

 

[ttprigg]

A word of warning on the Shellac, it DOES lift the paper if you soak it. *Ask me how I know* That storch wing is never going to be quite right.*

Light coats building up seems to be the correct answer.

So, I tried the shellac (Zinsser Bulls Eye) as well. Thankfully, I stopped short of saturated, but I was wondering "how much is enough".
I'm planning to try rattle can over it and I'm wondering if just a single light coat would be "enough".
Any experience?

 

[Barron.Barnett]

After what happened to me my suggestion would be to apply a light single coat. Once it's dry or at least become fairly tacky apply a second coat. Repeat as necessary. Make sure you've got a decent distance between the board and the rattle can to let most of the aerosol dissipate.

I'll be picking up some DTFB and cutting out a new wing at some point. I did order another speed build kit because parts, plus an excuse to order the Guinea! Luckily I hadn't mounted anything in it yet, all I lost was some hot glue, tape, and DTFB.

I'm definitely going the Minwax route for the next one using shellac for those hard to reach spaces. This was my first DTFB build anyway so there were a decent number of learning experiences in there. I wish I could just build and fly but this area is just constantly wet. We had a couple weeks of sun and the ground was still saturated where I fly. I was liking shellac because I can get it everywhere.

 

[pistolpete1982]

When using the minwax, do you also apply it to the poster board canopy? Or just the posterboard?