Waterproof Your Airplane

[fliteadmin]

Peter developed a cool way to waterproof your foam board airplane.
You might have seen the results of this technique in our Planes: Fire Rescue episode.

The coating will vary in smoothness based on how many coats you apply and how much sanding you do.

You'll need Water Based Minwax Polycrylic, Brown Kraft paper, and Baby powder.

The key ingredient to this trick is Water Based Minwax Polycrylic.

Cut the paper to size and coat it with the Water Based Minwax Polycrylic before applying to your airplane.

Also, brush on the Polycrylic to the fuselage of your foam board airplane.

The each coat dry and sand with 220 grit sandpaper.

Peter recommends that you only use this technique on the fuselage of your airplane, not on the wings.

Adding some baby powder with a 1 to 1 ratio to your Polycrylic will give you a nice sand'able coating.

Be sure to share your tips!!

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

Looking forward to the goose. Hope my Drake flies similar.

 

[HilldaFlyer]

Peter, Great information, I can tell you have a ton of experience with this technique. I have several questions that you probably have answered in your quest for coating foam.
1) Have you tried to recover the foam board before cutting out the plane? Or after you cut it out but before hot gluing? If so, what happens?
2) If you only cover one side does the foam warp/curve?
3) You mention not to do this on wings. Why not? How do you cover wings?
Thanks -

 

[Thorsclaw]

Another great way to waterproof your plane is to use regular house paint. Either water or oil based does the same but if you are using water based you need to use very light coats or the paper will de-laminate. I recommend using the water based because clean up is ridiculously easy.

 

[snoopy_wannabe]

How does the water based Polycrylic compare to the oil based Polyurethane that is recommended in the "Minwax on Your Plane" video? The Polycrylic and paper technique seems a lot more labor intensive. Is the purpose just to get a better finish or does it add more durability than the polyurethane?

 

[Yogenh1]

Could you just do this to the paper that is on the foam? If you can it would save time.

 

[rcspaceflight]

Could you just do this to the paper that is on the foam? If you can it would save time.

I could be wrong, but the paper on the DTFB isn't very good and I'm guessing it's going to be impossible to line it up again. Maybe if you removed the paper, cut out the plane, glued it together, and then used this method to get the paper back on, then it would be a lot easier and cheaper.

 

[Jaxx]

I could be wrong, but the paper on the DTFB isn't very good and I'm guessing it's going to be impossible to line it up again. Maybe if you removed the paper, cut out the plane, glued it together, and then used this method to get the paper back on, then it would be a lot easier and cheaper.

The only problem with removing the paper before building is that the form may warp without the support of the paper.

 

[Deanwvu]

So, this method is not to be used with wings? Why not? If it can be used on the fuselage only, I assume it cannot be used at all on flying wings?

Also, is there a way to apply this that still makes the foam plane more or less translucent? Here is my use case:

I just built a Kraken, and I applied LED lights to the interior as Flite Test showed us on another video.

SO, I'd like to fly my Kraken, on occasion, in less-than-dry weather, which I am sure would wreck the foam board paper without treatment.

I'd like to:

1. Waterproof (or at least, water-resist) my Kraken.
2. Still have the wing translucent enough for the LED lights on the inside to be clearly visible

Any thoughts?

 

[mikemacwillie]

I'd bet if you used a white-ish paper instead of the brown kraft paper, you'd have the results you're looking for. You could also go for the oil based Minwax polyurethane right over the paper already on the foam board.

 

[Deanwvu]

I'd bet if you used a white-ish paper instead of the brown kraft paper, you'd have the results you're looking for. You could also go for the oil based Minwax polyurethane right over the paper already on the foam board.

Has anyone done this before? I could do a test run on some scrap foam. Will this not degrade the paper or the foam of the board?

 

[mikemacwillie]

The oil based polyurethane over the Adam's paper has been done many times. There's a FT video called 'Minwax Your Plane' that covers it.

 

[menachg]

does anybody know if the polycrylic paint will insulate electronic components like the esc or battery from shortening? i think that if some body fly in actual rain it would be nice to have the extra barrier on electric parts themselves if some water slips in!

 

[tjmartin]

does anybody know if the polycrylic paint will insulate electronic components like the esc or battery from shortening? i think that if some body fly in actual rain it would be nice to have the extra barrier on electric parts themselves if some water slips in!

Supposedly Red Varnish works well. My dad just did his esc's and electronics and it turned out well as far as coating. He has not had the chance to test it yet. I believe he bought his through Grainger.

 

[Jeffagain]

A model shop here in London UK sells Aluminum clad foamboard I was thinking it would look cool having a shiny metal plane, especially as they mention that part cut through the foil makes a good hinge. $25 a sheet though and I dont know the weight penalty.

I was also wondering about the colored packing tape, which I thought I saw used on a wing, is that possibly waterproof or maybe there a reason its not too good to use. Local craft shop has that in all sorts of colors, patterns, and metallics.

Apologies if its existing knowledge, completely new here.

 

[rcspaceflight]

A model shop here in London UK sells Aluminum clad foamboard I was thinking it would look cool having a shiny metal plane, especially as they mention that part cut through the foil makes a good hinge. $25 a sheet though and I dont know the weight penalty.

I was also wondering about the colored packing tape, which I thought I saw used on a wing, is that possibly waterproof or maybe there a reason its not too good to use. Local craft shop has that in all sorts of colors, patterns, and metallics.

Apologies if its existing knowledge, completely new here.

The aluminum clad foamboard is likely very heavy and radio waves can't pass threw it. Even if you have your receiver on the outside of the plane, you're still going to get dead zones when the plane is between receiver and transmitter.

Foamboard wrapped in colored packing tape is water proof. Especially if you remove any paper first. Foamboard wrapped with packing tape actually weighs about the same as foamboard with the paper still on it.

 

[planeboy]

Can you do this with drones

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

If by drone you mean FPV platform, then it depends. A versa wing could probably be done like this to make it more rigid and waterproof, but you couldn't really make it work for a tri/quad copter.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Andy.T.]

If by drone you mean FPV platform, then it depends. A versa wing could probably be done like this to make it more rigid and waterproof, but you couldn't really make it work for a tri/quad copter.

Welcome to the forums!

I hope you're still around on the forums; I love the name...and have always loved bi-planes. As a kid, in the late 80s or early 90s, I almost got to ride in a Christen Eagle. Was at an airshow with my Cub Scout troop; we were offered, but couldn't because of stupid BSA insurance (the plane was classified as an experimental aircraft; lame buzz-kill lawyers and frivolous lawsuit scumbags). But my older sister who was with us got to go for a ride!