To paint, or not to paint

[elkhart]

Greetings, I'm about to start working on a 900 series Bird Dog. I'd like to fly it, not for competition, just pure enjoyment. I would also like to paint it and detail it to the extent shown in the plan. So, in your experience, will a rubber motor get such a plane off the ground for a 20-30 second flight? Thanks for your help!

[cliffm]

Colored paper is the closest thing to paint if your going for flight!

[elkhart]

True, but in my opinion, it doesn't look as nice as paint. So I guess my question is using colored tissue merely a competitive edge or is painting detrimental to just casual flight?

[NcGunny]

You probably wont notice the weight difference in painted and colored papers. Even with sealer I would be surprised if it was more than 2 grams. Make a few lightning holes and there is your weight diff. Not all colored tissue but most is specialty..for lightness and strength. In my opinion Esaki is the top and all others are just wannabe's.

[backyardbalsapilot]

Easybuilt models has a lot of different tissue colors, should work for your Bird Dog. What sort of color scheme are you going for?

As a really light weight sealer, I like Krylon Cover Maxx glossy clear. It's not fully water proof, but water beads up on it.

If you do paint, make sure to seal the tissue well.

[elkhart]

I want to make it the same color scheme on the box. Maybe I'll try the gray tissue then airbrush a very light coat of gray over that. Thanks for the sealer tip, I'll try it.

[kittyfritters]

If you have an airbrush try opaque acrylic airbrush inks rather than dope or paint. They are very light and already thinned properly for airbrushing. After shrinking the tissue I mist the model, twice, with Krylon #1605, UV resistant, clear fixative then apply a coat of the airbrush ink. The ink carries quite a load of water and the tissue will sag, but returns to proper tightness when dry. Be sure to let each color dry thoroughly before applying the next one or the not completely tight, already painted areas will catch over spray and give you painted on wrinkles.

Examples attached.

"Captured Spitfire" (Yes, I researched this one!) painted with acrylic ink and Testor's Acryl.

[elkhart]

That is awesome, I like the models showing a unique story. Never thought of using ink. My plan was to use water base Polytranspar brand paint. It's typically used by taxidermists, already mixed for fine, detailed airbrush application. I don't do much taxidermy anymore, and I have quite a supply of the stuff!

[Bill Gaylord]

You can't beat airbrushing, regardless of what paint used, when it comes to weight. I've airbrushed a few overall jobs with thinned paints, where I was really concerned with weight. It takes a while to apply an overall finish, but the slow, even application ends up considerably lighter than can spray.

[DenisCullinan]

Would Krylon spray colots be suitable instead of airbrushing? I live in a small apartment and don't have the space for airbrushing (I say nothing about the cost--too high for me), but I could take my models into the backyard and give them a spraying with Krylon.

[backyardbalsapilot]

I'm using krylon to paint an airplane right now, and it can work, you just have to keep a few things I mind:

-you absolutely have to seal the tissue beforehand (I'm not sure if you can use real dope because of the lacquer/enamel thing, but I've read that enamel over lacquer should be fine due to the thinners involved. Lacquer thinners have more "bite" so to speak)

-Krylon will sometimes react with itself in the case of overspray, creating a really ugly texture. When this happens, I usually cut away the affected tissue and start over.

-Details such as stripes or other motifs are much easier to do with colored tissue over tissue, in my opinion.

Hope this helps.