Estes Citation Patriot, #000652 Build, Part 7, Paint and Masking

Earlier on, the main BT-60 tube seams were filled with CWF and a shot of filler/primer. The seams were filled.

The picture shows the tube after light sanding of the first white coat.
On this tube there were secondary seams underneath the glassine layer. They aren't as deep but wider than the normal tube seams.
I probably could have filled them with a few more applications of filler/primer but thought they wouldn't be noticeable with all the big decals. 

One fin and the nose cone are painted gloss black.

TIP: To fit the decal layout, make the black fin opposite the launch lug line.




Many small pieces of Scotch tape were used to mask around the rounded leading edge of the fin.


TIP: Don't wait until the paint is dry to remove the mask. You should get a sharper mask line by removing the tape while the paint is still gummy.


TIP: Before the paint sets - 
If the mask isn't perfect (with very small bits over the mask line) you can "push and roll" the paint edge back against itself with the flat side of your knife. No scraping of the knife is needed.

Here's a pretty good mask over the rounded leading edge joint. It's not perfect but good enough.

Above the fin tip is a slight black over spray. It'll be removed in the next post.

In the picture the upper part of the tube shows one of the secondary "recess" seams. The normal seams were filled with CWF and primer/filler.