Heat and humidity slow down paint dry times here in the South.
While the main body white looks dry I'll play it safe and give it a few more days before masking and spraying the aluminum paint.
I only had one small concern on the wrap.
Look just to the right of the tunnel and there is a very slight lift of the the wrap and the card stock strip underneath.
Here's another example of why the finger tab extension should be cut off. If the tab were still extending out the back the model wouldn't stand on it's fins!
As we talked about on Saturday, my wrap has lifted some, also, only much more than yours. With the loss of the nozzles and the fin gluing fiasco, I'm not likely to try and fix it. I'll probably just build another at some point, after the Semroc Saturn 1B and Estes Saturn V.
ReplyDeleteWhat brand of paint are you using for this build? Over at TRF I've seen some used Testers and others used Tamiya. I've never used Tamiya but I think that's what I'm going to use on my build.
ReplyDeleteHi Eddie,
DeleteI'm using the Rustoleum 2X paint. I have occasional problems with it. I do re-coats after waiting five minutes. But if you have to stop painting to smooth sand you'd better wait four or five days to be sure it is fully dry before re-coats.
I haven't used Tamiya paint but have had great results using the little Testor's cans. Those small cans cover more than you'd think!
I have built/painted a lot of rockets/models over the years and generally settle on the following approach. I first prime most surfaces that need it, then lay a couple coats of acrylic down (like the Rustoleum 2X), dry thoroughly (sand between coats) then finish off with a layer of enamel (such the small Testors cans). The acrylic covers quickly and is very easy to work with, so it gives a nice base coat. The enamel is not easy to work with, but leaves you with a beautiful finish and it is hard a a rock. It is actually difficult to sand. Acrylic is super easy to sand (watch out, very easy to sand it off, even with 400 grit). The other big downside to the enamel is that is takes a long time to cure - give it days.
DeleteI don't recommend going the other way (acrylic over enamel) - you can do it, but you need to give them enamel a good week to cure and off-gas and the acrylic on top is much "softer", so you will eventually get peeling.
Hi Eric,
DeleteI do agree, acrylic is much softer than an enamel finish. Acrylics aren't good in Florida humidity, a clear coat gets very sticky, you can pick up dirt and oils from handling.