Everyone
wants a glass-smooth surface for painting, but getting one usually
involves a _lot_ of sanding, sanding, SANDING !
I think
sanding is APITA.
One way to achieve a glass-smooth surface
is a fiberglass skin, which is easily made.
All you need is a flat glass surface at least as large as the skin you intend making.
Wax the dickens out of the glass surface; no such thing as too much wax,
and use a good paste wax (not Pledge). Get a good shine going.
Cut the glass cloth (preferrably .58 oz) so it hangs over the glass
work surface on all sides by a couple of inches.
Mix up a batch of your favorite finishing epoxy and thin it with
acetone. Denatured alcohol works too. Don't use isopropyl drug-store
alcohol - it's about 30% water. You want the thinned epoxy 'watery-runny'
so it saturates the glass cloth thoroughly.
Apply the thinned epoxy however you prefer, but a brush works ok if
you're careful not to snag the glass cloth. A small foam paint
roller works well too.
Coat the glass cloth with the
>thinnest< layer of thinned epoxy you can manage, then blot up
the excess with a roll of paper towels.
When the first coat
of epoxy has cured (may take a day or so), apply and blot a second
coat.
When the second epoxy coat is cured, simply lift the
epoxy-fiberglass sheet off the glass work surface and trim the edges
as needed.
You'll find that the underside, that is, the
surface which was against the waxed glass, has a paint-ready
glass-smooth finish.
Bond the fiberglass skin with your
favorite skinning adhesive. The .58 oz cloth/epoxy skin is quite
flexible and will follow most contours (although I haven't tried to
wrap it around a leading edge).
The fiberglass skin is best
suited to finishing wings and fuselages, but the stuff is also thin
enough to scissor up for access hatches and panels if
you're so inclined. |
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