So we have before us a well sanded fuselage all ready for the final touches,now before you go and grab that roll of heatshrink think about the beautiful finishes that you have seen on models that look like metal ! there is no short cut to a well finished model it is labour intensive but the rewards are great.Take the fuselage and hold it up to the light,see if you can spot any blemishes,I bet that you can no matter how careful you were with the planks,we have a couple of options of which the modern version is lighter,firstly you could make your own wood filler by adding talcum powder to a quantity of clear dope,add just a smidgin of castor oil in order to flex the finish and stop it becoming brittle and with a wide mop brush work from one end to the other,allow this to dry out overnight and with some flour paper sand it right down,the alternative is to buy some ready mixed micro balloons and with a plastic scraper coat the whole lot with a thin with a thin layer,dont worry after it dries you just go outside and sand down the whole lot using a mask as the dust is lethal to your lungs.In either cases you should now have a really smooth surface that is all ready for the next stage.
For this operation we will need a scent spray filled with water,some lightweight wet strengthened tissue ( your model shop will probaby not bother stocking this these days but there are outlets on the internet such as SAM'S who sell it cheaply ) and either thinned clear dope or a bottle of clear acrylic obtainable from art shops,you could even use thinned down PVA adhesive,it does not matter as long as it sinks through the surface of the tissue,take some strips of the tissue the full length of the fuselage and place a single piece against the surface,take a loaded mop brush and just push this through the membrane of the tissue from the centre and work outwards,give this a quick spray with water and with a lint free cloth press gently and smooth out the tissue at the same time,it will look all icky and gooey but dont worry it will dry out fine,keep going until you get to the stage where it becomes impossible to work because you cannot hold the part,for this I sometimes make up a simple type of spit whereby a piece of wire is driven in each end,this then rests into two blocks of wood and all that you do is to turn the fuselage around in order to work on it.When this lot is dry carefully inspect it for blemishes or areas that you have missed,if necessary carry on with the process until you are entirely satisfied that everything is covered to your satisfaction and sand lightly between coats.
Another coat can now be applied which should give a really first class sealed surface to stop any ingress of fuel or oil when finally fuel proofed,if you are using an IC engine,the tissue combined with the application of either dope or acrylic assures a sealed surface that knits the grain of the wood together.
By the way this is virtually the same process as planking a boat or ship hull so if your interests are maritime then I am sure that you could adapt it to suit and George on the boats will assist you.
Finally paint can be applied and for this I personally nip down to Halfords with a paint chip,get them to mix it up and put it into a couple of spray cans,the results are just great,pick a warm day and give a couple of finely diffused coats keeping the final one wet at the edges,the paint will flow nicely and dry to a good finish,they will even mix up those awkward camouflage shades impossible to get in standard spray cans.
You can bet that the finishing will take as long as the model took to build but who cares ? the final result is what matters to your own personal standards of finish.
I have no doubt that the latest polyvinyl acetate based substitutes for fibreglass and the new tissue cloths would well with this system as well,as yet I have not tried them personally but intend to in the future when they become more widely available.
This sytem above is for those that want to get the best from a sealed wood finish,looked after and barring crashes your models will last for years.
For this operation we will need a scent spray filled with water,some lightweight wet strengthened tissue ( your model shop will probaby not bother stocking this these days but there are outlets on the internet such as SAM'S who sell it cheaply ) and either thinned clear dope or a bottle of clear acrylic obtainable from art shops,you could even use thinned down PVA adhesive,it does not matter as long as it sinks through the surface of the tissue,take some strips of the tissue the full length of the fuselage and place a single piece against the surface,take a loaded mop brush and just push this through the membrane of the tissue from the centre and work outwards,give this a quick spray with water and with a lint free cloth press gently and smooth out the tissue at the same time,it will look all icky and gooey but dont worry it will dry out fine,keep going until you get to the stage where it becomes impossible to work because you cannot hold the part,for this I sometimes make up a simple type of spit whereby a piece of wire is driven in each end,this then rests into two blocks of wood and all that you do is to turn the fuselage around in order to work on it.When this lot is dry carefully inspect it for blemishes or areas that you have missed,if necessary carry on with the process until you are entirely satisfied that everything is covered to your satisfaction and sand lightly between coats.
Another coat can now be applied which should give a really first class sealed surface to stop any ingress of fuel or oil when finally fuel proofed,if you are using an IC engine,the tissue combined with the application of either dope or acrylic assures a sealed surface that knits the grain of the wood together.
By the way this is virtually the same process as planking a boat or ship hull so if your interests are maritime then I am sure that you could adapt it to suit and George on the boats will assist you.
Finally paint can be applied and for this I personally nip down to Halfords with a paint chip,get them to mix it up and put it into a couple of spray cans,the results are just great,pick a warm day and give a couple of finely diffused coats keeping the final one wet at the edges,the paint will flow nicely and dry to a good finish,they will even mix up those awkward camouflage shades impossible to get in standard spray cans.
You can bet that the finishing will take as long as the model took to build but who cares ? the final result is what matters to your own personal standards of finish.
I have no doubt that the latest polyvinyl acetate based substitutes for fibreglass and the new tissue cloths would well with this system as well,as yet I have not tried them personally but intend to in the future when they become more widely available.
This sytem above is for those that want to get the best from a sealed wood finish,looked after and barring crashes your models will last for years.