"Fancherized" Twister build

I don't know that I will use lusterkote on anything I'm masking again. It didn't "break" clean where the tape peels. The paint on the tape stretched to a thin membrane and fell back on the painted surface. Looked a mess.

Jim

JPvelo wrote:I don't know that I will use lusterkote on anything I'm masking again. It didn't "break" clean where the tape peels. The paint on the tape stretched to a thin membrane and fell back on the painted surface. Looked a mess.

Jim

Oh yeah, I see what you're doing now. It definitely would peel off with the tape. I've only ever sprayed the whole finished product after the painting is complete. In fact it's a long time before it completely hardens. When I was making fillets on my LustreKoted stab, I masked it and it peeled a small patch of clear off. Sorry that happened to your beautiful paint job, that really sucks.
Rusty

Allright, reshot the blue using ace hardware house brand rust inhibiting enamel. It looks about 1000 times better. I think I will clear coat with lusterkote clear. What should that process look like? Wet sand the whole thing with 400 or so and then multiple lite coats of clear?

Jim

JPvelo wrote:Allright, reshot the blue using ace hardware house brand rust inhibiting enamel. It looks about 1000 times better. I think I will clear coat with lusterkote clear. What should that process look like? Wet sand the whole thing with 400 or so and then multiple lite coats of clear?

Jim

Here's what I have done successfully, but with no expert training. It worked for me.

Shake the can for 3 minutes as directed, and put it in a pot of hot water. Leave it on low, you don't want it to get too hot to touch, but close. I sometimes also do it in front of a space heater.


If your color is gloss paint,
While it's warming, I would take a lint free rag, t-shirts are good, and dampen it with denatured alcohol and wipe it lightly. That will get any dust and fingerprints off and take a little bit of the glaze away. Don't worry about that. Shake the warm can another 3 minutes and test spray it. With the plane in a warm 70F environment, sweep one even pass of Lustrekote over it from about 16 inches. Takes about 2 seconds. If the wing, stab, etc are in the way you can make another pass along the underside to get it all. try not to tilt the can much while spraying. Wait for it to dry for 30 minutes and do it again. I usually do this three times. If tomorrow, it isn't glassy enough, you can put a heavier coat on by making a couple more slower passes with the hot Lustrekote.

If you used flat paint,
I would pin some 1000 grit paper onto a soft sanding block, spray the paper with water until it's dripping and lightly sand the paint with a circular motion. Be careful not to strip sharp corners. Stop and spray the paper often. This will clean the paper. Also clean the sanding mess off of the plane with a damp towel. One last cleaning with a damp towel, let dry completely and paint as described above.

I hope that works for you, it does for me. If you get too heavy handed it will craze the paint, so you just have to go slow and light.
Rusty

Well, I wanted to maiden this weekend but it has been too windy to shoot in my outdoor paint studio.   This will let the base cure a few more days before I shoot clear. I am off work next Friday so that is my new maiden goal.

Jim

Video please Jim!

Jim, I would also like to add a comment here. While I have never done the Rustoleum paint. I should say I have but very little, one thing I will tell you. When dealing with red and white. I wouldn't sand either of them prior to coating. Reason being is this. Lusterkote in my opinion is not a enamel base paint and therefore is really incompatible. While it does work, it does have a high solvent content which dries fast. Seeing that your in a high temp environment, I would imagine this would work even better for you. However, the paint (clear) is drying as fast as it's hitting the plane. This is going to require wetter coats to obtain a shine. This also traps solvents in the underlying coats which promotes the alligator problem as Rusty mentioned. Compatible paints shouldn't attack one another. If you sand any of the red, regardless of how much you clean the plane prior to spraying, the area where the red meets the white is going to bleed causing a hue of pink between the two colors. Red and white are difficult to paint when next to each other. I generally mask one or the other and spray clear on the one side prior to coating in it's entirety. Just something to think about and be careful with. Ken

Ken,
As always your expertise is appreciated.

Jim

Alright, shot three lite coats of clear. So far so good, no crazing. Will shoot the wet coat Monday, assemble Tuesday.

Jim

Great. If you have any masking tape on it, make sure when you remove it, pull it AWAY from the new coat so it doesn't pick it up.
Rusty

And here she is:




Ran about six ounces of fuel through her on two runs in the back yard. Needle is nice and steady but I'm sure I'll chase it around some until it's run in. I wasn't thinking about spinner to fuse clearance when I drilled the engine mounts. I just pushed the motor all the way back and drilled. Lesson learned. The lusterkote I used said "crystal clear" but it's actually matte, which I actually like enough to do on another build.
I'm meeting the club flight instructor at the field tomorrow, he's bringing his twister so I can fly it first. I've not flown a plane this large before. I will try and remember to get video.

Jim

Jim , if I might make a comment in regards to the muffler. I will tell you this, especially in hotter weather that the stock muffler is going to hurt the run in terms of performance. Some will tell you in regards that performance is increased. I will just say this, internally that muffler has a cone that is doing nothing more than adding weight and causing the engine to run hot. This may work for the R/C boys, but they're not running their engines hard for 5-6 minutes straight dragging lines around. The muffler outlet that you see is even smaller internally within that muffler due to the draft angle when they cast it. Take a close look up inside that muffler. I'm curious to know your findings. Your climate is hotter than mine currently. I just know when were into the mid to high 80's they don't care for the heat. Ken

Ken,

I will ask around and see what others are doing around here. It need be hobby shop has a big box of old mufflers, I'm sure I can find something to modify into a tongue muffler. Thanks for the heads up.

Jim

Jim, I wanted to say this but I didn't. The plane looks spectacular and I wish you the best of luck. Your going to love it, marvelous build and nice finish. Ken

I like it Jim. Hope the maiden goes well.

Well I took the twister on its maiden flight today. Wish I had something exciting to report other than it flew great.  I had to add nose weight and an additional 1/4 oz. tip weight. Insides and outsides are equal, I even got brave and did my trademark big sloppy overhead eight.
 The only problem is the clunk line is a bit short so it chugs and surges for about eight laps while it sucks foam. Up until that point fuel flow is perfect and runs are nice and steady. I'm using a LA .46, Sullivan 6oz clunk tank with uniflow plumbed exhaust pressure. Prop is an APC 11.5x4.
I ran out of storage on my phone so the video cut short but one of the guys I was flying with sat in front of the camera so there wouldn't have been much to see anyway. My next project is to make a stooge, I will get video then.

Thanks for reading,

Jim

I would like to add that if I build anything bigger I will need a bigger car:

    

Jim

Kudos Jim.
How could an aircraft that looks so good, not fly well?
Glad you didn't find out(humor).
Congrats on the maiden. Happy for ya.
  
Bob

Fantastic Jim!

How did you like the pull?   

My Cardinal barely fits into my pickup. Floor to ceiling and door to door! I need to put a tonneau on the bed so I can have more room.

Thanks guys.
Ron, the pull was crazy! You can really feel it in your shoulder. I shellacked and sanded and re shellacked my handle. It's real pretty but it's also real slick. I think I will wrap the grip in cotton tape so the plane doesn't pull it out of my castor coated hand.

Jim

JPvelo wrote:...Wish I had something exciting to report other than it flew great....The only problem is the clunk line is a bit short so it chugs and surges for about eight laps while it sucks foam....
Jim

Say What! That's more exciting than Shoulda known it was gonna cut off and bonked it anyway. It's exciting that it flew great with minor trimming. Hey, I like 8 laps a whole lot better than neatly cutting off like a switch in the second corner of an OH8.

And I have that car problem too. The Oriental might fit with some effort. But the Magnum... hmmm, I'm not so sure.
Good going.
Rusty

Rusty,
Put the Magnum on a roof rack and keep it under 55 on the way to the field.