I recently got back into flying after a decade off and decided to get my UFO of the ceiling of the garage and get it flying again. I plan on totally disassembling the airplane and cleaning rebuilding or replacing all the deteriorated pieces.
Let me start by saying for as long as I have owned it, I thought it was a Dirty Birdy. Then while looking at a thread on this forum I started to wonder. I posted a few pics on the forum and several people identified it as a UFO.
I bought the airplane by chance when a friend asked me to go with him to look at a used airplane. The minute I saw it I was in love, my friend was not, so I struck a deal. The owner told me it was a Dirty Birdy, but he did not build it so I guess he didn't know it was a UFO.
I bought it in the mid 90's and it was vintage then. As for as I could tell it had never been started much less flown. It was complete with an OS 60SR a tuned pipe, retracts and an old Futaba FP-T8JN radio. I never used the radio, but I keep it around as a conversation piece, it's pretty cool.
I will photograph and post as I go. If this project goes well I have a wood Curare that may even be older to do. Look at the top pic to see how dirty it was, the plane is actually white, wow was it bad.
Doug

Doug,

looking forward to your thread!

It appears as though the model has a painted fuse and vertical and film covered wing, stab and rudder. Does that make sense?

I comment because it appears that the colors on the fuse still match the covering pretty well but the white on the fuse appears to have yellowed slightly compared to the white covering.

I'm in the process of selecting clear coat paint for a project and have some concerns with UV yellowing.

But that's another story...

David.

Doug,

What brand of retracts are in your UFO?

Ralph

Originally Posted by R_G

Doug,

What brand of retracts are in your UFO?

Ralph

Rohm Air And you should have seen the lines in the wing turn to powder when i touched them!

It's the Rhom Air filler valve connection that I need. Please keep going on the rehab. We all love UFO's.

David

Originally Posted by doxilia

Doug,


It appears as though the model has a painted fuse and vertical and film covered wing, stab and rudder. Does that make sense?

I comment because it appears that the colors on the fuse still match the covering pretty well but the white on the fuse appears to have yellowed slightly compared to the white covering.


David.

Yes the fuse and stab are painted and the wings and control surfaces are covered. The white matched pretty good ten years ago, but it it's not even close now.
I am a automotive painter by trade and built and painted turbine models for hire in the past (hence the screen name). The fact that the paint and covering on this airplane are this bad just kills me, but it's staying just like it is for now. If you want a clear that doesn't yellow, automotive urethane clear is the way to go.
Hanging on the garage ceiling next to where the UFO was is a Super Sportster that's covered in Worldtex and painted with urethane that's almost as old as the UFO and it still looks great.
Doug

I pulled the OS out and tore into it, man was it gummed up, it was locked up tight as a drum. Alcohol, Lacquer thinner and WD-40, got it cleaned and freed up. The piston and cylinder look good, the bearings are rough, but available from Boca Bearing. The needle valve o-rings are shot. Anybody got any ideas where to get them? The carb is a 7B. I used some Wesley's bleach white on the case and head, it did a nice job getting rid of the burnt fuel stains.

takes some time to cross reference the O rings for the carb, but they're all available from Tower.
i did a couple years ago and bought a couple sets for my FSR's.

Originally Posted by Jetpainter

Yes the fuse and stab are painted and the wings and control surfaces are covered. The white matched pretty good ten years ago, but it it's not even close now.
I am a automotive painter by trade and built and painted turbine models for hire in the past (hence the screen name). The fact that the paint and covering on this airplane are this bad just kills me, but it's staying just like it is for now. If you want a clear that doesn't yellow, automotive urethane clear is the way to go.
Hanging on the garage ceiling next to where the UFO was is a Super Sportster that's covered in Worldtex and painted with urethane that's almost as old as the UFO and it still looks great.
Doug

Doug,

thanks for the feedback. It seems that everyone recommends urethane clear so I'll just do that. Given your experience and background perhaps I could ask a couple of questions:

I have read there are at least two types of urethane clears - polyester urethane and acrylic urethane. I understand the former is harder to work with, is highly exothermic and shrinks considerably possibly causing issues with the underlying basecoat. Acrylic urethanes are thinner, less exothermic and consequently shrink less while drying faster. Would you agree with this assessment and is there a disadvantage to using acrylic urethane in terms of hardness and UV protection (i.e., non yellowing) compared to the polyester (boat use) urethane.

I plan to use rattle can paint and am apparently able to source 2K Spraymax urethane which is considered good. However, I would like to see if there is a less expensive alternative which still holds up well in a one stage automotive type enamel. One type of clear that comes to mind is the rustoleum/tremclad or dupli-color high temperature engine clear. Any thoughts on that approach?

Finally, other than the issues that arise from laying acrylic lacquer clear atop enamel and epoxy basecoats (hence not really an option), how well does this type of finish hold up to nitro fuel and yellowing?

Thanks in advance for any input. Apologies for the detour in your UFO restoration.

David.

David, it's hard to beat automotive urethane clears or 2K urethane clears for being both fuel proof, fairly tough and pretty easy to use. The downside is cost, and the equipment necessary to spray it. As for spray cans the cost can add up quick when doing a large area. I had never heard of Spraymax until I read your post, being a catalyzed product it should hold up to fuel. That is really the key, whatever your final coat is, it needs to be a catalyzed product to hold up well, and in that arena the automotive products give good UV protection and durability.
I wouldn't bother with Polyurethanes like Imron and such, sure they're extremely durable but, there more expensive, slower drying and produce a lot more overspray. As for shrinkage the vast majority of shrinkage comes from your primers and fillers. If you don't want those types of problems don't use anything that's not catalyzed. Also, I have never known exothermic reactions to be a problem with paint, not like it is with resins.
Doug

Doug,

thanks for your reply. The more I look around and read, the more I am leaning to just do the top coat in 2K Spraymax. I don't think there is anything fancy about that clear other than it being a two stage (catalyzed) urethane and it being expensive. I still don't know whether it is polyester based or acrylic based but an email to Germany might sort that out. I agree, the rattle can cost can add up quickly but the expenses for this particular project are being footed by someone else and the agreement to use rattle cans was already in place. For next Spring I will no doubt invest in a HVLP gun.

I take it you might be a PPG kind of guy. Not cheap paint but worth a try. I'm not sure how it compares to epoxy type Klass Kote paint but I might try both next painting season. The main concern I have at the moment with the clear is that if the clear has considerable exothermic flashing properties (polyester urethanes tend to have them), it can have an adverse effect on the automotive acrylic lacquer used for some of the basecoat. I am not too concerned with the epoxy and enamel I used for some of the other basecoat colours. Hopefully, I won't end up with a mess after 4 weeks of shooting paint on and off by the time I'm done. Too add a little more variables to the finish equation, I am planning to shoot some of the automotive lacquer paint atop Monokote - the only way to actually match colours. I will of course have to prep the MK beforehand but I have had good results shooting paint atop.

Looking forward to seeing more on your UFO. Thanks again for your feedback.

David.

Originally Posted by doxilia

Doug,

I take it you might be a PPG kind of guy.
David.

David,
DuPont and Spies Hecker actually, though I used PPG for years before the low VOC rules. I also use some Nason on budget projects. The Nason 496-00 2K Urethane clear works great and is much cheaper than DuPont.
Doug

Originally Posted by max40fsr

takes some time to cross reference the O rings for the carb, but they're all available from Tower.
i did a couple years ago and bought a couple sets for my FSR's.

Thanks, Tower does indeed list the o-rings.

Doug

Guys, I used as Sherwin Williams Automotive clear (Acme?) on my last paint job. Lack of experience in spraying caused a good bit of orange peeling but that was sanded away. A lot of extra work but knowing that helped dampen the butterflies when beginning the process. Micro Mesh sandpaper will do the trick.

David

David,

what's Micro mesh sandpaper? I'm planning on using 1500 & 2000 wet.

Do you think the orange peeling happened because it wasn't reduced sufficiently or because you laid it on too thick? How many coats did it take? Did you respray after sanding?

How is the BA by the way?

David.