I am looking for a cheap paint that will come off the mold/mylar WITHOUT stinking to the mylar/mold. I have had plugs stick because the paint attacked the wax.

j

Jay,
what combination of wax and paint were you using that gave you troubles? I've not yet seen that problem... only the reverse where the wax softens the paint (such as on a plug being molded).

The water-based acrylic latex enamels (such as rust-oleum painter's choice) are about as benign as paints come... but I don't think they are available in a spray can.

Dolphin Wax and Rustoleum Heavy Duty paint.

I will give the painter's choice a shot (it does come in spray cans here).

I guess what I really want to know is how do I seal/finish balsa so that it has a smooth finish so I can use it as a plug?

Jay

Guys
Just do it the easy way and stop playing around.
Good old Johnson paste wax 2 coats and buff and PVA Works all the time

Originally Posted by Kevin Matney

Guys
Just do it the easy way and stop playing around.
Good old Johnson paste wax 2 coats and buff and PVA Works all the time

Kevin will that give me a smooth finish?

Jay

Soholingo,

My personal experiences have taught me the hard way me to stay clear of Rustoleum... at least in California. While I have not tried Krylon, I have been told that Krylon works great with waxed mylars.

Kevin does have a good point but there is nothing wrong with striving for a better technique. Please report your findings.

use super light coats.... kylon is top notch paint. just like painting foam, go multiple light layers, instead of nice, single one.

Rhett

Jay,
I just checked my stash of paint. It's actually "painter's touch," and, FWIW, the spray cans are not the same stuff as the acrylic latex in the tins. The spray cans are a normal solvent-based enamel like krylon or rust-oleum. As Rhett said, light coats are usually best, no matter what paint you're using.

If you use PVA, it's pretty hard to do a multi-color paint job with taped edges.

I had some cheap spray enamel that wasn't good at all for doing this.. a panel beater mate told me to stand the can in hot water for 10 mins and then spray the mold from a distance in light coats.

The heated spray coupled with the distance gave the solvent time to mostly evaporate before hitting the mold surface. Heating the can also gives a much finer misting of paint. Seemed to work on this particular occasion, but your mileage may vary

Heating the cans is my normal mode of operation now. I does improve the spray quality, and the distance increase makes sense for the solvent to evap more, kinda like the deal with the new 3M77 attacking EPS foam.
I have had good results on bagged wings with Krylon. I try to wait several hours between spraying paint, and laying up, to give the paint/wax a chance to stabilize.

Good luck,
Target

I was going to suggest also holding the cans far away, beyond what you'd normally do, to give the paint that extra milisecond for the solvent to evaporate.

rhett

For mylars I use a paper towel folded up to make a brush. And dip it in the PVA and put a lite coat. The paper towel will leave the right amount on and just let dry. As for smooth it will be as good as you shop is clean. All the dust that can fall into it will. Just like paint it needs to be in a dust free spot to dry.

I made hundreds of wings just waxing the mylar with GOOD quality carnuba wax (Meguirs) and spraying Krylon, without PVA. The only real trick is to fog the paint on so it doesn't develop "fish eyes".

Good Luck,

David Layne

A couple of months ago I made a mistake producing a mold and had to throw one of the halfes away. (It was in REALLY bad condition). Later that week I decided to go and pick it up from the garbage and I now use it to try paint before I use it on something I have invested a lot of time on. I'm just learning to paint in the molds and I'm trying lots of different paints without having a clue of what will work and what won't. Testing is cheap insurances.

- David

I just picked up some random paint for my school's plane. spray painted "Anteater" ( that's what UCI are, the anteaters..) on the mylar, and then bagged this foam top, and it came out quite surprisingly. I usually leave more wax, but I basically wiped it all off, then painted it with stencils. I didn't quite let the paint dry in a few areas and when we bagged it, I don't think the epoxy cured in those parts. luckily they are small, and the part is not structual.

Rhett