Fuelproof Paint
 

After a 20 year absence from the hobby I'm now retired and back to building planes. Problem is that many of the old products I used to use don't seem to be available any more. Went to my local hobby shop and asked for fuel proof paint. They sold me a spray can of Tamiya which I brought home and tested on both wood and plastic. After it had dried I dribbled a little fuel on the painted surfaces and the paint disolved. Went back to the shop but they had nothing that was specifically "fuelproof". I used to buy TopFlite LustreKote which was a fuelproof spray paint that came in a colour spectrum that matched MonoKote coverings. So my question is, what are people using these days to paint wood, plastics and metals that may come in contact with nitro glow fuels? Thanks

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

LustreKote is still available.
(I don't fly nitro or gas though) Just saying it's still available.
Stick with what you know works.

:cool:

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

Hi

Have a look at this thread :

https://www.rccanada.ca/rccforum/show...962#post831962

Michel

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

After reading your response I emailed Great Hobbies to see if they could get it. They advise that the distributor will no longer ship LustreKote into Canada. Great Hobbies used to carry the product but have delisted it. This information seems to agree with what I heard from a local hobby shop that some environmental or health regulation in Canada prohibits the importation of fuelproof paints.

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

Hi

You don,t necessarily have to use fuel proof paint. You can use other paints such as enamels and cover with a clear coat . Such as latex and a clear coat .

I just came back from an industrial paint shop , that does heavy equipment such as freight liners , and fire trucks and what not. From them , I purchased , a pint of , " Sico 585 clear " . This is awesome stuff , absolutely fuel proof , believe me , I know , " SUPER TESTED " , by me . With the amount I bought , I can paint 2 , ( or maybe 3 ) , large scale WarBirds .

The pro,s , are simple , I can apply it with a brush , and , if you,re equipped , spray paint . With a 3 to 1 mix . and than with thinner another 3 to 1 mix , pending on the spray equipment .

The con,s ,............... extremely toxic , light coats have to be applied to enamels such as , " testers " model paints Very , very , light coats must be applied , or it will melt the paint.

There is also Klass Kote , which replaces our old K&B paint ( " gee " I miss this stuff " ) . Klass Kote is sold here in Canada also .

Forget the old ways :( . Look at all the sites and forms for finishing . There are other ways .;)

Michel

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

Thanks, Michael. Guess I'll have to think new! As a side note, I contacted Top Flite and they advised that they stopped shipping LustreKote to Canada rather than meet Canadian labelling requirements.

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

I tried a few things and in the end said "@&^%#@#*&". So to speak...

I have found good ol' Testors enamel paint with a Testors clear coat works just fine. If it's a really harsh area, paint some thin epoxy over it. You can brush on Testors enamel with a bit wider brush and still get a pretty smooth finish. It is made for plastic though, so you would want to seal balsa before using it, again with a thin epoxy.

If you're hard-core then automotive paint is the way to go, but it's kinda dangerous to apply...you need a good place to do it and breathing/eye protection.

I tried Krylon spray paint and it SUCKED. Don't be tempted.

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

For a "fuel resistant" finish I overcoat with Varathane waterborne wood finish. If it really has to be "fuel proof" the only thing that I have found to work is to overcoat with a thinned coat of epoxy glue or epoxy finish resin . The nice part is that you can use latex paints which are easy to apply and are not too smelly. Usually you don't get raw fuel on the model, just the oil that isn't burnt by the engine.

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

Experimented with the thinned epoxy and got fair results. A little more experimentation with technique and I should be able to generate an acceptable finish. Thanks for the suggestions

Re: Fuelproof Paint
 

I was looking for fuel proof paint and came across Nelson hobby paint.

http://www.nelsonhobby.com/hobby_paint.php

The website only has a few colours showing, but if you click on the order now button it has a list of all the colours they can mix up. OVER 170 colours. :D

I have recieved the paint, the colours match RAF colours perfectly and it's all fuel proof to 50% nitro.