Water Based Sanding Sealer
 

I like to use anything that makes clean-up earier. Has anyone used water based sanding sealer? I am interested in your thoughts about it.

Thanks,

Chris

Elmer's
 

I use Elmer's Fill and Finish, thinned down with water.

Many people use "Elmer's Fill n' Finish," or its current equivalent, or its equivalent from other manufacturers.

This is a tan, somewhat gritty, putty-like paste. You need to thin it down to "pancake batter" consistency.

It fills really well. Just a coat or two takes care of most grains.

Bad stuff:

You have to be careful about the water content warping thin balsa.

The stuff is easy to sand, but you have to sand it a LOT. You end up with a lot of dust.

but don't put it on too thick or you will buried yourself in the sanding dust! :chuckle:

When I first began rocket building in the late 70s, I used sanding sealer (I think it was from Pactra), then when I returned to rocketry a few years ago, I used wood filler, but I found out (by personal experience) it can dry out. I was thinking of returning to sanding sealer, and like I mentioned in my first post, I like using things that are easy to clean up and are not strong smelling.

At my LHS, they sell water based sanding sealer for pinewood derby cars but it was expensive (over $4.00 for a small bottle). I probably can find something similar at Menard's for a better value.

I am interested if there is a performance difference between the water based and solvent based formulas?

Yes - I've used Delta Ceramcoat's All Purpose Sealer. Works very well, but it does clog the sandpaper rather badly. Finish, however, feels glass-smooth.

Greg

sanding sealer
 

My friend is into flying model airplanes. He swears by Red Devil spackle. He says it is light strong and you do not have to sand it much. I have not tried it, because I still have a large quantity of the Elmers. Has anyone else heard of this? :rolleyes:. nukemmcssret

I use Aerogloss sanding sealer ONLY. Cleanup? WHAT cleanup. After applying it I squeeze the excess out of the brush with a paper towel, let the brush dry out, then comb the brush out. That's how I roll.

Three coats on this Estes Arrow:

Course you could always paper the fins-- make them bulletproof and eliminate all the filling and sanding in one fell swoop...

For nosecones, though, I prefer the thinned Elmers Carpenters Wood Filler-- thinned to the consistency of mustard. Brushes on easy, dries fast, easy to sand, doesn't clog the paper, and does an excellent job (especially after CA hardening the cones!)

My nephews used lightweight spackle on some of their 4H fair rocket projects, and it seemed to work pretty well... haven't gone this route yet myself because I have a ton of Elmers CWF left... stuff just seems to last forever!

Later! OL JR :)

PS... you can have DUST, or you can have FUMES-- those are yer choices...

CWF DOES make a lot of dust when sanding; bout the only drawback...

Dope makes a TON of FUMES...

Pick yer poison... :)

I've used this Pine Pro stuff too; While it doesn't smell (like Aero-Gloss), and isn't messy (like Elmers), it doesn't sand as well as either, so I rarely use the stuff. I've gone back to Aero-Gloss, using Elmers for balsa that needs a lot of filling (typically NCs). I've achieved better results with both, than with the Pine-Pro stuff.