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  #21  
Old 02-09-2006, 03:26 PM
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Royatl Royatl is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Enign Blather
I can't seem to find this Fill N Finish anywhere. All the shops around me have is the heavyier crap- E832, et. all.

There is one hobby shop that has a Hobbico product. It looks like spackle and has "Micro-balloons". Anyone know if this will work as well as FNF?

Thanks,
EB



No, it isn't as good, but if you can't find FnF, it may be better for the job than the other Elmer's fillers.
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  #22  
Old 02-18-2006, 01:14 PM
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Regarding filling the spiral on BT's, There was a product called Carpenter's Wood Filler, which was renamed "Fill & Finish Exterior Filler", There is 'give' which allows it to bond better to the flexible body tube. The Fill and Finish interior Filler is better used for filling the grain of balsa fins. These two products are better thinned with water to a mixture two parts putty to one part water. Use less water as it can weaken the body tube and/or warp the balsa fins. When used on balsa, apply to the same area on both sides of the fin to reduce the likelihood of warping.

I have found these in both Home Depot & Lowes, and saw some at clearance price from K-Mart!

These products are great! give 'em a try.

Revision - Lowes no longer stocks this item (at least I didn't find it!). Will be looking at Home Depot tomorrow. To be continued.

Last edited by Rocketking : 03-03-2006 at 09:56 AM.
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  #23  
Old 03-12-2006, 04:14 PM
bikegod bikegod is offline
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Has anyone ever tried standard white glue thinned with water before priminig? I was just wondering if it would work. I have the Testors putty, but it is way thick and difficult to handle then needs even more sanding. There were times that I used it that I contemplated just leaving the spirals showing thru the paint. I will need to fill the small space between the two tubes (seam joint).
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  #24  
Old 03-12-2006, 05:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikegod
Has anyone ever tried standard white glue thinned with water before priminig? I was just wondering if it would work. I have the Testors putty, but it is way thick and difficult to handle then needs even more sanding. There were times that I used it that I contemplated just leaving the spirals showing thru the paint. I will need to fill the small space between the two tubes (seam joint).



I used thinned Elmer's on my very first model rocket 38 years ago. It is the only rocket I ever used it on. Any questions?
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  #25  
Old 03-12-2006, 06:05 PM
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Unless the rocket is something special, I just leave the spirals as-is before priming.
A good thick primer such as KILZ fills in the spirals after two coats to the point that one can barely see them.
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  #26  
Old 03-12-2006, 06:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikegod
Has anyone ever tried standard white glue thinned with water before priminig? I was just wondering if it would work. I have the Testors putty, but it is way thick and difficult to handle then needs even more sanding. There were times that I used it that I contemplated just leaving the spirals showing thru the paint. I will need to fill the small space between the two tubes (seam joint).


I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into the arena here, because I have for a long time been a promoter of the Elmer's FNF product. I think the Elmer's product is really good, especially with its water cleanup and thinning. FNF sands nicely into a powder when it has fully cured.

Having said this, I am this weekend trying out what I now call "FNF in a spray can". One of our other forum members mentioned using this in another thread some time ago, and I have since tried it out and find that by allowing the product to fully cure for about two days, I have a very good coat of sandable primer that fills the spiral on the first shot.

White-pigmented KILZ aerosol.

Understand, this is an oil-based product, and has that traditional oil-based "perfume" which may not be agreeable to some with breathing sensitivity. For cleaning up my hands from the overspray, I use an orange oil-based cleaner called De-Zolv-It. This cuts the Kilz right off my hands without irritating the skin, and it washes off with soap and water.

BG, you mention the joint line between two body tubes. One of the models I'm priming this weekend is an Estes #1271 Renegade, and it has this configuration. I managed to eliminate most of the inevitable gap during construction, but there was still a visible seam. The Kilz completely covered the seam and filled the imperfections. Kilz is thicker than other primers, so sanding is a must. As long as the primer has fully cured, you only need 220-grit paper (keep plenty on hand...) to remove the excess and still leave a nice surface. YMMV, but so far I've seen the spiral gaps completely filled in the first spray.

If you take the Kilz down to nearly bare paper, you can follow up with a traditional primer (like Rust-O-Leum's white Bare Metal Primer) which is thinner than Kilz, and has a finer-grained pigment. Kilz can be sprayed directly onto bare balsa and it will adhere beautifully. After sanding, you will have a difficult time seeing any wood grain; any that does show through will be a deep gouge that probably should have been filled with something else first, like a thick mixture of 30-minute epoxy and microballoons.

So far, I've sprayed about 20 models with Kilz, and I'm impressed with the results. This simplifies the finishing process by eliminating one step. You still have a lot of sanding to do before the paint is applied, so I won't say it reduces the overall time spent finishing a model. It does allow you to do double-duty with one product -- filling the balsa grain and the spiral gap, and priming the surface -- so there may be some time saved from waiting for the filler to dry before priming...

I'll try to give additional information as I work my way through this pile of ready-to-prime models...
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  #27  
Old 03-16-2006, 01:10 PM
bikegod bikegod is offline
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I just tried the Kilz, and considering my impatience it came out well.

I originally put too much on the seam and when I tried to sand it, it sloughed off leaving a big gouge. I normally paint in a large box but my model wouldn't fit properly so I was handling it by each end.

I ended up doing a lot of sanding and reprimering the whole thing. Lots of dust, but it even filled in the raised grain on the fins. The spirals didn't go away until I sanded them, but they did go away, and quite easily.

I am currently in the painting mode right now, fin colors first, then I will mask them and paint the two colors on the body tube.

Won't fly this weekend (since I tripped and tore up my ankle yesterday and am now on crutches). Some time off from work, so I get to hang out in my home office and work on the Screaming Mimi as well. That has been a pain in the butt to sand, but it's looking pretty much like the kit (changed the nose cone so I could steal it for my kit).
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  #28  
Old 03-18-2006, 06:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikegod
Has anyone ever tried standard white glue thinned with water before priminig? I was just wondering if it would work. I have the Testors putty, but it is way thick and difficult to handle then needs even more sanding.


Talking too much sanding, white glue doesn't sand too well. It clogs the sandpaper much too easy.

In lieu of FnF, I understand that spackle (standard wallboard/drywall filler) works well & sands well- It just produces a lot of dust, so clean up after yourself before priming!
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  #29  
Old 04-07-2006, 09:25 PM
bikegod bikegod is offline
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OK, now I am a huge fan of the Fill and Finish as well as the Kilz Primer.

But I hate balsa nose cones and transitions. The small parts (TR-520 and BNC-20) that I got had that fuzzy balsa finish out of the pack and sanding them any bit didn't make a difference. I have been "practicing" with the FnF, slathering it on, sometimes really thin sometimes thicker. At least if I get too much on it sands off pretty easily.

I will also recommend drywall sanding screens, they last longer and don't clog. Even when they get full of dust you can snap it clean. Must sand in circles though, it can leave slight grooves that shows up at final paint if you are not careful.
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