Current Projects

Lots of painting this weekend and no runs or drips. I saw a video made by Krylon that tells you how to deal with runs. Give it 24 hours to dry, sand it down and repaint. The Leviathan is finished (see Leviathan post). The Executioner is painted and almost ready to go. The scratch build just needs to be painted.

The rocket on the Left is the Executioner. Custom fins, plywood CR, Rocketarium retainer plus a few other modifications. The one in the middle is Son of Executioner. It is almost ready to fly. Needs more paint work. The one on the right is the scratch built Leviathan. A lot of modifications including custom made fins.

I have most of the parts needed to build another Leviathan. I need three CRs and a NC I can order from BMS. I would also have to visit A&P Woodworking shop in East Boston for the fins.

We're onto Amesbury!

Never, ever, spray paint in any kind of breeze! I managed to paint the ventris payload section cleanly, but the main body was another matter. I'm painting it in its "classic" color scheme, black nose/payload section, white main body, red tail section/fins. I had given it a good primer coat a day earlier and had thoroughly sanded it down to a nice smooth surface... by the time I was ready to give the main body the white base coat (Rustoleum 2x... good stuff) a light breeze kicked up and it gave me a really great pebble finish! (argh!). This was on Saturday, and it took more than two days for the tackyness to subside! Funny thing was the aft section was smooth but most of the tube above the fins (thank goodness not the fins!) was all pebbled up thanks to the breeze that kicked up. I had to use 150 grit sandpaper (followed by 400) to beat this back. Filled up a lot of sandpaper on this as it was still a little tacky. However, now that the final coat is on (did this in the garage on a dead calm day with the door open), there are not much in the way of spiral windings visible, and the body tube looks like one piece. Of course, it's probably a bit heavy, but what the heck....

... now for the red tail...

So that's how I got that pebble effect! A couple of years ago Kenn asked why I don't paint my rockets anymore. I don't have an indoor facility so it's off to my back yard where there is always a breeze. What I recently noticed is that if I don't sand off enough of the glassheen off a body tube, I get runs because the paint is not sticking well enough. You mentioned primer. The Krylon paints I use supposedly are paint and primer combined. That's probably why I can't find primer. Maybe I should use the Rustoleum 2x brand that you suggested.

I have seen how well your kits are painted. You do good work.

Most hardware stores around me stock krylon grey primer. I've used the white (somewhat rare) and it's not as good. Krylon black is ok, but the white is *terrible* as it's coverage is just awful. The Rust-Oleum 2x white covers far better... But you do have to use a light touch. For me it's easier to see when you've reached that "wet" stage... Also, it's best to paint the rocket suspended horizontally. I almost always get a run when I paint it in a vertical orientation.