LukeZ's '69 U-7 - a bit late, but still fun

[LukeZ]

Hi all,

If you don't already know, I stumbled across this competition after it was already over. But I saw the plans were free, downloaded them, and have since gotten excited about building this boat.

There is a nice pond near the apartment where I recently moved to, and being into all things RC I decided I should get myself a boat to take advantage of the water. Having never done RC boats before I didn't even know where to start. Tower Hobbies was selling some plastic-y looking stuff, some of which was cool, I guess, but I hate to dump a load of money on a completed model. No, I prefer to dump a load of money on something I have to slave and sweat over. Eventually I came across a thread by Kmot over on RCGroups and from there I found my way here. I had not thought to imagine one could build a very fast and very nice looking boat out of balsa (my prefered medium), but once I discovered the possibility I knew that was the route for me.

After my first few posts here, somebody noticed that I live in the same general milieu of Garry Finlay and other notables and highnesses. I have been welcomed heartily by all of them and today I even got to see the Finlay shop first hand. There's probably not a lot of guys who, about one week into the hobby of RC boats, get to pester the big man himself with questions. Clearly I'm getting off to a good start...

Anyhow, that's it for background - here's my build thread. I know during the contest some threads were strictly for posts by the builder, but seeing that the contest is over, and that I'm a newbie, I'll welcome and appreciate anyone's comments or advice here.


Luke

[LukeZ]

First step in my build was to get the plans printed. I took them to a specialty printing shop and a few bucks later I'm good to go.

Although it's more work up front, I prefer to re-trace the plans onto posterboard which I can then cut into the individual pieces. This is because the posterboard is sturdier than paper and can be used as a template over balsa many times over. At the end of a build I can put all the posterboard pieces in an envelope, ready in case I ever want to build the same thing again. At any rate this has been my procedure for building airplanes from plans, which is where my experience has been heretofore.

So that's what I did - you can see all the necessary elements here: posterboard, carbon paper, pencil, french curve, straight edge, and sometimes masking tape to hold things still.


Luke

[LukeZ]

After the parts on the plan have been transferred to the posterboard, it's time to cut them out. In the past I used scissors for this but I have found them very difficult to work with. For one thing, it's impossible to cut a straight line for any distance with scissors. For another thing, it's impossible to cut a smooth curve with scissors. Therefore, scissors are best left for their intended purposes, such as trimming nose hairs and jabbing coconuts.

Instead of scissors I use an Exacto knife and cutting mat. For the straight lines I will use a straight-edge to keep the knife moving straight. The curved portions of a design I will cut out free hand. A french-curve is useful for tracing the parts, but a knife will track much more precisely than a pencil, so is not really needed for cutting them out. Also, most french curves I've seen are made out of plastic, and in my experience the Exacto knife inevitably knicks the edges, turning the beautiful french curve, in time, to something more like, say, a German or Scottish curve. In other words, it's no longer smooth and flowery.

With only a very small amount of patience and practice, posterboard templates can be rendered that are surprisingly accurate replicas of the parts on the plan - as you can see in the picture below (bulkheads A, B and C are the posterboard cut-outs, laid over the original plan).


Luke

[LukeZ]

After cutting out my templates I then cut out the actual balsa pieces. I had a bunch of balsa laying around from my airplane projects but come to find out, not much 3/32”, and not many sheets that were 6 inches wide. So I raided all the hobby stores in the nearby area, and as usual finding quality wood was very difficult. I am not sure what they expect us to build with the stuff they carry – abstract spaghetti art or something of the like. Probably they carry quality wood but no doubt it is snatched up very quickly (apparently 1/8” K&S tubing goes quick too).

At any rate I think I found enough passable balsa to get the job done and this afternoon I set to cutting out my parts. This went very quickly. There just aren’t many parts to this boat.

The model nearly falls together. I like how the front bulkheads interlock together with the stringers, it makes a very sturdy structure.

Framing up was going along real nice, and you can see how far I got before the dinner bell rang. And so I’m afraid that’s it for this weekend.


Luke

[Garry Finlay]

"get to pester the big man himself with questions"

Guess I should hit the old L.A.-Weight-Loss program :).

It was great talking with you Saturday. You have a good start on this project. My hull didn't look that clean and neat when it was framed up.

Garry

[eddieh]

Talk to the vendors that are listed, might be they'll extend you the discount if your doing the building....worth a shot bud... who knows guys that finish up late maybe not alls lost, never know what pops outta the surprise box:wave:

nice job so far , get er done:yeah:

[raptor347]

That little guy is coming along nicely. I love to see clean building, even on the parts nobody ever sees.

You want to loan me those templates when you're done? :D

We could have a whole fleet of 30' Karlsons at the local pond.

[LukeZ]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Brian, you're welcome to the templates if you want them. Not sure they'd be good for 30 cuts, but probably a few anyways. I for one would like to see 30 hulls cruising around a pond. ;)

I've checked out the vendors and in fact have already ordered from at least one of them. Actually I think I'm pretty well stocked on all the things I need to finish this guy, except for two things: I still need a 5mm to 1/16th coupler, and if it's needed, one of those drive shaft bushings you were showing me, Garry. I've looked around for these online but haven't been able to find them. Do you know of a source? I've also been to Tammies and RC Modeler Northwest (out on 170th and TV Hwy), they don't have 'em either. Does that other shop downtown carry this stuff, do you recall?

The only other thing I need to decide at this point is a paint scheme. The Notre Dame colors look clean and neat, but seems like we already have a few of those around here. ;) I was looking last night and the Miss Bardahl looks pretty nice. I'm also open to ideas...


Luke

[raptor347]

Luke,
Unfortunately the local shops don't carry much for boats, even less for FE. You'll need to order the coupler, pick a vendor. What bushings are you after? If you're looking for 1/8" shaft bushings, I've probably got some in a box somewhere.

I'll take you up on those templates. The design is actually a 30' Karlson. 30 boats on our little pond would probably be excessive;)

[Garry Finlay]

Hit Roger Newton’s site: www.newtonmarine.com – Plans - 101 for a list of Karelsen hulls.

And, when I am done with the work on the house, I will toss together a few items that will duplicate the drive tube, bushing, strut that I have on my little N.Dame. I think I have a spare 5mm – 1/8” coupler too. Between us Oregonians, we have you covered.

Garry

[LukeZ]

Garry - thanks for the link. There are some good photos there. The Timex also looks interesting. So many choices! I'm planning to use my Paasche airbrush to paint the boat. It's new and I've not used it before. I need to get some practice with it before I paint my Short Solent (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=463117), so this will be a good project for it.

You're right, I guess I could also use a 5mm to 1/8th coupler, instead of down to 1/16th. Just slip a bit of that stainless steel tubing over my piano wire and file a notch in it, like I would for the prop end. Offshore does in fact have that size, so I could get one there. Twelve bucks seems a bit expensive for it, but I guess it would cost even more for a lathe. :rolleyes: I think maybe the Offshore ones are that high because they're for flex shafts? :confused: ...but it seems like it should work the same.

Anyways, I don't want to get ahead of myself too much. I had a real bad case of the balsa allergies yesterday, but I'm hoping to get some work in this evening.


Luke

[Garry Finlay]

I have a spare 1/8 - 1/8 coupler and the tubing to reduce to 1/16. And I have the K&S .062 wire and brass to make the strut, stuffing tube and prop-end bushing. This weekend, if it is not too hot to work in the garage, I will start piecing things together. It will be a welcome change from caulking the tub, painting the walls and hanging towl racks.

[LukeZ]

Garry thanks for the help. Although, other than the coupler and bushing, I think I have all the tubing and brass sheet I need to put most of this together. Certainly I want you to get a break from caulking the tub, but don't make it too easy on me! At the very least I will still make up a drive shaft and compare it to yours.

The hull is coming along - I'll post some pictures in a minute.


Luke

[LukeZ]

The next step after leaving off the other day was to glue on the rear non-trip stringers or walls or whatever they're called. Why are they refered to as non-trip? There's a lot of boating terminology here that I'm not familiar with....

[LukeZ]

Next came the sponson bottoms. These were the only parts so far that I had a bit of trouble with. And trouble really isn't even the word for it, it was so slight.

So far as I could tell from the plans, the sponson bottoms are to be glued on the bottoms of the front stringer and bulkheads. However, on my assembly, the front stringers extended down below bulkheads A, B and C by about 3/32nds. In other words, they weren't flush. I checked them against the plans and I think I cut them out pretty close, but perhaps I didn't assemble the stringer and bulkheads tightly enough.

At any rate, for me to get a flush surface for the sponson bottoms, I would have to sand a strip off the bottom of the front stringers. I figured I would probably break something with all that vigorous sanding, not to mention alter the angle of the front stringer in the process. So instead I decided to strip a 3/32nds piece off the side of the sponson bottoms, making them a bit narrower. Then they could be glued to the bottom of the bulkheads, but instead of being underneath the front stringers, they would abut them.

Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures of this. But here's one of me removing the strip from the sponson bottoms, and then a rough diagram of what I'm trying to describe...

[LukeZ]

Anyways, no big deal there, and after the sponson runner/doublers are attached, you won't even be able to tell.

Here's a few more pics of finishing up the hull. The deck comes next but before I attach it I'm going to seal the wood in some of the cavities that will be hidden by the decking.

This thing goes together pretty fast. If the parts were laser or die-cut I think a person could easily complete the basic hull in a single day.


Luke

[LukeZ]

Don't mean to give anyone vertigo on that last picture... it will let me upload 800x600, but not 600x800. Gotta love technology.

Luke

[LukeZ]

Haven't had a chance to work on the boat the last couple days, but if I can keep my mind from frying in this heat, I will try to seal the inside and finish up the decking this weekend.

I have several options - currently I have some water-based polyurethane (by Varathane), some oil-based polyurethane (Minwax Spar Poly), and I also have some Z-Poxy resin that I hear a lot of people use thinned with denatured alcohol. I think I've ruled out the water-based poly because some have said it can warp wood, in addition to which glue supposedly do not adhere well to wood treated this way.

Is there any advantage of the oil-based poly or the thinned resin methods? I know people have used both so I can only assume the wood will still accept glue after these treatments - specifially I'm thinking of the underside of my decking, which will have to be glued after sealing, unless I'm missing something...


Luke

[Garry Finlay]

I’ve use Z-Poxy. But here is a tip that some do not buy into. I just seal the interior that is exposed (inside the “inside-stringers” only). This will save a little time and work – and a half ounce of weight. The theory is; the area between the bulkheads will not see moisture, hopefully. It has not been a problem on any of my hulls.

I have a spare 1/8” – 1/16” coupler. And I have some K&S brass for bushings for either 1/8” or 3/16” stub shaft. I’ve used both sizes for 1/8” prop shafts for this type boat.

It was too hot to do anything serious, other than study boat plans.

Garry

[Darin Jordan]

I used the Water Based "Spar Urethane" by Varathane on the entire inside of mine, prior to putting the deck on... Just a normal coat... When it dries, it weighs next to nothing but definately seemed to add some water resistance... If you are going to race this, then at some point, you are likely to take on some damage to the exterior which WILL let in water... If you are just sport running, you shouldn't have a problem...

On the interior that is exposed through the hatch cover, I used a thin coat of finishing epoxy... Helps the velcro stick better and I think it adds a measure of strength and eases cleanup... Basically makes it shiney and smooth inside so it can be wiped down easily, and you WILL get water in here to some degree, as well as shaft lube, motor lube, etc...

I haven't weighed mine since it's completely painted, so I'll do that and we'll see where it is... It feels light enough for a race rig... I'll post some numbers when I have them...

GOOD LUCK!

[LukeZ]

Well it was too hot this weekend to break out the smelly-fume stuff in my living room, so I didn't get anything done on the boat. It was in the 90s inside my apartment most of the weekend. Never been so happy to go back to work on Monday as today...

I should ask though - aside from the inside of the boat, do you also seal the exterior with Z-Poxy/urethane/whatever? Or is the sanding sealer and then paint considered sufficient water-proofing?


Luke

[Garry Finlay]

You will get as many methods as people you ask, on finishing technique. The (minimalist) method I use is to just spray Krylon sanding sealer over the bare wood and sand smooth. Add more sanding sealer and sand again, if you sand through. Then, spray two coats of Krylon color. Wet sand with 400 and add the trim. Spay Krylon Crystal Clear over everything and wet sand with 600, or more, then polishing compound.

In this heat everything dries VERY fast.

Garry

[Darin Jordan]

I'm with Garry on this one... If you do as I did, and laminate the entire exterior with 1/64th ply (I did this prior to cutting anything out...), you will only need a minimal amount of primer to get good, smooth coverage... Otherwise, it will take more as the bare balsa absorbs a lot of primer... Once this is all applied, it's plenty sealed...

[LukeZ]

Last time I posted it was 90 degrees in the apartment. Not so now! Unfortunately this is also not a good time of the year for painting, but that's about the step I'm on.

I started flying a lot this summer and so the boat project kind of got waylaid. But now the weather's turned crummy again I've been back at it.

Here's some photos of the hardware I made up a few weeks ago. After showing this stuff to Garry, it became clear I will need a larger turn fin. To be fair, the turn fin on the plans is pretty much this small - but the turn fin on Garry's real Notre Dame isn't. ;)

All this stuff was made from aluminum angle stock. I've never worked with metal before so it was a new experience. Turned out ok in the end. Sure took a lot of elbow grease though.


Luke

[LukeZ]

Here's some photos of the motor mount installation. I was kind of dreading this part but it turned out easier than I had anticipated. Cut a hole, slap some epoxy around, voila.


Luke

[lferguson79]

Looks good. Keep posting as this is a great way to learn for those few of us here that have not scratch built before but plan too. Thanks :)

[LukeZ]

...that is, until I went to glue the doubler on the bottom of the hull. I had it all lined up perfectly, but at the last minute, when the epoxy was just turning tacky, I turned the boat right-side up so I could push the hull down on the surface of my desk and apply a greater force to the piece being glued on. You can see the result in the picture. Even though I waited until the glue was starting to set, it was still pliable enough that the doubler slipped. By the time I turned the boat back over to look, it was too late to do anything about it - that ply piece was on forever, and forever crooked.

You can see then that I added a small piece of ply to kind of bring it back into alignment. This was a while ago - in the time since it's been bondo-ed and it looks fine. Also I gather this area of the hull is out of the water at speed, so I suppose it won't hurt performance any if it's slightly asymmetrical.


Luke

[LukeZ]

I decided that the 3/32nd sheet balsa of the deck by itself wouldn't be enough to support my antenna tube, in the case of it getting knocked around. So I added this 1/32nd ply doubler. There's another 1/32nd ply piece on the underside of the deck as well. It seems pretty sturdy (and looks much better after having some bondo applied).


Luke

[LukeZ]

At about this time I realized I hadn't put any thought to how I was going to attach my turn fin before I had sealed the top deck. So I had to cut a hole in the decking in order to allow me to install a doubler and blind nut. Then I sealed it back up, as you can see in the photos.


Luke

[LukeZ]

When I last saw Garry at the pond he recommended to me that I fiberglass the deck on this hull, as his is beginning to evidence hairline cracks. I contemplated glassing the entire thing, but in the end, being a bit lazy, I settled for just the upper deck. I think that will be good enough. It's also what people see the most.

I used 3/4 ounce cloth and Z-Poxy finishing resin with some baby powder mixed in. The powder is probably unnecessary as Z-Poxy is pretty much the right consistency stock, but I like it a bit thicker and it helps fill in the weave somewhat.


Luke

[LukeZ]

Here the glass is all trimmed up. It's hard to tell that anything has even changed about it! But if you look close in the second picture, you can see that reflection. Man, fiberglass sands down real smooth!!


Luke

[LukeZ]

At this point it's pretty much ready for primer. I was trying to figure out how I could hold this thing and paint it at the same time. Finally I came up with a method of attaching some aluminum angle to the motor mount. This becomes my long handle to hold the hull by, while I spray it with paint in the other hand.

Yes, the neighbors have looked at me strangely, as I stand out in the parking lot in a cloud of spray-paint-haze, holding what looks like a giant shoe on the end of a stick...


Luke

[LukeZ]

Here's the hull after the first coat of primer. You can see I cut my "paint-handle" in two pieces, with a short stub that remains attached to the hull. With just the stub attached, it's easy enough to hold the hull so I can sand it. But it's also easy to attach the longer handle to it, without fiddling with the monkey attachment to the motor mount.

I've decided to go with Duplicolor automotive paints for this thing. I got two kinds of primer - "Primer Sealer" and "Primer, High Build Formula."

For some reason I got into my head that the Primer Sealer was a "Primer/Sealer" (note the slash). Why on earth a car would need a sealer I don't know. But I put a coat of this on first, thinking I would "seal" my wood.

Well, then I decided to read the can more closely. In fact, it is just what it claims to be: a paint that seals the primer! In other words, it's supposed to go on after the primer. Oops. Hope that's not going to cause a problem.



Luke

[LukeZ]

After the "Primer Sealer" I began putting coats of the High Build Primer on. I figured I'd need the high-build stuff to fill in the grain on the wood that isn't covered with fiberglass. Well, I've come to find out that filling the grain with primer would probably take an eternity. High-build or not, it just doesn't seem to be doing the job.

So now I've slathered my hull with bondo to fill the grain. It's downstairs drying right now.

I hope this isn't going to be an issue - typically you'd think the bondo would go on first, then the primer, then the primer sealer. I've done it completely backwards. I hope it doesn't all start to flake off a month after I get a beautiful finish on it...


Luke

[LukeZ]

More recently I've been working on the cockpit. Here's a couple pics trying to get the rough shape of it. I tried to follow the plans pretty close.


Luke

[LukeZ]

When I'd gotten as far as you can see in the last photo, I thought to myself, "Hmm, maybe I'll go look online at some real photos." That's when I saw that I was doing a wonderful job of following the plans and emulating the cockpit on the Notre Dame - but a terrible job if I was going to do the 1958 U-40 Bardahl! Which is what I want to do.

For one, the Bardahl cockpit doesn't have that flare at the base. For another the actual cockpit opening is a different shape. And for another the fin is completely different.

However, I decided I would be able to modify what I had done thus far. Here's some pics of the "new" cockpit. You can see the flare has been cut off, and the fin is more like what it should be. I still need to cut the cockpit opening as it's not nearly so curved on the real boat.


Luke

[LukeZ]

So there you have it, that's about as far as I've gotten for now. Kind of a poor time of year to get into painting, that's for sure. Here in Oregon it's rain, rain, rain. And the temps are a bit cold and the humidity a bit high for the best of results. Even if the weather were nicer, by the time I get home from work it's pitch dark outside. I live in an apartment so there's nowhere else to paint at than in the poorly-lit parking lot. So, I'm not sure how long it will be before I get this thing completed. A couple warm, sunny weekends and I'll make good progress. Barring some of those, who knows - it could be spring before this thing is ready to hit the water.

It's also the season for me to be building airplanes, so this little guy has lots of competition fighting for the workbench. Still, now that the end is in sight I'm starting to get excited. This thing is going to look real nice, I have a feeling!



Luke

[Taylor Shaw]

wow that is a nice hull . great job . and i like you mounting bracket for the prop strut and the rudder !

[Garry Finlay]

Wow, this is what makes drawing plans worth while. It looks like those plans were just the canvas for someone to make a masterpiece. – Luke – it looks JUST FINE.

As you know, each time we get together with Brian, we learn something. More turn fin was the latest lesson.

With all the attention to detail, Luke’s hull is still light. Last time I saw it, it was lighter than mine was at that stage. Mine turned out to be 2¼ pounds, ready to run.

Keep those progress reports coming.

Garry

[LukeZ]

Not sure how light it's going to end up with all that fiberglass, bondo, and paint. I should weigh the hull and see where I'm at.

On Saturday we had some decent weather so I got the bondo sanded, and several coats of primer added. There are a few more tiny spots that need a bit of attention, that probably only a nitpick would worry about. After that she's ready for color. I'll be hoping for some warm sunny days here and there (yeah, right :rolleyes:).

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. That's what makes the building worthwhile. ;)


Luke

[P_J_Glor]

Luke -- I have been following your Short Solent build and successful maiden flight on the e-zone. Now that the Solent is finished, are you going to find space on your workbench for this hydro, or did you already finish it without telling us?

PJG

[LukeZ]

Hey PJG - right at the moment you posted I was just looking at pictures of the Solent that were uploaded just tonight on Sam Tracon's site - this is clearly off topic, but if anyone wants to see some great photography, check it out (http://teamtracon.netfirms.com/eventgallery/nfpicturepro/thumbnails.php?album=12&page=3).

As for the boat... ;) No, I haven't finished her behind anyone's back! Understandably she was largely put aside over the winter months. Although, whenever we had a somewhat decent, warm day I did go out and put some paint on her. All the yellow is applied and I'm ready now for the green on the upper deck. I have some really great metallic automotive green that I think is going to look awesome.

I do hope to pull her back out of the corner as soon as things settle down - with any luck I'll be back to work on the boat this weekend.

However, I'll just say in advance, I work slow! I want her to look good, so it might take some time...

Luke

[Stephen Mason]

Luke,

If you do as go work on your hydro, as you did on the Solent, the boat will be nothing short of marvelous!
Can't wait to see her finished and skimming along!

[LukeZ]

Well I did get a bit of time to spend on the boat today. Sorry this thing has been dragging on for so long. Good thing I didn't try to enter the contest...

The underside of the hull had already been painted yellow; this is what I spent the winter months doing on the occasional nice-weather day. It sounds weird to say it took so long, but it's amazing how many coats of primer and sanding and paint it really takes. I don't even want to add up how much money I've spent on DupliColor paint cans. They're about 5 or 6 dollars each and I know I've gone through about a million.

Anyways today I masked off the upper deck in preparation for the green. It took me two hours to do the masking job, and about ten minutes to do the painting. For some reason the green paint went on very smoothly and had absolutely no tendency to run, unlike the yellow. So as far as color is concerned anyways, I was able to get a satisfactory result in only two coats of green.

However, there are a few spots where the finish is a bit "dull" or "hazy." There might be an official painting word for it but I don't know what it is. I saw this after my first coat and thought it was just a spot I missed. But after I did the second coat I got the same result, just in different spots. I tried to get throrough, even, and wet coverage, and it looked like I did, but when it dried I still get a few dull spots.

I'm not really sure what this is? I wonder if it will disappear after I put on the clear coat, or if I could buff it out somehow with really fine sandpaper (1000 grit maybe)? I could keep adding coats but I'm sure these spots would keep popping up...

I really want to rip all the masking tape off - but I'm making myself be patient. :rolleyes:

[LukeZ]

Ok, there's a limit to how many pictures you can upload in one post - so here now are the hazing pictures.


Luke

[fleetmaster1]

Mate, the paint will 'bloom' if the air is too cold.This may be your problem.
It has happened to me before.Hope this helps.

[hydronut]

Have you made any progress on you Miss Bardahl?

[LukeZ]

Hydro, I took off the masking tape - does that count? :) No, no real progress, but she's on my list for this weekend. I need to mask off the "scallops" at the nose and paint those next. I think I'm going to use frisket paper for that one... I've not painted anything as complicated before so it will be a learning experience.


Luke

[hydronut]

If you are still using duplicolor spray cans for the scallops make sure your frisket paper is compatible with automotive grade paints. If not you may have a GUMMY mess left behind and cleaning it away is a real pain.:eek:

[tt-r]

If you are still using duplicolor spray cans for the scallops make sure your frisket paper is compatible with automotive grade paints. If not you may have a GUMMY mess left behind and cleaning it away is a real pain.:eek:

May i ask what "frisket paper" is? Maybe i've never heard the English word for it and already know what it is:D

[hydronut]

Frisket is a thin self adheisve vinyl that is used in art, airbrush and specialty painting. You can apply it to the surface to be painted, draw your designs or desired graphics on it then use a sharp x-acto type knife to cut the design ,remove the cut design areas and spay the exposed area with the desired paint.

[P_J_Glor]

Luke -- what Duplicolor color number did you use to match the Bardahl Green? I have a Dupont Imron color number on the Roger Newman Plan but I can't find any references or color charts for Imron colors on the web.

PJ

[LukeZ]

hydronut, somehow I missed your comments about the frisket mask. I must not have gotten the notification email. Too bad, since today I masked my scallops and sprayed my Duplicolor, and what you described is exactly what happened... it wasn't until afterwards that I read the fine print on my frisket paper that stated "it may not work well with solvent-based paints."

Well, the gummy mess did come off with some Goo-B-Gone. I was worried it would take my paint off right along with it, but it didn't.

Another bad thing that happened was that I must have banged the boat against something while it was covered in masking paper, since this morning it was fine, but when I took the paper off this evening I found a nice big ding at the aft end, near the antenna exit tube. I'm thinking I will put a dab of Z-Poxy there, cover with a layer of Bondo, and repaint. I guess it will turn out ok but it's discouraging.

Anyways, back to my frisket paper - too bad it gunks up because I was also planning to use it for the white stripe that outlines the black. I cut two identical copies of my scallop for that very purpose. Do you know a place Hydronut where I can get frisket paper safe for use with these paints?

Another question for you while I'm at it, what do you do with the edges that occur when you mask off an area to paint? The paint builds up then you remove the masking, and now the new coat is higher than the previous coat beneath it, and so there is this sharp, raised edge that results along the line. Do you sand this down somehow, or do you just paint right over it with the clear coat? I guess if my clear coat was thick enough it might cover up these transitions. As they are though they don't feel very nice.

PJ, I didn't do any color matching. My Bardahl is nowhere near close to scale color. I just picked metallic green and metallic black because they looked cool. For the yellow I used School Bus yellow (the only yellow Duplicolor has in cans that I could tell). Ironically the yellow is probably the color closest to the original. The green and black as I say are nowhere close. For one thing the green I'm using is much darker. This is kind of too bad because it's hard to distinguish it from the black scallops. I'm hoping my white border line will set them off.


Luke

[LukeZ]

And in case anyone is interested, here's the frisket paper I used. I got it from Tower Hobbies. A little pricey at around $10 or so for the package. But it's very nice stuff, I guess just try to use it with water-based paints...

Luke

[hydronut]

Your boat is looking great. You can get frisket that is safe for solvent based paints at most body shop supply stores that carry supplies used by custom car / bike painters. you could use the frisket you have but would to clean it agaiin with the goof off . After you get all of your color coats finished and spray the clear coat the tape edge will be reduced.

[LukeZ]

Hydronut, thanks for the encouragement. I'm half tempted to use my frisket paper again and just clean up the mess. I went to an auto store on the way home from work today but they didn't have any paper - I think I'll have to go to a more specialized shop. If I make it to one before the weekend that's what I'll use, otherwise I'll just make do with what I have and clean up the mess afterwards. It seemed to come off ok.

Luke

[LukeZ]

Well this really must be the longest running boat build ever but I have once again made a slight bit of progress. I decided to go ahead and use my existing frisket paper to mask off the white stripe. I knew I'd have to clean up some goo when it was all over but I decided it was worth it.

Now I think back on it I should have really painted the white first, then on top of that the green and black. Indeed I thought of that a long time ago but in my mind it seemed as if the masking for that would be too complicated. In the end I'm sure it was just as complicated this way as the other, so I should have done the other.

It required many, many coats of the white to get an opaque line over the dark paint beneath. This not only took a long time to paint but also a long time to dry. I let it dry for two days before I dared mess with the masking. All the while I just knew my frisket paper was getting gooier and gooier and I was really worried about it messing up my underlying paint. But the white stripe was so narrow and the paint so thick I really had to wait that long or else I would have totally ruined it taking off all the masking.

Here's some photos of the masking process -


Luke

[LukeZ]

Finally I took off the masking tape and frisket, but VERY slowly, and only after running a razor blade around the line. The razor-work took many hours as again, this line is very thin and it has curves, etc... The paint was so thick it was almost hard to tell where my line really was which also made this challenging.

In the end I got all the paper off, and indeed there was a massive gooey mess. I tried my Goo-B-Gone but it wasn't doing anything. I almost started to panic that I might have ruined my paint job which has taken my slow self a year to accomplish. However, I searched on the internet and found that Naptha was supposed to be good for this purpose. Thankfully the hardware store was still open even though it was the 4th of July so I ran over there and bought me a can. And what do you know, that Naptha took off the frisket goo real nice, and had no effect whatsoever on the paint. I used a Q-Tip to really get it all gone.

However, in two spots the goo must have been so harsh for the two days that it sat on my boat that it did mar the paint beneath. It made little tiny pockmarks in the green area. They're only just barely visible on the left side in the third picture below. But I hope that my clear-coat will mostly hide them.

I also ordered my graphics today, so those should be here sometime next week. Then I really need to get to work finishing up the cockpit. I still haven't decided what to do about the engine: build my own, which I'd probably enjoy but would take another forty billion years, or else buy that 3D corn model that is for sale, for $40 smackers! That's a lot of money, but I do kind of want to get this project over with...


Luke

[hydronut]

:) Man that is looking GREAT!!!!!:rockon:

[LukeZ]

Well, graphics arrived today from Callie. If I may, let me just take a moment to plug Ms. Callie. For one, here's her website: http://www.callie-graphics.com (http://www.callie-graphics.com/).

My primary hobby is RC aircraft, and I've had her do graphics for I think four of my airplanes now. They always turn out great. Obviously from the pictures below you can see she does just as well with boats. I sent her some pictures of the Miss Bardahl that I found online, gave her the measurements so the text would fit on my boat, and she did the rest. Four days and 24 dollars later, I had beautiful, vinyl graphics sitting in my mailbox. Yes, that's the price she charged me for her design time, the vinyl, and the shipping. It's an incredibly good deal in my opinion. The graphics themselves are almost like rubber, they are very sturdy and they fit around compound curves quite nicely.

What you see in the photos isn't even all that I got, I have several other stickers for the cockpit area. I'll post some pictures of those later.

Anyways, I am not affiliated with Callie in any way, I've just been a satisfied customer and so I'm spreading the word.

After the graphics were put on I couldn't resist beginning the clear top coat, since I was ready for it. The pictures are with two coats. Not sure how many I really need.

Hydronut, I think in your thread you mentioned that you buffed or polished the top coat somehow, do you mind sharing your technique?


Luke

[fleetmaster1]

One word:WOW!

Love those decals,i'll have to get back to building my Notre Dame.
Just working out what to power it with.

[hydronut]

:yeah: That looks really great. Here is how I polish duplcolor paint jobs, I first hand rub it with polishing compond I like Mcguirres "DEEP CLEANER", DON'T USE RUBBING COMPOUND IT IS TO ABRASIVE. Take a soft cloth and apply the cleaner to a small area of the hull. Now rub the quickly with slight pressure. The idea is to generate a little heat from the friction,Be careful on the corners and high spots as you don't want to rub through. Do the entire top and sides of the hull. Repeat this a time or two until your happy with it. Next come back with a good hand glaze or cleaner wax. I like "ZYMOL: new paint wax. use a damp cloth and repeat the rubbing process just like with the polishing compound. Now apply 1 coat of the cleaner wax and let it dry then remove it with a dry soft cloth! Just use care aound the lettering and corners and you will be fine, Thats it :) YOUR BUILD HAS COME OUT GREAT:beer:

[LukeZ]

Hydronut, I really appreciate all your help and advice on this build. I'm going to follow your recommendations on the polishing, only I just the other day chipped an edge which I have to repair before I'm ready. This thing is fragile! At least if I want the paint job to be perfect... If I touch an edge to a hard surface, it will dent or the paint will break. Frustrating.

I've begun work on the engine. Most of the cockpit is done, I just need to put a seat in there. You can see in the picture I've also shaped my balsa hatch. I soaked the piece in water then held it down with weights over the boat. Probably should have done that before the painting but I used a rag between the weights and the boat and nothing bad happened. However I learned that I needed to bend my wood piece further than actually required, since it would always snap back out slightly when the weights were removed. So I built a crutch on the desk and weighed it down over that, which you can also see in the photo. It now fits the boat perfectly.

Thanks for putting up with this snail's pace, eternal build... she'll be done one of these days. Probably on the last day of summer, no doubt.

I think I probably won't run her very much - just a time or two to show she works (I might get addicted though, you never know). But the amount of effort that went into this small thing makes it hard to justify the possibility of damaging or marring her. After this boat is done I need to build one where I don't spend so much time on the aesthetics, and just have it for the fun of racing.


Luke

[hydronut]

:yeah: Man that is coming right along!!! Tha tail wing, cowling and engine are turning out great. Keep us posted as to her progress. I know what you mean when you say how fragile they can be. BUT THEY ARE A GAS!!! GREAT JOB!!!:beer:

[LukeZ]

Well I'm ashamed to even still be posting in this thread, since this surely must hold the record for the longest boat build ever in the history of earth. However, I am pretty much done, and here's a few pics to prove it.

What isn't complete are the internal electronics. To me that seems a trivial part compared to the countless hours I spent painting this thing. Not having a garage, I could only paint when it wasn't too windy, or too hot, or too cold, or too humid, or I got home from work before dark, or had some spare time in my evening, or the previous coat was dry, or the part to be painted was sanded for the umpteenth time, etc... There are so many layers of primer, primer sealer, paint, and clear coat on this thing that in those spots where I had to scrape away some paint, for example to mount the engine, I swear it was over a 32nd of an inch thick. And for each one of those million coats, all the stars had to align for it to be possible for me to even apply it, out in the parking lot of my apartment, where my neighbors probably got sick of having overspray land on their cars.

So the painting is really what made this project so time-consuming. Next time I build a boat I will build a boat, not a painting show-piece.

Anyway, pics are below. Honestly I do not know if I will run this thing on the water - it looks awful nice on my bookshelf and maybe I should just leave it that way. I'm also rather burned out on it. I think I'd almost rather do another boat that wasn't quite as pretty, that I wouldn't mind taking out and having a good time with it.


Luke

[hydronut]

It turned out great. Now you can get ready for the upcoming new build contest. Just a hint it is very rewarding to actually see something you built run on the water for the first time. Then she can become a shelf queen. :yeah: GREAT JOB!!!

[Garry Finlay]

I love the way that turned out. It's so true, they look great on the shelf. But, they look great and you have a story to tell if it has been out on the water.

Let me know if you go out to get it wet. I'd like to be there.

Garry

[gonzo007]

Luke
I don't think you can do any project that isn't pretty. I think for you half the fun getting burnt out on the project. JK

This boat looks great. Bring it up for next mays Chilliwack meet. You can run it on pond after we are done flying the Solents.

Colin

[LukeZ]

Hey Colin, you're on RumRunner! It's like running into an old friend on Mars.

I had a good laugh about half the fun being getting burnt out on a project. I hate to say it but you're just about right. Must be something instilled in me by my strict religious upbringing.

Well I can see the consensus here is that I should really get this thing on the water at least once. Can you believe I haven't even floated it in my tub yet? Would that count?

Running or not though I'll definitely bring it up next May to show it off. I've been thinking what we really need is an RC boat with a camera on it, so we can film panning shots of the Solent(s) taxiing and taking off. But now I'm really getting off topic...


Luke

[hydronut]

You really should get her running, it's a gas. I love the Finlay boats. I do have one question, A V-10? Must be European. LOL Great Job.

[LukeZ]

Yeah, oops, I miscounted on the engine. Was hoping no one would notice... :rolleyes:

[JimClark]

There are other things wrong also but it is a very pretty boat.

Jim