I'm about to convert a 44" Eflite P-51D Dallas Doll into a scheme that my friend's father flew in WWII (15th AF, 52nd fighter group, 2nd squadron, Yellow Tails, 'Michelle Marie'). Your video series is just what I was looking for. Thanks!
+Chuck Pierce Awesome! I'm so glad it's helpful! I'd love to see the final result when you're done, so feel free to send pics or post them on my facebook page (facebook.com/thercgeek)
+The RC Geek I will do that. Originally, I'd planned a bit of a minimalist re-detailing job, but your series has convinced me to go the extra mile, and do a much better job. I had been worried that acetone would eat the foam, but apparently it doesn't. Using polycrylic before painting is something that I hadn't thought of. Great tips. Thanks again.
*Thank you for adding the links to the rest of this series in your description.* *Also, looking forward to see what you do differently then myself and others have done and how well it works out.* *Good luck.*
Chris, thanks for the video series. I have tried following your technique on a PA-18 cub. Clean, sand, sherwin-williams light spackle (shrink free ) sticks well, sands easily (could not find the balsa filler anywhere), then many coats of minwax. Then primed with Zinner 1.2.3 mould and mildew paint, sand, repeat. This stuff supposed to stick to anything. I found that when sanding, some of the paint lifted like peeling sunburnt skin. Put a painting spatular under it and can easily lift it off all in one piece down to the bare foam. So the minwax is not sticking well. I then cleaned off the top of one wing, back to bare foam with acetone, sand with 160 then paint with sherwin williams extreme bond primer (green label). That stuff sticks well. Pat at the Burlington (ontario) North store gave me 1oz of yellow tint to mix into the primer (I mixed 18:1 by weight) and let it dry, spackle, sand 220, prime, spackle, sand 220 again and it it looks good. (light yellow) to paint cub yellow. Now will paint 6 coats of min wax and then prime again with sherwin williams extreme bond and apply final colours. I think this will be a winner. Thoughts ?
Dealing with bare epo foam can be challenging. I’d recommend scuffing it up a bit with some 180 grit sand paper and rubbing it down with acetone which it sounds like you did on the second go. The issue isn’t so much the minwax, but the oiliness of the unpainted surface. Sounds like you have a good solution working.
@@Thercgeek Update. so the Zinner 1.2.3. mould and mildew, followed by minwax did not stick very well. In fact a painters spatular easily lifted the finish like sunburned skin! However, I have since tried using Sherwin-William Extreme Bond (green label) primer and it sticks well!.. In fact I had to scrape hard with the edge of the spatular to get it off, and even then it came off in cells at a time not big pieces. I did find that the SW primer i had left for a few days was harder to get off than that which was recently applied, which means that curing properly before applying more primer/min wax is important. This Sherwin-Williams Extreme Bond supposedly sticks to glass too! Also have tried using Sherwin Williams Shrink-free Spakling which is also light weight as I could not find that balsa sparkling here in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Thanks for you videos, and time to respond. Cheers. Nichola.
Thanks! I had intended to weigh the airplane before I started but forgot to. :( I was too excited and got ahead of myself, haha! Truthfully, a little weight gain isn't a bad thing on these foamies as the slightly heavier wing loading helps them to track a little truer and cut through winds better.
Look how young Chris looked back then! Here’s the deal- As my flying skills improved, I have less planes going to the trash can, but showing their age. (I actually think planes with dents, dings and scratches fly better. Their thoughts must be- “Shit, here’s serious! Even if we crash at no fault of Jeff’s, he’s gonna glue us back to together and fly us again. And again. And again. We might as well just fly straight and level…”) Been a few years since I watched this. It was actually my first RC Geek video. I’d like to take some of the bumps and bruises, do some patching, sanding, airbrushing and Callie Graphicing and get these planes looking a little better. Thanks for the series.
@@Thercgeek My wife 7 years ago gave me a little storage room to store my planes and enough room for a small work table. This past summer was the first time she had stepped foot in the room in 5 years. I got the- “You need help. No seriously, you need to seek professional help. You’ve got 40 planes. Why would anyone need 40 planes?!?!? Your OCD is out of control!” So… I may have to cut back on purchases of planes, but not on RC supplies.
Hey Chris...I see you have changed up the process a bit but I still want to prime before i paint and I can't locate the spray can version of Evercote...do you have a sandable, automotive primer you recommend? Thanks!
Yep! I’ve been using duplicolor filler primer since the loss of evercote. It doesn’t dry quite as fast, but is a good sandable primer otherwise. I get it from Amazon here: amzn.to/43fdvje (Amazon)
9:31 Honest question. Why do you say you don’t have to strip the paint for all white airplane? I have the red/white Navy color scheme Eflite T28 that I want to paint in the silver/blue Air Force colors. I’ll probably use a small air paint gun. I don’t need to strip? The red only maybe? Do you suggest a non aerosol paint to get a chrome/mirror like finish? Also, I can’t find anyone with the Hobbylite filler in stock.
Based on the pint that’s used on epo foam aircraft these days, paint adhesion is far better than when I made this video series. So, stripping the paint is an extra step at this point and not doing so saves time. For painting, you can use virtually any type of paint medium as epo foam is extremely resilient to solvents. So, use whatever you’d like in terms of paints (I do). On the filler, the hobbylite isn’t made anymore so I’d recommend using the shrink free spackle from sherwinn williams. It’s really good stuff!
Hi Chris ! Hope you and yours are well. I have a question about the Polycrylic (bet I am the first ) When ordering foam brushes I noticed foam rollers , the description said they left a better finish ?ever use them? I am going to do two coats of polycrylic on a pair of Flex RV-8's would you go with gloss or semi-gloss? Do you add any water to the polycrylic? Thanks so much. I appreciate your help and feel extremely comfortable with you advice. Will -
Hi Chris. I've now viewed all of your vids regarding the finishing of foam aircraft. I attempted a repaint of my first RC airplane, the E-flite Turbo Timber. I was not pleased with the result, mostly because the paint was lifting off the foam in areas that I masked with yellow Frog Tape. Maybe my approach was the problem. After peeling off stickers, I applied 6 coats of MinWax Polycrylic to "seal" the foam (why is "sealing" necessary?). Next I applied the Sherwin Williams no-shrink spackling. It works great when diluted slightly with water. The reason for using the spackling was to hide the texture coming from individual foam cells, not to fill panel lines. Next I applied 3 coats of Krylon white primer. I used 800 grit sand paper to get a smooth primer finish. For the finish coat, I used Krylon satin white spray paint and Tamyia red spray paint for plastic models. Oh, I did use your post-it-note hint to mask. That technique did work well. The primer did not stick well to the polycrylic. Should I have used a different primer, like the automotive primer you used? I did notice the that Sherwin Williams spackling adheres to foam very well. For my next paint job, I would skip the polycrylic and cover the foam liberally with the Sherwin Williams Spackling. Then I would prime the spackling directly, followed by the finish coat. Will I have problems with an approach that omits the Polycrylic? I am sorry for the long message. Thanks for your help.
So, the polycrylic is there to seal the spackle, so I apply it after any filling is done. It also stiffened the airframe up a touch also. In terms of the adhesion issue, that’s a tougher one. I think that comes from not doing any type of prep work to the underlying foam. On my c-27 paint job, if I were to do it again, I would have burnished the bare foam with acetone and lightly scuffed the surface with a scotchbrite pad before applying any poly or anything else. I think it needs that as otherwise, the untreated foam seems to be kind of oily and paint doesn’t stick to it.
I want to get the new eflite F-4u and change it from a plane with the training stripes to a combat model. The overall color will be the same and I don't mind the panel lines. Do I have to completely strip all the paint or can I just cover with the min wax and prime/paint same over all midnight blue?
+Chris Thompson If you're not concerned with filling the panel lines at all, you can simply paint over the existing paint. One thing to note though, paint doesn't always like to stick hard to EPO foam, so use very very light tack tape when you paint. Otherwise, if you do want to coat with minwax, then the best option is to strip it first because of the potential of the paint lifting underneath.
If I knew it was that easy, I would have done this a long time ago. I just always assumed that any solvent like acetone would eat the foam and that the only option to stripping was the painful process of sanding. Might start looking at foamies again knowing I can strip the paint easily with acetone. Thanks.
Hey can u please help me I got quite a few questions haha. So I have the silver freewing mig-21 I got it using it is a little beat up and repaired and you can see the marks from it all once I take the couple stickers off do I just completely repaint over the paint or do I spray a primer on there first and then the spray paint it?? I want it to look as nice as possible!! Also after doing all of that do I use a clear gloss finisher I think it's called like a last coat to make it shiny/glossy? Or is the paint gonna be shiny already or both. I have never painted ANYTHING pleaseee help haha and thank you!!
It really depends on what your looking for in the final result. I’d recommend repairing the damaged areas with filler and then doing a coat or two of polycrylic to seal it. Regarding primer, that never hurts and provides a good solid base color before painting. Once painted, etc., it’s advisable to spray a clear coat over the finish to protect it and even it all out. The rustoleum 2x clear is actually quite good.
Fantastic transformation. Is there a reason you did not glass the airframe which I would have assumed would have given you a more durable finish. Weight?
Thanks! The polycrylic is just simpler and less work. On a sunny day, you can apply 6 coats of polycrylic in a couple hours. Glassing takes quite a bit longer. Plus, it avoids locking up the hinges with epoxy. The poly does actually stiffen up the airplane decently and provide a hardened shell over the airframe.
Excellent info! I have an XL-B-25 that they've not cleaned off the release agent before painting at the factory, so the paint is almost a stretchy latex type that can be peeled, but the acetone is great. I've used regular lacquer thinner too. What is the music during the paint stripping sequence??
Thanks! Which manufacturer B-25 is it? FMS? Regarding the music, during that sequence, I used one of the tunes packaged with imovie. I don't recall what it was called, I can look it up and let you know.
I glued it into the slot in the foam with some epoxy and then put a piece of wood over it to secure it. It's in my second episode: thercgeek.com/2015/08/refinish-a-foam-warbird-ep2-fms-p-51/#more-855
hey chris, I'm going to repaint an fms 1400 t-28.why all these companies paint the same numbers on their planes is odd. I was in VT-2, and that is what I'm going to. when I strip the paint, I hope the frame is white, is that right? an acetone will not hurt the foam, right.water base paint is a must too. thanks for great info
The foam is usually always white underneath. No issues with acetone and epo foam, just try to avoid putting it on super wet as sometimes this can cause the foam to swell a little. It’s always best to try a test spot just to make sure. On the paint, most any type of mediums should work. I’ve used all different sorts including enamels and Tamiya spray cans. Again, try a test spot first just to make sure but I didn’t have any issues. Epo foam is pretty resilient stuff when it comes to solvents. EPS on the other hand is a different story. It’s not resilient at all.
Acetone should work, it's a pretty heavy solvent. Otherwise, this Grow Automotive "Super Klean" has worked really well for me in the past also: amzn.to/2Jv3XsB I used it to strip the paint on the Mirage 2000.
It depends on the type of foam. Most EPOs will handle acetone. However, EPS will NOT! So, whatever you plan to use it on, definitely test it in a discrete area first.
hey chris, I tried acetone to remove paint. I got a bad effect on my plane. as soon as the acetone touched the trailing edge of my t-28 rudder, it began to deform. edge is now veryrounded instead of the flatter shape it was. what happened? I stripped the rest of the paintwith masking tape, rudder only, not the whole stab.
Sounds to me that the foam reacted to the acetone. Which T-28 is it? It could be a different formula of EPO. Always good to try a test spot before going all in.
PS: You offer a wonderful service and I am not trying to be the OSHA police. Just a retired Respiratory Therapist and Community Health Advisor. Didn't see a respirator. Thanks much for the schooling, I am learning to build scale and enjoy the hobby bunches.
+John Knopp no, acetone will not melt epo foam (it will melt eps though). Avoid putting it on too wet though as sometimes the foam beads can swell a little if it’s really wet on there. Use just enough to remove the paint.
@@Thercgeek Hey Chris, Just bought some acetone to remove paint from a brand new set of floats. The plane (UMX Timber) comes in white but the floats come painted silver ...strange. Anyways I put a tiny drop of acetone on the bottom of one of the floats and it immediately ate a small dimple out of it. They must not be EPO foam then. How to best to tell the difference between different types of foam so as to choose the best stripping method? Any insight would be great. Man your channel absolutely Rocks! Cheers from L.A.
@@danreynolds8028 Thanks man! Yeah, most of the UMX airplanes are EPS foam. You can tell EPO by how it looks. It has large cells and looks kind of oily. It also feel a bit more spongy as well. EPS typically has a tighter/smaller cell structure, more like a styrofoam cup. I'd recommend just painting directly over the paint that's on there. Of late, I've not been stripping the paint on the airplanes I've been refinishing.
@@Thercgeek The foam used for the plane definitely looks different than the foam for the floats. I looked at it again and now that you mention it, the floats do look and feel like styrofoam cup . Since the UMX Timber is white and unpainted, it is easy to see how different the 2 foams look. I don't plan to do anything to the plane itself. It looks really good as is and the decals make it look classy, not gawdy as some decals are. It's just that the floats come painted in silver which is pretty odd considering how good the plane itself looks. It's a complete mismatch. I tell you, for some time I was not interested in the UMX series (due to their small size) as I prefer 1200mm and up. But Robin at Robin's Hobby convinced me this was a really good plane and WOW I am totally impressed with how much bang for the buck you get with these. Typically, I'm a warbird addict, but this Little UMX Timber seems to have it all. Big wheels, flaps, and LEDs really make this a great value. Just need to make the battery more secure and a couple minor tweaks and I'll be good to go. Thanks Chris!!
yeah, I believe if you look on my about page on my channel, you can get an email address from there. Otherwise, shoot me an email through my contact form on my website: thercgeek.com/contact
One other thing, though more expensive than acetone, I've used this lift up the paint on these foamies and it does it really well and doesn't have any solvents in at all like acetone. Might be something to look into. amzn.to/2HKlwD0
I’m not familiar with foam putty. That being said, I’ve been using sherwinn williams shrink free spackle which works really nicely. The balsa filler isn’t made anymore.
Acetone (and many other solvents) melt EPS foam. However, this airframe (along with most foam arfs these days) are made of EPO foam which is extremely resilient to solvents. I’ve used all sorts of different paint mediums on epo foam and never had any issues at all with melting. Only thing is that The foam beads can swell of high solvent paint or primer is applied to heavily.
You can fill over the paint. You'll just need to be careful on the type of tape you use when you paint the airplane. There's a higher risk of pulling your finish up. That said, if you use Frog Tape, you shouldn't have too many issues with paint lifting.
The RC Geek thank you for the help I'm new to foam rc airplanes I have been out of rc planes for 20 years and I'm getting back into it again there are not many videos like yours on the internet so when I find one I have lots of questions
next time use purple power cleaner to remove paint,pour it in a tub of water,let soak over night ( I do a 50 50 mix) it will strip the paint with no damage to the foam,It takes it right down. Modellers use it all the time, it removes enamal,acrylic you name it. even chrome plating on plastic,and doesnt hurt the foam! I like those retracts,I may order a set for my F4u Coursair. Your kids were entertaining thats for sure.
+scott firman Sounds like an interesting technique. Any soaking though would have required removing the electronics which I didn't do during the stripping process. On the retracts, FMS does in fact have 90 deg rotating gear. Which Corsair do you have?
+The RC Geek yeah, you wouldnt want the electronics all wet. I would do that because I dont like the extra work,and using acetone isnt my favorite thing to do.
This p-51, as well as most all of the foam arfs these days, is made of epo foam which is extremely resilient to solvents. You’re thinking eps (beer cooler) foam which would melt in an instant with acetone.
Wouldnt it be great if the manufacturers offered UNPAINTED versions of all their planes ? Ive painted a few FMS Beavers and I could save a can or two of paint if I didnt have to apply so many coats to completely cover factory base coats.
my t-28 is the 1400mm by fms. the color is also wrong. should be international orange, not red. I am going to use the polycrylic to seal and then repaint the red sections. I have many hours in these planes as I was in the Navy, VT-2 again, thanks for the great videos
You may have answered already: Did you ventilate your work area? Note...Acetone is neuro-toxic. www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/acetone.html
I'm about to convert a 44" Eflite P-51D Dallas Doll into a scheme that
my friend's father flew in WWII (15th
AF, 52nd fighter group, 2nd squadron, Yellow Tails, 'Michelle Marie').
Your video series is just what I was looking for. Thanks!
+Chuck Pierce Awesome! I'm so glad it's helpful! I'd love to see the final result when you're done, so feel free to send pics or post them on my facebook page (facebook.com/thercgeek)
+The RC Geek I will do that. Originally, I'd planned a bit of a minimalist re-detailing job, but your series has convinced me to go the extra mile, and do a much better job. I had been worried that acetone would eat the foam, but apparently it doesn't. Using polycrylic before painting is something that I hadn't thought of. Great tips. Thanks again.
*Thank you for adding the links to the rest of this series in your description.*
*Also, looking forward to see what you do differently then myself and others have done and how well it works out.*
*Good luck.*
Thank you and thanks for watching! :)
@@Thercgeek I tried tagging u In my post on here wasn't sure how so I did this instead lol
About to start a remake of my Dynam P-51... thanks for your videos Chris..
Has given me stuff to do on rainy days..! 🤘🇦🇺
So glad it’s helpful!
This is so great, well done Chris!
Thank you!
Chris, thanks for the video series. I have tried following your technique on a PA-18 cub. Clean, sand, sherwin-williams light spackle (shrink free ) sticks well, sands easily (could not find the balsa filler anywhere), then many coats of minwax. Then primed with Zinner 1.2.3 mould and mildew paint, sand, repeat. This stuff supposed to stick to anything. I found that when sanding, some of the paint lifted like peeling sunburnt skin. Put a painting spatular under it and can easily lift it off all in one piece down to the bare foam. So the minwax is not sticking well. I then cleaned off the top of one wing, back to bare foam with acetone, sand with 160 then paint with sherwin williams extreme bond primer (green label). That stuff sticks well. Pat at the Burlington (ontario) North store gave me 1oz of yellow tint to mix into the primer (I mixed 18:1 by weight) and let it dry, spackle, sand 220, prime, spackle, sand 220 again and it it looks good. (light yellow) to paint cub yellow. Now will paint 6 coats of min wax and then prime again with sherwin williams extreme bond and apply final colours. I think this will be a winner. Thoughts ?
Dealing with bare epo foam can be challenging. I’d recommend scuffing it up a bit with some 180 grit sand paper and rubbing it down with acetone which it sounds like you did on the second go. The issue isn’t so much the minwax, but the oiliness of the unpainted surface. Sounds like you have a good solution working.
@@Thercgeek Update. so the Zinner 1.2.3. mould and mildew, followed by minwax did not stick very well. In fact a painters spatular easily lifted the finish like sunburned skin! However, I have since tried using Sherwin-William Extreme Bond (green label) primer and it sticks well!.. In fact I had to scrape hard with the edge of the spatular to get it off, and even then it came off in cells at a time not big pieces. I did find that the SW primer i had left for a few days was harder to get off than that which was recently applied, which means that curing properly before applying more primer/min wax is important. This Sherwin-Williams Extreme Bond supposedly sticks to glass too! Also have tried using Sherwin Williams Shrink-free Spakling which is also light weight as I could not find that balsa sparkling here in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Thanks for you videos, and time to respond. Cheers. Nichola.
Great video from a true pro !
Chris is very modest ...he has awesome modeling skills.
Thanks man, you’re very kind!
I am watching your videos and work is amazing. Just a suggestion, weigh the model before and after refining it. Congratulations on fantastic job !!
Thanks! I had intended to weigh the airplane before I started but forgot to. :( I was too excited and got ahead of myself, haha! Truthfully, a little weight gain isn't a bad thing on these foamies as the slightly heavier wing loading helps them to track a little truer and cut through winds better.
Great work Chris thanks for linking the whole series 😎👍🛫
Thanks! Glad you found it. 😊
@@Thercgeek I enjoy personalizing some of my rc's as well 😎👊
Excellent Chris!
+Tony Accurso Thank you!
Look how young Chris looked back then!
Here’s the deal- As my flying skills improved, I have less planes going to the trash can, but showing their age. (I actually think planes with dents, dings and scratches fly better. Their thoughts must be- “Shit, here’s serious! Even if we crash at no fault of Jeff’s, he’s gonna glue us back to together and fly us again. And again. And again. We might as well just fly straight and level…”)
Been a few years since I watched this. It was actually my first RC Geek video.
I’d like to take some of the bumps and bruises, do some patching, sanding, airbrushing and Callie Graphicing and get these planes looking a little better.
Thanks for the series.
I’m so glad this is still helpful. Ta definitely been a few year, haha! Time is a cruel and unrelenting mistress… 🤣
@@Thercgeek My wife 7 years ago gave me a little storage room to store my planes and enough room for a small work table. This past summer was the first time she had stepped foot in the room in 5 years. I got the- “You need help. No seriously, you need to seek professional help. You’ve got 40 planes. Why would anyone need 40 planes?!?!? Your OCD is out of control!”
So… I may have to cut back on purchases of planes, but not on RC supplies.
Hey Chris...I see you have changed up the process a bit but I still want to prime before i paint and I can't locate the spray can version of Evercote...do you have a sandable, automotive primer you recommend? Thanks!
Yep! I’ve been using duplicolor filler primer since the loss of evercote. It doesn’t dry quite as fast, but is a good sandable primer otherwise. I get it from Amazon here: amzn.to/43fdvje (Amazon)
@@Thercgeek Thanks Chris...I appreciate it!
9:31 Honest question. Why do you say you don’t have to strip the paint for all white airplane? I have the red/white Navy color scheme Eflite T28 that I want to paint in the silver/blue Air Force colors. I’ll probably use a small air paint gun. I don’t need to strip? The red only maybe?
Do you suggest a non aerosol paint to get a chrome/mirror like finish?
Also, I can’t find anyone with the Hobbylite filler in stock.
Based on the pint that’s used on epo foam aircraft these days, paint adhesion is far better than when I made this video series. So, stripping the paint is an extra step at this point and not doing so saves time. For painting, you can use virtually any type of paint medium as epo foam is extremely resilient to solvents. So, use whatever you’d like in terms of paints (I do). On the filler, the hobbylite isn’t made anymore so I’d recommend using the shrink free spackle from sherwinn williams. It’s really good stuff!
Hi Chris !
Hope you and yours are well.
I have a question about the Polycrylic (bet I am the first )
When ordering foam brushes I noticed foam rollers , the description said they left a better finish ?ever use them?
I am going to do two coats of polycrylic on a pair of Flex RV-8's would you go with gloss or semi-gloss? Do you add any water to the polycrylic?
Thanks so much. I appreciate your help and feel extremely comfortable with you advice.
Will -
I prefer the foam brush vs the roller. You can get a little thicker coat on there. I apply the poly straight, no thinning with water at all.
@@Thercgeek Thank you ! Thumbs up and comment on all your vids ! One of my favorite channels!! 👍👍
Thank you!
Totally amazed, I thought this solvent would melt the foam.
EPO is amazingly resilient in that respect. Always test it to make sure, but I haven't had any issues using acetone on EPO.
Hi Chris. I've now viewed all of your vids regarding the finishing of foam aircraft. I attempted a repaint of my first RC airplane, the E-flite Turbo Timber. I was not pleased with the result, mostly because the paint was lifting off the foam in areas that I masked with yellow Frog Tape. Maybe my approach was the problem. After peeling off stickers, I applied 6 coats of MinWax Polycrylic to "seal" the foam (why is "sealing" necessary?). Next I applied the Sherwin Williams no-shrink spackling. It works great when diluted slightly with water. The reason for using the spackling was to hide the texture coming from individual foam cells, not to fill panel lines. Next I applied 3 coats of Krylon white primer. I used 800 grit sand paper to get a smooth primer finish. For the finish coat, I used Krylon satin white spray paint and Tamyia red spray paint for plastic models. Oh, I did use your post-it-note hint to mask. That technique did work well.
The primer did not stick well to the polycrylic. Should I have used a different primer, like the automotive primer you used?
I did notice the that Sherwin Williams spackling adheres to foam very well. For my next paint job, I would skip the polycrylic and cover the foam liberally with the Sherwin Williams Spackling. Then I would prime the spackling directly, followed by the finish coat. Will I have problems with an approach that omits the Polycrylic?
I am sorry for the long message. Thanks for your help.
So, the polycrylic is there to seal the spackle, so I apply it after any filling is done. It also stiffened the airframe up a touch also. In terms of the adhesion issue, that’s a tougher one. I think that comes from not doing any type of prep work to the underlying foam. On my c-27 paint job, if I were to do it again, I would have burnished the bare foam with acetone and lightly scuffed the surface with a scotchbrite pad before applying any poly or anything else. I think it needs that as otherwise, the untreated foam seems to be kind of oily and paint doesn’t stick to it.
Chris, do you stil take the decals off or do you paint over those as well without stripping? Thanks.
I’ve been skipping the paint stripping of late. Paint adhesion is pretty good on this stuff these days.
I want to get the new eflite F-4u and change it from a plane with the training stripes to a combat model. The overall color will be the same and I don't mind the panel lines. Do I have to completely strip all the paint or can I just cover with the min wax and prime/paint same over all midnight blue?
+Chris Thompson If you're not concerned with filling the panel lines at all, you can simply paint over the existing paint. One thing to note though, paint doesn't always like to stick hard to EPO foam, so use very very light tack tape when you paint. Otherwise, if you do want to coat with minwax, then the best option is to strip it first because of the potential of the paint lifting underneath.
thank you very much. im going to use the same techniques for my cessna and E-flite Cirrus. happy 2019. subscribed
Thanks! Let me know if you have questions in the process.
If I knew it was that easy, I would have done this a long time ago. I just always assumed that any solvent like acetone would eat the foam and that the only option to stripping was the painful process of sanding. Might start looking at foamies again knowing I can strip the paint easily with acetone. Thanks.
yeah, EPO is very resilient that way. Obviously, always test it first, but I haven't had any issues with acetone on multiple EPO airframes.
Hey can u please help me I got quite a few questions haha. So I have the silver freewing mig-21 I got it using it is a little beat up and repaired and you can see the marks from it all once I take the couple stickers off do I just completely repaint over the paint or do I spray a primer on there first and then the spray paint it?? I want it to look as nice as possible!! Also after doing all of that do I use a clear gloss finisher I think it's called like a last coat to make it shiny/glossy? Or is the paint gonna be shiny already or both. I have never painted ANYTHING pleaseee help haha and thank you!!
It really depends on what your looking for in the final result. I’d recommend repairing the damaged areas with filler and then doing a coat or two of polycrylic to seal it. Regarding primer, that never hurts and provides a good solid base color before painting. Once painted, etc., it’s advisable to spray a clear coat over the finish to protect it and even it all out. The rustoleum 2x clear is actually quite good.
Fantastic transformation. Is there a reason you did not glass the airframe which I would have assumed would have given you a more durable finish. Weight?
Thanks! The polycrylic is just simpler and less work. On a sunny day, you can apply 6 coats of polycrylic in a couple hours. Glassing takes quite a bit longer. Plus, it avoids locking up the hinges with epoxy. The poly does actually stiffen up the airplane decently and provide a hardened shell over the airframe.
Excellent info! I have an XL-B-25 that they've not cleaned off the
release agent before painting at the factory, so the paint is almost a
stretchy latex type that can be peeled, but the acetone is great. I've
used regular lacquer thinner too. What is the music during the paint
stripping sequence??
Thanks! Which manufacturer B-25 is it? FMS? Regarding the music, during that sequence, I used one of the tunes packaged with imovie. I don't recall what it was called, I can look it up and let you know.
Ok, got a chance to look up the song, it's called "undercover." The Georgie's Gal 25 looks great! I dig the sound system. :)
I might have missed that but how did you fix the pushrod bending under load?
I glued it into the slot in the foam with some epoxy and then put a piece of wood over it to secure it. It's in my second episode: thercgeek.com/2015/08/refinish-a-foam-warbird-ep2-fms-p-51/#more-855
hey chris, I'm going to repaint an fms 1400 t-28.why all these companies paint the same numbers on their planes is odd. I was in VT-2, and that is what I'm going to. when I strip the paint, I hope the frame is white, is that right? an acetone will not hurt the foam, right.water base paint is a must too. thanks for great info
The foam is usually always white underneath. No issues with acetone and epo foam, just try to avoid putting it on super wet as sometimes this can cause the foam to swell a little. It’s always best to try a test spot just to make sure. On the paint, most any type of mediums should work. I’ve used all different sorts including enamels and Tamiya spray cans. Again, try a test spot first just to make sure but I didn’t have any issues. Epo foam is pretty resilient stuff when it comes to solvents. EPS on the other hand is a different story. It’s not resilient at all.
Hi Chris, any tips on removing the new water based paints?
Acetone should work, it's a pretty heavy solvent. Otherwise, this Grow Automotive "Super Klean" has worked really well for me in the past also: amzn.to/2Jv3XsB I used it to strip the paint on the Mirage 2000.
So is acetone safe for all the different foams used to make foam models?
It depends on the type of foam. Most EPOs will handle acetone. However, EPS will NOT! So, whatever you plan to use it on, definitely test it in a discrete area first.
hey chris, I tried acetone to remove paint. I got a bad effect on my plane. as soon as the acetone touched the trailing edge of my t-28 rudder, it began to deform. edge is now veryrounded instead of the flatter shape it was. what happened? I stripped the rest of the paintwith masking tape, rudder only, not the whole stab.
Sounds to me that the foam reacted to the acetone. Which T-28 is it? It could be a different formula of EPO. Always good to try a test spot before going all in.
PS: You offer a wonderful service and I am not trying to be the OSHA police. Just a retired Respiratory Therapist and Community Health Advisor. Didn't see a respirator. Thanks much for the schooling, I am learning to build scale and enjoy the hobby bunches.
So acetone wont melt the foam?
+John Knopp no, acetone will not melt epo foam (it will melt eps though). Avoid putting it on too wet though as sometimes the foam beads can swell a little if it’s really wet on there. Use just enough to remove the paint.
@@Thercgeek Hey Chris, Just bought some acetone to remove paint from a brand new set of floats. The plane (UMX Timber) comes in white but the floats come painted silver ...strange. Anyways I put a tiny drop of acetone on the bottom of one of the floats and it immediately ate a small dimple out of it. They must not be EPO foam then. How to best to tell the difference between different types of foam so as to choose the best stripping method? Any insight would be great. Man your channel absolutely Rocks! Cheers from L.A.
@@danreynolds8028 Thanks man! Yeah, most of the UMX airplanes are EPS foam. You can tell EPO by how it looks. It has large cells and looks kind of oily. It also feel a bit more spongy as well. EPS typically has a tighter/smaller cell structure, more like a styrofoam cup. I'd recommend just painting directly over the paint that's on there. Of late, I've not been stripping the paint on the airplanes I've been refinishing.
@@Thercgeek The foam used for the plane definitely looks different than the foam for the floats. I looked at it again and now that you mention it, the floats do look and feel like styrofoam cup . Since the UMX Timber is white and unpainted, it is easy to see how different the 2 foams look. I don't plan to do anything to the plane itself. It looks really good as is and the decals make it look classy, not gawdy as some decals are. It's just that the floats come painted in silver which is pretty odd considering how good the plane itself looks. It's a complete mismatch. I tell you, for some time I was not interested in the UMX series (due to their small size) as I prefer 1200mm and up. But Robin at Robin's Hobby convinced me this was a really good plane and WOW I am totally impressed with how much bang for the buck you get with these. Typically, I'm a warbird addict, but this Little UMX Timber seems to have it all. Big wheels, flaps, and LEDs really make this a great value. Just need to make the battery more secure and a couple minor tweaks and I'll be good to go. Thanks Chris!!
@@Thercgeek I forgot to ask... I'm going to Lowe's to get some Polycrylic. Can it be applied directly over the original paint?
I'm going to do this one more time. is there any way to send you a picture of the plane I am modeling?
yeah, I believe if you look on my about page on my channel, you can get an email address from there. Otherwise, shoot me an email through my contact form on my website: thercgeek.com/contact
One other thing, though more expensive than acetone, I've used this lift up the paint on these foamies and it does it really well and doesn't have any solvents in at all like acetone. Might be something to look into. amzn.to/2HKlwD0
And do you still believe that balsa filler would be better foam putty?
I’m not familiar with foam putty. That being said, I’ve been using sherwinn williams shrink free spackle which works really nicely. The balsa filler isn’t made anymore.
Use heat to pull the stickers off. 150 degrees. With your hand by the sticker you can feel if it gets too hot as you heat with a gun.
Problem is that that will swell the foam beads and gator the surface.
I thought Acetone melts foam ? How come its not melting your plane ? Thanks
Acetone (and many other solvents) melt EPS foam. However, this airframe (along with most foam arfs these days) are made of EPO foam which is extremely resilient to solvents. I’ve used all sorts of different paint mediums on epo foam and never had any issues at all with melting. Only thing is that The foam beads can swell of high solvent paint or primer is applied to heavily.
Can I just fill over the paint and not remove it to fill the line's in or do you have to strip the paint off
You can fill over the paint. You'll just need to be careful on the type of tape you use when you paint the airplane. There's a higher risk of pulling your finish up. That said, if you use Frog Tape, you shouldn't have too many issues with paint lifting.
The RC Geek thank you for the help I'm new to foam rc airplanes I have been out of rc planes for 20 years and I'm getting back into it again there are not many videos like yours on the internet so when I find one I have lots of questions
No worries, I’m happy to help! If you have more questions, just let me know.
The RC Geek thank you for your help the hobby has come a long way in 20 year's lol I feel like a dinosaur now lol with the new stuff on the market
next time use purple power cleaner to remove paint,pour it in a tub of water,let soak over night ( I do a 50 50 mix) it will strip the paint with no damage to the foam,It takes it right down. Modellers use it all the time, it removes enamal,acrylic you name it. even chrome plating on plastic,and doesnt hurt the foam! I like those retracts,I may order a set for my F4u Coursair. Your kids were entertaining thats for sure.
+scott firman Sounds like an interesting technique. Any soaking though would have required removing the electronics which I didn't do during the stripping process. On the retracts, FMS does in fact have 90 deg rotating gear. Which Corsair do you have?
+The RC Geek Its the larger Dynam. I have to have the big ones so I can see them up there!
+The RC Geek yeah, you wouldnt want the electronics all wet. I would do that because I dont like the extra work,and using acetone isnt my favorite thing to do.
I'm surprised the foam didnt disintegrate when you put acetone on it
This p-51, as well as most all of the foam arfs these days, is made of epo foam which is extremely resilient to solvents. You’re thinking eps (beer cooler) foam which would melt in an instant with acetone.
Wouldnt it be great if the manufacturers offered UNPAINTED versions of all their planes ? Ive painted a few FMS Beavers and I could save a can or two of paint if I didnt have to apply so many coats to completely cover factory base coats.
Right?! I always primer before painting, so that does help cover up any under colors that may be there.
I’m shocked the Acetone doesn’t attack the foam
EPO foam is really resilient stuff. It doesn't react to solvents the same as EPS does.
my t-28 is the 1400mm by fms. the color is also wrong. should be international orange, not red. I am going to use the polycrylic to seal and then repaint the red sections. I have many hours in these planes as I was in the Navy, VT-2 again, thanks for the great videos
wow, very cool!
Hi Don just saw your post I was in VT-1 Saufley field 1959-1961
why did you fill in panel lines?
Because the panel lines were grossly oversized and killed me to look at. ;)
You may have answered already: Did you ventilate your work area? Note...Acetone is neuro-toxic. www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/acetone.html