Another Hasegawa T bolt Bubbletop, my first LSP. November 12, 2022, It is DONE at last!!!!!!!!

[Citadelgrad]

Early results are in. 
 

91 ISO is WAY too hot, it tore through everything 

thats one moist q tip. 
 

ammonia was far milder and did eat the clear without disturbing the lacquer underneath, even with repeated exposure and scrubbing with a q tip 

It took a lot of elbow grease, but i got the aqua gloss off the other wing.   This is a mid work shot, there is still come clear on the control surface. 
 

  I sprayed the newly flat wing with alclads klear kote. 

 

 

much easier to spray for me.  
 

i also sprayed over the prior unstripped aqua gloss, to see if i can skip the stripping step

 

Much glossier than any other iteration, probably because there are 2 clear coats.  Im going to let this sit for a day to see if there is any cracking or crazing with the lacquer over acrylic. 
 

this would save me the step of stripping the jug.  
 

more later. 

Edited August 29, 2021 by Citadelgrad

[Citadelgrad]

Tonight i decided to apply the few decals i think this plane would need, the kill markings, that giant stencil in front of the markings, and the prop markings. 
 

the prop markings are HGW, and they arent ready to be peeled yet, but heres a preview

 

this went well, so i decided to put on the kill markings. 
 

it all went well until i decided to slit the panel lines, and it didnt go well. No problem, i decided to use the other gabreski kill markings and the last marking from the ruined decal to make a whole set.  So i dunked the other decal, carefully removed that last bottom right flag, and pulled the rest off.  
 

i took a q tip and cleaned up the sticky residue, but there was a lot. A lot.  It kept coming up.  I realized that something had happened to the clear coat, and an inch long section was gone, that was the residue.  So out came the sanding pads, but i cant get it to feather, it just meeps getting bigger, with visible lifting around all the edges.  
 

heres what my best paint job now looks like

 

 

see the white lifting around the edges?  That just keeps getting bigger.  Im not sure what to do, nothing is going to cover this jagged step. 
 

i really dont mind re shooting the camo around the cockpit, but this clear coat has me stumped. 
 

i have learned, in this thread, that pure ammonia will strip this aqua gloss and leave the paint underneath intact, but stripping the whole upper fuselage is a big job. 
 

i walked away for tonight.  The decals are shot, i will need to order some aftermarket ones, but i need some advice on how to deal with this failing clear coat.  
 

EDIT, some of the white residue is from a desperate brush stroke of Future i tried when i realized i had one more shot at an already we decal, so i brushed a bit on the hole and let it dry, and it did nothing other than leave white in the panel lines. 

Edited September 3, 2021 by Citadelgrad

[Citadelgrad]

The prop turned out pretty well, i mounted it up to motivate me to figure this out. 

[MikeMaben]

Hey Bill , so is that Alclad Aqua Gloss Clear ?  I have some that's lacquer. I looks like it didn't fully bond with the paint

or it's not completely cured.  I'd sand some more down to an extremely fine grit , touch up the cammo and reshoot the clear.

Do you plan to matte coat the whole thing when finished with the decals ?

[Woody V]

3 hours ago, Citadelgrad said:

i need some advice on how to deal with this failing clear coat.  

 

If I recall correctly, you did strip the AG from the wings and wound up using a lacquer clear, and you're happy with the way that turned out, right? If so, you've answered your own question. 

[Kaeone57]

Broooo,

 

Fight that good fight and things will be more than right!

 

Use that area to replicate the haphazard, irregular spray of this scheme. Look at the pics available...There are so many!!! 

 

The "way" I see it, they sprayed whatever "gray" after, over whatever "green" they used as it's just super blotchy all together...

 

Ohhh, this a field applied scheme. I'm in the camp of the undersides still having natural metal on the undersides at certain parts of the fuselage, tail horizontal empanage, and main wings, but, that's another story...

 

I hate typing....just rock that sh.t Bro!!

 

Model on Sir!

 

Alfonso

 

 

[Citadelgrad]

On 9/3/2021 at 12:49 AM, MikeMaben said:

Hey Bill , so is that Alclad Aqua Gloss Clear ?  I have some that's lacquer. I looks like it didn't fully bond with the paint

or it's not completely cured.  I'd sand some more down to an extremely fine grit , touch up the cammo and reshoot the clear.

Do you plan to matte coat the whole thing when finished with the decals ?

Hi Mike.  Yeah, the clear coat that ive had trouble with, in putting it down and now keeping it down, was aqua gloss non lacquer.  Not sure if its really enamel.  
 

it went down ok on the fuselage, but i wet sanded it to a glass smooth coat where i was going to put this decal.   It may not have been cured, but it was down since August 25th.   It took the wet sanding well, and wasnt sticky or soft at all.  
 

the issue i am having sanding it back is it isnt feathering.  It just leaves that step edge.  I might have to strip it, touch up, then switch to lacquer clear.  

 

And yes, when I am finished weathering, it will get a matte or similar to knock down the shine. 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Citadelgrad

[Citadelgrad]

Oh, man, what a night.  Im sure we all have times when a mistake or unexpected issue pops up one after another until its just a disaster?  I’m going to describe a nightmare (for me) series of events, but i am not whining or raging or giving up.  This hobby is my zen.  Even when i am making errors, i am learning and having fun. It was NOT fun to destroy the painted markings, but i can fix it. 

 

Any way, a series of unfortunate events stacking one upon another, culminating in a disaster.  that was my workbench for the past few days, reaching a crescendo tonight about 830 pacific time. 
 

i have had an issue with the aqcua gloss clear, a large area flaked off during decaling, and I was trying to sand it back to enable me to repair the camo and then coat it with a different clear product, but i could not get the edge to feather, and i was basically destroying the undercoat a half inch at a time trying to get a smooth surface. 

 

i should have just bit the bullet and stripped the whole fuselage of the clear, using q tips and vinegar.  But instead, i tried to put some mr surfacer 1200 over the seam so i could feather that.  It would have worked, too.  
 

but of course on my second coat of Mr Surfacer, i somehow ended up holding the plane and the paintbrush in the same hand, and i blobbed mr sufacer ALL OVER the “H” stencil on the left side.  I tried to use some thinner to remove it, and boom, bare plastic.  Wrong choice, i guess. It was mr self leveling thinner, by the way.  Bad decision.  That stuff is way hotter than i thought it would be. 
 

i frantically located the last “HV” stencil and confirmed i am basically just going to have to repaint about 1/8 of the fuselage.  I guess blending the camo in is going to be the toughest part.  Fortunately, the area has some hard boundaries, the wing below to the front, the wing fillet and invasion stripes below to the rear, the supercharger inlet doors to the rear, the cockpit above the front, so i only need to blend the front and the area behind the cockpit.  
 

anyway, i then bit the bullet and started stripping the whole fuselage of the acqua clear, and all of the paint basically from under the cockpit to the H so i would have a smooth surface to repaint. I got it smoothed out and deepened the panel lines, carefully double detacked some tape and covered the undamaged markings, and sprayed white for the new HV.  Since i didnt damage the adjacent V, placement will be easy, they are both on the same stencil.  
 

im letting the white set up overnight before i place the stencil, just to be safe. Then i will try to replicate the camo pattern i had before. Thanks to this thread ive got a lot of photos. 
 

the new kill markings will not be here for a week or so, so theres no rush. 
 

oh, and when i pulled up the double detacked tape, i had some lifting on the right side above the markings.  Nothing drastic, very small flakes, and its on the camo, not the stencils, but it might be tricky masking to protect the stencils.  Would a clear coat before that repair minimize that risk?  Its not a lot, i could probably mask with post its over the markings. But now that i know its lifting, it will haunt me every time i do anything in that area. 
 

anyway, this one is starting to fight me. I will just stay focused and repair the paint and ill be ready for clear and weathering.  If i were younger, this thing would have had its first and last flight tonight, but since i am just having a blast and using it as a diversion, i just realized my time table will slip a bit and i cant start the next one for a while.

 

there were a few developments, from the crazy thick orange peel on the wings, to a giant piece of clear sloughing off during decaling, to the bare plastic where the beautiful H used to be, to lifting paint, that made me worry ive ruined this, but as long as i can repair it, its not ruined. 
 

thanks for the support and advice on this one.  Despite tonight i am really enjoying myself. I cant wait to fix the camo and see it like it was before the great mr surfacer disaster of 2021.  
 

onward.  

Edited September 4, 2021 by Citadelgrad

[MikeMaben]

Persistence is the key Bill 

It does seem odd that it wouldn't feather at all. Before stripping everything, try sanding an area that

you 'didn't' polish. Polishing it may have hardened it or some other anomaly. If another area sands

fine, just keep sanding out from the area where the kill flags are until it feathers better and then reshoot.

Just a suggestion shootin' in the dark. 

[LSP_Kevin]

Oh man, I think we've all been there, Bill! Perseverance and patience are the keys to success here.

 

Kev

[Woody V]

Perhaps some inspiration will help.

 

Out of the night that covers me,
      Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
      For my unconquerable soul.

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance
      I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
      My head is bloody, but unbowed.

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
      Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
      Finds and shall find me unafraid.

 

It matters not how strait the gate,
      How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
      I am the captain of my soul.

 

Invictus

William E Henley

1875

[James Rademaker]

Quick question, what tool did you use to apply the duz fasteners?

 

Thanks,

Jim

[Citadelgrad]

On 9/4/2021 at 4:55 AM, James Rademaker said:

Quick question, what tool did you use to apply the duz fasteners?

 

Thanks,

Jim

I made the replacement fasteners with a beading tool and a scalpel blade.  It is a little kit of about 20 inserts and a handle.  I just selected the one that looked the riht size and pressed it i to the plastic using a rocking motion.  Practice on an inner wing. The rest are molded in, but i lost some in correcting some kit issues. 
 

https://www.riogrande.com/product/BeadingToolsSetof23/113344?gclid=Cj0KCQjwssyJBhDXARIsAK98ITTX-oy8E2XD6nuw-shRDY6oG7wBxSq1-CYUtEyuX0N1ye25ORo2ec8aAmYeEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edited September 6, 2021 by Citadelgrad

[James Rademaker]

Thanks,

Jim

[Citadelgrad]

I got the masks placed and I think I'm ready to shoot the camo again.  I'm busy today, though. Again, no rush on this.   I'm making myself slow down and get everything done to the best of my ability.