F6F Double chipping

[SapperSix]

I have started a Hasegawa 1/32 F6F-5 (10,000th Hellcat) Kit to do some test work before I started my Tamiya 1/32 F4U (Have both the 1A and D and haven't figured out the details).  I wanted to check out the double chipping procedure, among many things, as my F4U is going to be the bench mark of all my learned techniques up to that point, so the practice goes on.

 

The first layer is Testors Model Master Aluminum (Non buffing for airbrush).  Upon that I used some my wife's hairspray (that I failed to record the name of and is now gone) .  And then a coat of Model Master Yellow Zinc Chromate.  And then another light coat of hair spray (if only I had watched some video's....). Upon curing I put Tamiya's Sea Blue XF-17 as the exterior coat. I was very worried about mixing acrylics with enamels and while I have no experience otherwise I went with what I had. 

 

Some of the hairspray was put on a little thicker in places than on other parts due to my own lack of attention to detail.  This caused the Sea Blue to look darker over the thicker hairspray coated areas.  So additional light coats of Sea blue were required to even out the top coat.  Of course this in turn caused the rubbing of the top coat off, to expose the chipping, that much more difficult. I used many, many cotton swabs to rub off the top coat.  It took a long time to loosen and came off in greater chunks than I had desired.  This, I am sure, was due to the fact that as time went on I started put on a bit too much elbow grease with the cotton swabs. 

 

One thing I did do, prior to watching other chipping videos, was chip the the Yellow Zinc to expose the Aluminum coat prior to the application of the Sea Blue.  I am not sure what effect this will have but I am guessing I will be working with the double chipping idea over several experiments until I am happy to move on. 

 

Non-the-less, here we are up till this point.  There are access panels, steps, the front of the cowling and leading edge of the wings still to be done.  There will be a sever deficit of  cotton swabs in Alaska and possibly the Northern Pacific Coast by the time I am done.   

 

More to follow.

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2018 by SapperSix

[AdamR]

Since you're asking...

 

I have my doubts about double layer chipping. While I can see double layer wear, I can't see how top coat paint would chip off, leaving the primer; the bond between them would prevent that.

 

IMO, chipping should take off all the paint at once and show nothing but bare metal. The edges between paint and metal will be sharp.

 

Wear is a different story. In that case, paint is actually rubbed down gradually thru layers and primer will be exposed before metal. Edges will be soft.

 

Anyway, that's what I see in some heavily weathered aircraft: paint chipping plus paint wear, one distinct from the other.

[LSP_Mike]

Still, something worth exploring.

[Dana Bell]

Hi Sapper,

 

Adam's note on the double chipping is certainly accurate for the Corsair - if the paint chips away, the primer usually chips away with the paint, rather than sticking to the skin.  With wearing, you might get the occasional thin primer border between the paint and the metal.  As your test images seem to show, you are aware that the second coat of primer on most Corsairs would be yellow rather than the standard green.  (Early Birdcages may have used salmon-colored primer as the second exterior coat.)  Also, watch out for chipping on the fabric areas, which extend all the way to the wing tips.

 

What is usually overlooked on Corsairs is the attempt at smoothing the wing leading edges, similar to what occurred on Mustangs.  At the high point on the wings (with the aircraft parked) ground crew boots generally wore away lots of paint during refueling and maintenance in the accessory bay - what was left on the wing was a light gray or white putty.

 

I like your technique - enjoy the build!

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Dana

[ringleheim]

[LSP_Mike]

Again, thank God for Kodachrome. SO many details in that pic. Anyone doing a WWII flightdeck (US) needs not look too much further.

[SapperSix]

Outstanding knowledgeable input!!!  Than you very much for the information and shedding a new light for me on this subject.