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 "Cloudster" Construction Project Session #86

Speed 400 Cloudster Project
 
At the end of Report No.82 I said: "However, now I am 0.87 ounces short of meeting the 16 ounce minimum weight for the Speed 400 SAM event. So I will  disassemble the model and air brush one thin coat of clear satin Klass Kote on the fuselage, cowl, and vertical tail". The clear satin Klass Kote provides an incredibly smooth matte finish to doped silk and since it is an epoxy, it will add some needed distributed weight. Even then, I probably will still have to add a little ballast weight to bring the model up to the 16 ounce minimum weight requirement.
 
Before applying the Klass Kote, the fuselage, cowl, fin, and rudder were weighed in together at 95 grams (3.35 oz). This provides a reference weight used to determine just how much additional weight the single coat of Klass Kote adds.  
 
For those of you who have never used Klass Kote epoxy paint, the picture below shows what I use and how I use it. The Klass Kote cans, from right to left, are Reducer #500, Part-A Clear #40, and Part-B Satin Catalyst $463. In the foreground on the right is a prepared  mix of 1/2 oz Clear and 1/2 oz Satin Catalyst and the jar on the left is a quantity of Reducer. The instructions tell you to mix equal parts of Clear and Catalyst and then let it set for 30 to 40 minutes so that the clear and the catalyst have time to react to each other. Then add in the Reducer. I add 100% reducer to the mix (1 oz) to reduce the viscosity for air brushing with Paasche's H-5 air tip.  
 
This picture was taken in the garage and shows everything ready to begin. The 2 ounce mix in the jar is attached to the air brush. The other smaller jar is Reducer that will be sprayed through the air brush for cleaning after the Klass Kote has been applied.
 
This is a dumb looking picture of me I know, but I wanted to include it for your information. You are looking at a North Safety (Model No. 3001) mask that I always wear when spraying any kind of epoxy. It has multi-stage filters, including the all important charcoal stage, to help filter out and prevent inhaling the atomized Klass Kote epoxy particles that get suspended in the air.
 
In less than ten minutes, the entire air brushing procedure was complete! The fuselage, cowl, fin, and rudder were brought into the model room and placed on the work table as shown below for curing overnight. Tomorrow, I will reweigh the fuselage, cowl, fin, and rudder together and report on the weight added by the single coat of Klass Kote.
 
Now it is time for the unfun part of disassembling the air brush and cleaning up all of the air brush equipment....................................Tandy

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