Top Flite TOPA0145 - Manual (Page 41)

Covering sequence
Refer to the painting section that follows before you
cover the fuse.
Fuselage
1. Stab bottoms, then stab tops
2. Fin
3. Aft fuse bottom
4. Forward fuse bottom (two pieces)
5. One fuse side, then the other (with the two halves
joining in the middle of the top)
6. Bottom, then top of elevators
7. Rudder
Wing
1. Bottom, one side
2. Bottom, other side
3. Top, one side
4. Top, other side
5. Bottom, then top of ailerons
6. Bottom of flaps
Painting
We used Top Flite LustreKote for everything that
needed to be painted or fuelproofed, except for the
clear butyrate canopy. Do not paint the clear
canopy with LustreKote directly from the can, it
can cause the plastic to curl. We recommend
Formula-U for painting the clear canopy or the
following procedure for LustreKote. LustreKote
spray paint will attack and cause clear butyrate
plastic to curl. We have, however, developed a
method you can use for successfully painting your
canopy with LustreKote:
The recommended procedure requires that the paint
be sprayed into a jar or plastic mixing cup. This is
best done by spraying the paint through a small
brass tube or straw into the jar. For best results spray
no more than 1 oz. of paint into the jar at a time. As
the propellant "boils off" it will cause the paint to foam
slightly. Leave the paint in the open container, stirring
every 15 minutes until no more foam appears on the
surface of the paint and the paint has warmed to
room temperature. This allows the propellant and
some of the thinner to evaporate out of the paint.
Depending on the amount of paint in the jar, this
process may take about 1 hour.
After allowing the propellant to boil off, use an
airbrush to spray paint the canopy. If the paint is too
thick to spray properly, it can be thinned with a small
amount of lacquer thinner. The paint can also be
brushed on, but brushing will not produce the high
quality finish of spraying.
Earlier in the manual we recommended you prime
the wing fillet, air scoop, gun pods and exhaust
stacks before you cover the fuselage and add the
color paint after you cover the model. To do it this
way, first roughen the plastic parts attached to the
fuse with 320-grit sandpaper, then spray on a coat of
primer. After the primer dries, sand with 400-grit. Wet
sanding works best because it keeps your
sandpaper from becoming clogged, but of course
you want to avoid getting the rest of the balsa fuse
wet. You may wet sand if you are careful by shaking
most of the water off your sandpaper after you wet it.
Keep a cloth handy to wipe water from the balsa.
After you are done wet sanding, allow the fuse to dry
for a while, then dry sand it once more to smooth
surrounding balsa that may have been wetted. Wet
sand and prime the engine cowl too. Now the fuse is
ready for covering.
To achieve the finish on the box we painted the
MonoKote with Top Flite LustreKote. If you wish to
copy the paint scheme, cover the whole model with
#211 Dove Grey MonoKote. Lightly sand the
MonoKote with 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper. This
will help the paint adhere to the covering. Once the
model is sanded, paint the airplane with Tan
LustreKote (TOPR7216). Allow the tan to mist onto
the grey bottom. This gives the feathered look that
was common on camouflaged warbirds. After the tan
has dried, paint the olive drab by making various
shaped cutouts from poster board. Hold the cutouts
away from the model approximately 1" to 2" and
spray the olive drab over the tan. If you own an
airbrush you can spray olive drab LustreKote
(TOPR7210) into a small bottle and then use the
paint in your airbrush. The airbrush allows you much
greater control and you should be able to spray the
camouflage markings freehand without the need for
the poster board templates. Panel lines were applied
using the Top Flite Panel Line Pen (TOPQ2510)
following the instructions on page 42 in this manual.
When we had finished the panel lines and the
application of all of the decals, the entire plane was
given a coat of LustreKote Flat Clear (TOPR7199).
When applying the clear coat start with a very light
mist for the first few applications. Putting it on too wet
will cause the panel lines to bleed. Multiple light
applications is the best way to achieve a good finish.
For masking fine lines, use Top Flite Fine Line
Masking Tape (TOPR8012) and use Kyosho
®
Masking Cover Sheet (KYOR1040) for masking
large areas. Lightly use a Top Flite Tack Cloth
(TOPR2185) to remove dust just before you paint.
Join the control surfaces
❏ 1. Start with the stab and elevators. Remove a
small strip of covering from the hinge slots.
❏ 2. Fit the hinges in the stab or elevators only
(without glue). Fill the elevator joiner wire holes in the
elevators with epoxy.
❏ 3. Join the elevators to the stab with the hinges,
simultaneously installing the elevator joiner wire in
the elevators. If the hinges don't remain centered as
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