OMG 
I think I have made just about every mistake I can make today while trying to put a finish on the GBF!
First, my CA experiment was a total bust, well almost. I mixed CA with 5 parts acetone and then dipped the parts. In this case I am dealing with an Alumide ring and button. The first 2 dips came out perfect. I wanted to do the 3rd and final dip but my CA solution had thickened up so I made another one. I put the acetone in the jar, added the CA, and then went to stir it with a Nylon Ty-rap. POOF! The solution bubbled and foamed up to three times its depth. The jar was only a third full and resulting foam came a gnats .... from overflowing the jar. Also, the jar got hot hot as hell, lots of heat. (Anybody here know the chemistry behind what might have happened? All I can think of is that maybe there was some finishing or machining oil on the Ty-raps that caused the reaction.) So, I scrapped that batch and made another. This one looked good, but this time I used my polyethylene tweezers to stir it. Dipped the parts, let them dry, came back 30 minutes later to a solid layer of white haze. So, total bust, I let the parts soak in acetone and stripped them bare.
Then, I moved on to the top/bottom shells. Put 2 coats of primer, and 3 coats of color and it looked AWESOME. Now, I am NOT a free hand artist by any stretch, I am doing good to draw a square! But I wanted some bling so I decided to use a stencil. Applied the stencil, ensure all the edges were pressed down good, and applied 2 coats of paint. Let it dry and removed the stencil. The stencil bled under the adhesive backing through the porous nylon. What I figured out is that this stuff is too porous to utilize a stencil unless you fill the pores of the nylon and sand it smooth. So, stencil was a bust.... stripped the shell pieces back down to bare nylon and started over.
Got all the base coasts back on now, and they are looking good. Started applying the polyurethane. Three light coats of that and I will be done. On a side note for any of you using an airbrush, Vallejo makes a really great water soluble polyurethane that works well in an airbrush. I dont like a gloss finish, too much glare, so I use their satin finish and it does great.
Well..... at the end of the day I learned how to, and got pretty proficient at, stripping CA and paint off of nylon........
I think I have made just about every mistake I can make today while trying to put a finish on the GBF!
First, my CA experiment was a total bust, well almost. I mixed CA with 5 parts acetone and then dipped the parts. In this case I am dealing with an Alumide ring and button. The first 2 dips came out perfect. I wanted to do the 3rd and final dip but my CA solution had thickened up so I made another one. I put the acetone in the jar, added the CA, and then went to stir it with a Nylon Ty-rap. POOF! The solution bubbled and foamed up to three times its depth. The jar was only a third full and resulting foam came a gnats .... from overflowing the jar. Also, the jar got hot hot as hell, lots of heat. (Anybody here know the chemistry behind what might have happened? All I can think of is that maybe there was some finishing or machining oil on the Ty-raps that caused the reaction.) So, I scrapped that batch and made another. This one looked good, but this time I used my polyethylene tweezers to stir it. Dipped the parts, let them dry, came back 30 minutes later to a solid layer of white haze. So, total bust, I let the parts soak in acetone and stripped them bare.
Then, I moved on to the top/bottom shells. Put 2 coats of primer, and 3 coats of color and it looked AWESOME. Now, I am NOT a free hand artist by any stretch, I am doing good to draw a square! But I wanted some bling so I decided to use a stencil. Applied the stencil, ensure all the edges were pressed down good, and applied 2 coats of paint. Let it dry and removed the stencil. The stencil bled under the adhesive backing through the porous nylon. What I figured out is that this stuff is too porous to utilize a stencil unless you fill the pores of the nylon and sand it smooth. So, stencil was a bust.... stripped the shell pieces back down to bare nylon and started over.
Got all the base coasts back on now, and they are looking good. Started applying the polyurethane. Three light coats of that and I will be done. On a side note for any of you using an airbrush, Vallejo makes a really great water soluble polyurethane that works well in an airbrush. I dont like a gloss finish, too much glare, so I use their satin finish and it does great.
Well..... at the end of the day I learned how to, and got pretty proficient at, stripping CA and paint off of nylon........
