PAINT OVER FILM COVERING

The easy technique for spray-on weathering and detailing

With most lightweight scale electricpowered park flyers, most color schemes are basically limited to the stock colors of the iron-on films. But if you want a finish that’s out of the ordinary, the only real option you have is to paint your models. If this sounds like you, there’s an easy way to get some terrific results using commonly available hobby paints. After much experiment with different paints and techniques, this method lets you easily paint a warbird in authentic colors, and it even allows for some natural weathering effects in the process. Here’s how it works!

PREP AND CLEANING

The first and most important part of the process is surface preparation. If you’re refinishing an ARF, you can stick with the original cover, or strip it and recover using either Hangar 9 UltraCote Lite from Tower Hobbies (towerhobbies. com) or Doculam available from Manzano Laser Works (manzanolaser. com) Doculam is a clear, iron-on film used for protecting documents. It works great for covering small- to medium size models as well. In the past, I have also used Microlite as a base, I prefer silver since when the paint gets chipped, it looks like the underlying metal (warbirds) or the silver dope used on fabric-covered components. Once the covering has been applied, the next step is to clean the surfaces. For the paint to stick, the model has to be squeaky clean.