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Post by ninjarabbi1997 on Mar 10, 2007 19:50:07 GMT -6
Part of a car I am working on involves balsa; does it need any special prep before painting (like a sealer) that pinewood doesn't normally need; or, do I just primer it like pinewood?
Thanks.
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Post by Lucky 13 on Mar 10, 2007 22:21:22 GMT -6
I built an all balsa car and I just used primer and the paint job came out good.
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Post by ProQuest on Apr 1, 2007 23:17:39 GMT -6
Hey Lucky:
I toyed with the idea of a balsa car, but when I tried to drill out a place for weight, the wood splinted. I take it you did not have the same expience? Is there a trick?
ProQuest/Steve H.
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Post by Lucky 13 on Apr 1, 2007 23:23:30 GMT -6
Steve, I used a router bit in a drill press and went REAL SLOW !! I've also just used a utility knife to remove the wood since it's so soft.
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Post by warthog on Apr 2, 2007 9:33:30 GMT -6
The dremel tool with a sanding wheel carves up balsa nicely. I use the sander to bore out the weight pocket areas when i am working with balsa.
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Post by SpeedGeek on Apr 2, 2007 18:28:05 GMT -6
I work with pine mostly. The 5/16" high speed Dremel cutter works really well also, but only if you slow down the tool speed, otherwise, the chatter rips apart the wood.
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Post by sporty on Mar 24, 2008 9:34:41 GMT -6
I recently worked with Balsa and i got a nice piece from midwest balsa and i had not trouble using a dremel and router bit for the removal of wood for the weight area. I also used the lowest speed setting and took my time.
I am having more of a issue with the looks, fuzz. So the paint and prep are on-going.
Sporty
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Post by sporty on Mar 31, 2008 1:08:02 GMT -6
i am going to try the pine pro wood sealer and see how that does.
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Post by Gravity Steve on Apr 17, 2008 19:08:51 GMT -6
Saw this too late! Ninja, the best way to seal balsa is with a nitrocellulose lacquer sanding sealer. The hobby shops call it airplane dope. You can buy it in quart sizes in the big box stores, for only a little more than the hobby shop will charge you for an 8-ounce bottle. Depending on how porous your wood is, it may require several coats. I use it on my pine cars, because it works so well. It also dries while you are watching! So, build, sand, build, sand, etc, all with a brush. You can have it flat and shiny in one day, by waiting 1/2 hour between coats. Then I just use good spray paint to finish off. Slicker'n'snot. btw, airplane dope has some wikkid cool colors, too. CORRECTION: I remember now that nitrocellulose lacquer isn't "flat" like the airplane-dope type sanding sealer. The sanding sealer I was thinking of is still usable, but it is NOT lacquer based, you can use regular paint thinner to clean your brush. Sorry about that.
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