Zolotone

[J Berki]

Does anyone have a source for the Zolotone clear coat? My source for Zolotone said that his distributor does not have it and that everyone that uses the Zolotone does not need clear. yeah right.

Joe Berki
Limo Ez

[David Clifford]

Try your local automotive paint supply store. Thats where we got it and you Do want the top coat.

[J Berki]

I think the Zolatone episode is done. I chose the silver and used PPG Omni 282 primer and brushed it on. I shot the Zolatone over it. It only took one quart to do the whole plane. I asked about a clear and many suggested utethanes. I tried an oil base urethane on a small part and it turned the area amber so I went to a watebase and it turned out great. I posted this on canard aviators and Nick Ugolini suggested that i use an automotive clear over the top of it as his experience with the waterbase stuff came off in sheets as it was exposed to sweat and heat from occupants. He suggested the Omni clear with a flattener added. So that is what i did. Used very little of it. A pint would do thwhole interior. So now I have to put all of the stuff back into the fuselage. LPR is having an airport appreciation day so our chapter is participating with a static display. Bill Kastenholtz will display his Cozy as the "after" and the Limo will be the "before" or work in progress. This is scheduled on Sept 15th.

[karoliina]

The only Finnish Cozy out there used a Finnish brand Teknodur for paint. White Teknodur 190 (durable urethane paint) and then clear Teknodur 290 (urethane high gloss varnish) on top of that.

I used the same on our plane's cowling and it turned out ok after all (despite I am total newbie with spray gun painting) - I only screwed up once and it was because I used wrong type of paint for spray gun (it resulted a week long sanding job), with Teknodur it worked flawlessly, no runs, no pin holes, smooth. Now I know why the urethane is recommended - it is softer and more impact resistant than acrylic and it doesn't collect permanent scratches etc. that easily. It is even possible to sand the urethane to smooth - if you have for example a ugly run, no problem, take 320 grit wet sand paper, sand, go all the way up to 2400 grit and then use after that polishing compounds. In the end the run is gone and the surface is smooth (providing that you had thick enough paint coat to allow sanding so that it doesn't become translucent). I painted the first coat of Teknodur 190 directly on top of the glass/epoxy/microballoon surface with brush and then sanded it to smooth finish and after that used the spray gun for next coats, I did not use any primer - Teknodur can be applied directly on top of glass surface and functions as primer too. I kept the first layer that I brushed on as quite high viscosity so that it was thick enough to not form any pinholes.