LIARS Tips & Tricks #1

People always wonder why my rockets are so darned smooth.

I don't spend hours filling spirals with bondo or wood filler and sanding like a
madman.

OK, I'll give you my 2 secrets to post to the LIARS web page.

1). Joint compound. Yep. Spackle. Just hog that stuff on the out side of the
airframe, and sand it with 3M Wet-O-Dry 220 grit, then prime and paint as usual.
It works.

2) Here is the ultimate. I can fill the spirals in an I-ROC sized airframe, sand
it and be ready for paint in about an hour. Micro-Fill. This is a balsa filler,
really, but it works better than bondo, spot putty, or polyester glazing
compound. The trick is to thin it with water until it is the consistency of mud,
then brush it on the spirals of the aitframe (I just glob it on with my
fingers). Give it about 30 minutes to dry, then sand smooth with 3M Wet-O-Dry
600 grit. It is like sanding butter! I would guess that it takes about 3 minutes
to sand a rocket the size of an I-ROC.

And yes, both methods hold up. In fact, the Micro-Fill is more flexible than
auto body fillers, and less prone to stress cracks.

I suggest allowing an overnight drying period before primimg to avoid any
reactions, or any shrinkage due to painting over wet spackle.

Also, the Micro-Fill method fills the grain in Birch plywood just as well. It is
a true one-application method.

So there it is. My big secret.

Mike Rosselot

TRA # 3966
LIARS member.