AL37 factory paint peeling

[TedBull]

I'm having major issues with the factory paint lifting up when pulling tape after painting. I'm using the frog tape for delicate surfaces and being extra careful but this thing is shedding its paint all over with huge sections peeling. I have sanded all the white factory paint that's forward of the tail and blended the edges where it peeled. So I will need to repaint the entire white area. After that I will tape off to paint the grey belly. I know another guy I fly with who is having the same issue on his AL37.

is everybody having this issue or just a bad batch? I have painted and taped other planes with no issues. Should I peel all the damn paint off?

[MikeT]

I'm having the same issues but not everywhere on the model. I've tried every tape on the planet. I'm just touching up where needed using Model Master Classic While rattle cans. Not perfect but it's close.

Mike

[mshagg]

Lots of reports of this. I experienced it as well.

Put a cost or two of clear down on it (e.g. minwax). It makes the paint much easier to work with as it's less inclined to 'follow' the tape as you remove it.

Or just touch up as you go.

Electrical tape makes a good masking medium and has even less tack than frog tape.

[borntoolate]

I had some (not a lot) of peeling of the factory paint. I just used some tape to remove the loose paint, then I wiped it down with alcohol. I used Rustoleum Auto primer to put down a nice base coat or primer, then painted with Home Depot latex paint. I had zero problems with masking and tape removal. I was using the 3M blue painters tape.

Bob

[MikeT]

Seems to me the paint peeling is due to it not factory paint not adhering to the foam ( in places) in the first place. Maybe from poor preparation before painting at the factory, I've masked and painted a bunch of foam airplanes and this is a first. Since that's the issue short of stripping the fuse I don't see a quick fix.
I just learned to deal with it.

Mike

[mshagg]

Seems to me the paint peeling is due to it not factory paint not adhering to the foam ( in places) in the first place. Maybe from poor preparation before painting at the factory, I've masked and painted a bunch of foam airplanes and this is a first. Since that's the issue short of stripping the fuse I don't see a quick fix.
I just learned to deal with it.

Mike

I've had similar results priming my own planes when the ambient temp was too high. Cures too quick and doesn't bond to the foam - end result was similar to the behaviour of the AL37's paint. That said the chemistry is quite complex so I'm sure there's all sorts of variables that can cause this.

Thankfully I only had a vertical stab/fuse drape to paint - but I had chunks lifting when removing decal transfer tape as well. As noted, a couple of coats of clear stiffened the surface of the paint up and made it safer to work with.

[TedBull]

So you guys laid the clear down on the white base first and then painted over it? Do you clear again after paint and decals are applied?

[mshagg]

Depends on the finish you're after, but yes. Note that it's not a silver bullet -you can't can't improve the bond between the factory paint and the foam... but a good clear coat will reduce the risk of damaging it with tape.

[Hugh Wiedman]

I had the same issue with the E-Flight SU-30, if you looked crossed eyed at the paint it would lift off. Put 3 coats of gloss exterior spar urethane on it and the paint peeling stopped. I then hand painted the area with testors white primer (which of course is now discontinued) before hand painting testors gloss enamel and used the Tamiya trim tape which is for delicate surfaces and it gave me sharp, clean edges without any paint lifting. I pulled the trim tape off at a 170 degree angle which reduced the likelihood of lifting off any chunks. Of course, after painting, I had to recoat the painted area again with the spar urethane.