U.S.S. Atlantis - Step 8.5 (part 1), Finishing Materials

OK, now comes the part of model rocket construction I least enjoy... Filling the grain on the balsa. This is not really covered in the official Estes instructions so I've inserted it here as step 8.5 which will cover, in 3 parts, the preping steps involved to get a smooth finish on the balsa pieces as well as the paper body tube.

Back in the good ol' days there used to exist a product called "Hobby Poxy Stuff" (thanks for the picture Jeff!) which was a thick brown goop that could fill even the most pourous of balsa grains in one thick coat.

I'm sure it was loaded with harsh chemicals and various carcinagens and stuff that makes the greenie weenie crowd cringe in fear...which I'm sure is why it was discontinued, but it worked great. It made filling balsa a breeze, and I really miss it!

So now, in the spirit of the 70's from whence this kit came, we are going back to tried and true "sanding sealer"... yes that smelly glue like substance that would fill the grain in a balsa fin in a mere 6 -8 coats. In an attempt to get that number down a bit, I'm going to try something new (at least new to me) called "Balsa Fillercoat Primer" (shown on the left in the picture below) as a first step.

Then we will follow that up with the sanding sealer for as many coats as it will take to obtain a smooth, grain free finish.

The last part of our process will be the liberal application of a thick sandable primer. I get mine at Ace Hardware but any thick flat grey primer will do the trick. This is the only treatment the body tubes will get to fill the spiral seems so we will most likely apply more coats to the body and engine tubes than we do to the balsa pieces.