Anti-slip surfaces

karim · Post by **karim** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:08 pm

Any ideas on how to replicate an anti-slip coating for the "stepping" surface of an aircraft?

Post by **TER-OR** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:14 pm

Typically I like the Grimy Black color - like rubber.
But I have heard of guys using the black sandpaper. THough on a small scale aircraft it wouldn't work I think.

karim · Post by **karim** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:18 pm

It's right abour 1/48 scale, and I'd really like a texture difference, albeit a subtle one, since the hull painting is going to go right over it.

Post by **TER-OR** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:21 pm

There are the sanding films out there, K&S markets some, I think. They could be cut to shape and glued in position.

Or mask the area off, and paint it with a sandable primer which leaves a rough texture, and paint flat black.

I'll have to make some soon, too, and may try some of these techniques.

karim · Post by **karim** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:39 pm

I've tried:

Textured spray-paint-- too coarse for this scale, but the best so far.

Stippled putty/thinner-- too soft in detail... would work for a much larger scale ship.

Sandpaper/film-- That's exactly the texture I want, but on compound curves... so no go on the sandpaper

Do you think Micro balloons "glued" with primer would work?

karim · Post by **karim** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:23 pm

Looks like the Microballoons is going to do the trick:

I sprayed primer on a masked area, then while still wet, liberally squirted on micro balloons. Finally, sprayed on some more primer... still waiting for it to dry, but it looks pretty good.

Scott Hasty · Post by **Scott Hasty** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:17 pm

Good solution, karim! I was going to recommend a liquid adhesive (white glue) and a sprinkling of fine grained sand. It's what I used on my 1/4 scale WWII army helmet for the cork covering and it looked spot-on!

Scottie

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:19 pm

karim wrote:Looks like the Microballoons is going to do the trick:

I sprayed primer on a masked area, then while still wet, liberally squirted on micro balloons. Finally, sprayed on some more primer... still waiting for it to dry, but it looks pretty good.

That's a good idea. A slight variation I just thought of is to replace the microballoons with baking soda. I add baking soda to Mr. Surfacer when I need the equivalent of "Mr. Surfacer 50", and if I don't mix it well, the surface will have a grainy look.

Post by **TER-OR** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:27 am

The Surfacer 500 has a gritty texture anyway, unlike the 1000. Microbaloons in that might be an interesting experiment.

Now I'll have to pick up a jar for the projects I have.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:21 am

Well, all I can say it what the tread-heads do for non-slip surfaces on tanks.

Tape off the area, spray gloss black, dust with craft sand before the paint drys, and spray with grimy black (or aircraft interior black) to seal.

The only problem is it might be a bit much for 1:48 scale, might have to try something like ultra-fine sand.