Hi all
So a full month after the grey went on, the green went on and not very well.
I had masked with AK Masking Putty (also known as silly putty that kids play with) and whilst it is very odd stuff to work with it, I found it very easy to use. I basically did a very fine roll along the camo edge, squished it down and then filled in the gaps with thin sheets of it and hey presto. As
@Tim Marlow suggested I did it in very thin layers and even after a week plus there was minimal creep, even on vertical surfaces, and where there was I simply used a cocktail stick to trim as required. What minimal creep there was on the flat surfaces was actually a benefit, as it very nicely smoothed out the rough edges.
In terms of the green paint, I thinned to the usual consistency, had it at the usual pressure at the normal distance and did it in very thin coats but kept getting tide marks. It would run and even pile up in places....very odd. On the port wing and stabiliser I have to clean the paint off twice before I was vaguely happy. Hopefully weathering will hide the worst!!
Given the patterns made by the paint, I have come to the conclusion that the putty was deflecting the airflow slightly even though it sprayed on very thin. I've never had it with masking tape unless I've been stupid. I will therefore have to play around with he holy triumvirate of pressure, distance and consistency next time I use it.
Interestingly, the putty when rolled on not fully cured paint is actually very good at smoothing down lumps and bumps without any ill effects as I discovered by accident!
Up next is painting the nose a slightly lighter shade of grey, as per the real plane.
ACW as usual.
Andrew
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The masking putty
This is a very thick/viscous non-Newtonian fluid, which according to Wikipedia "...
is a fluid that does not follow Newton's law of viscosity, i.e., constant viscosity independent of stress. In non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity can change when under force to either more liquid or more solid. Ketchup, for example, becomes runnier when shaken and is thus a non-Newtonian fluid."
In this case the putty is very hard if you hit itbut in it's 'unstressed' state flows
very slowly. It also seems to slightly regain it's volume after it has been in place for a while and dries to what looks almost glass smooth, and yet is still very tacky to the touch showing fingerprints even with the lightest of touches. It also feels slightly greasy but isn't and comes off without any problems, even after a week plus and importantly without leaving any marks.
You can see where I have just laid it across the root of the port wing and fuselage.
And after half an hour so, almost an glass-like look.....
Here you can it creeping down and dripping off......with a small sample of what came off the nose and wings....
The Dark Green
Not a great success and went on thicker than I would have liked due to me trying to correct the problems in a rush. The mottling is though more obvious than in the pictures.
After I took this, I carefully attacked the raised edges and worst of the raised paint with a 1200 grit sanding stick, which has surprisingly worked quite well. I'm hoping a bit of weathering will help blend the worst in. I will be blaming the bad paint job on the port stabiliser on ground crew after it was repaired in early '45 following flak damage!!
The two problem patches....
The big reveal......the problem patches are clearly visible as these were taken prior to my light sanding but as always the dreaded digital zoom makes it a bit worse than in real life...but still not my best work.
My excuse for my bad paint job!
In all seriousness it had always been my intention to date my plane post the repairs to this damage by making the grey less mottled and so reflect that this will have been repainted. The grey has been topped up since taking the above shots.
. The AM 
