Modular rockeTs Building Baffles - National Association of Rocketry

using Elmer’s for years to seal body tubeseams and balsa fins so I already had thisproduct among my finishing supplies. Itcan be thinned with water and has littleodor.I began by finishing the main bodyfirst. I sealed the body tube and fins withAbove: MLAS motor mountand shock cord assembly.Right: The parts of the kit.Below, right: Filler used for theStyrofoam parts.WWW.BALSAMACHINING.COMtwo coats of thinned Elmer’s Wood Filler,sanding after each coat11995 Hillcrest Drivehad dried. Phone: Then 630-257-5420 I primedLemont, IL 60439Rocketry is our business! sales@balsamachining.comthe body tube with Plasti-Kote gray spray primer #466 and sandedNOW A HIGHafter the primerPOWERwas dry. For the white color,I used Krylon glossy white applied inseveral light coats.The instructions describe a way tomask and paint the fins using a plasticMOTOR DEALER!bag. I would not be using spray paint so Ijust masked around the fins using ¼" PactraMasking Tape. I had to make sure toburnish the tape down on the body tubeso no paint would leak under it. I wentand purchased a bottle of Tamiya acrylicBlack X-1 brush paint to use for detailingthe capsule, so I used this same paint forthe fins. The Tamiya paint dried quickly soI was able to mask and paint the upper andlower fins on the body tube in an hour.I applied two thinned coats of Elmer’sCarpenters Wood Filler to the foamnose cone, sanding it after each coat haddried. While researching foam-safe paint,I discovered that Krylon produced a spraypaint called Krylon H2O Latex that statedit was safe for use on Styrofoam. I found alocal store that sold the H2O paint, whichwas fortunate as my brush painting skillsare not very good.I put down a coat of H2O gray paintto act as a base coat/primer on the nosecone, sanded, then applied another coat. Isanded the second coat of gray and endedup with a smooth surface on the capsule. Itis important to remember not to sand tooharshly as that can create indentations inthe Styrofoam.Now I used the Krylon white H2OLatex paint on the prepared capsule. TheH2O paint is very thin and will run if ap-18 MAY/JUNE 2010 Sport Rocketry