finishing a fieldbox

I am just finishing up a field box and want to fuel proof it. I know this is a soaring group but I figure that if it is fuel proof, it will be a little more durable in the long run and who knows if I will ever build a towplane

I was thinking of staining it and I already bought stain without urethane. I am about to apply the stain and would like to know a way to seal it. Should I use some laminating epoxy tha tI have laying around (West Systems) or should I just use some polyurethane and go that route.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks Frank ===================================== Either should work fine. Most glow planes call for epoxy as a fuel proofer, but several guys in our club have started using polyurethane.

Spar Varnish or its polyurethane equivalent would be best. Look for one that offers Ultraviolet protection since the box will spend lots of time in the sun. You want to be especially careful about a good seal to prevent pinholes. BE PATIENT and apply three to four THIN coats.

Then, fill it with charcoal, light it off, cook a couple of burgers over it and buy a glider.

burgers

You are mean.

wws

No paint is fuel PROOF. Most are fuel resistant. I'd use a good poly-U. Don't let raw fuel stand on it. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

FWIW

About 4 years ago, I put together one of the plywood kits for a field box. I put a coat of epoxy diluted 50-50 with denatured alcohol on it. It is still going strong, in spite of a couple of episodes of siphoning fuel from the bottle into the box.

It doesn't leave a shiny finish, but it sure protects the wood. (It's what I use on airplanes also.)

As to what kind of epoxy - I used Hobbypoxy formula 2, which is no longer available. I now use Pacer 30 minute epoxy and it seems to work well.

I don't normally use finishing resin. This is a special product that seems to sit on top of the wood. For this purpose, I would rather have something that sinks in. That way, I don't worry about a ding letting fuel in.

-- Mike Norton