Re: Kramer Kits and all

Mick Fauchon (ulmjf@dewey.newcastle.edu.au)
Fri, 13 Jan 1995 14:47:33 +1100 (EST)

> Mick,

Charles,

> As an aside, the last coat of dope that covers the paint and
> "shifts" the color is really quite thin, has a glossy finish on on e of
> my fabric pieces and even shows a little "crazing" here and there. Of
> interest is the thicker coat(s) of dope beneath the pigment. They are
> definitely an orange shade once they have all accumulated before painting
> of a color, or at least they are quite orange now.

If there are thick coats of dope *under* the pigment as well,
it seems likely to me that your bird was originally clear-doped fabric,
over-painted with pigment, then with a [thinner] coat of dope as a sealant.
Sounds to me like it was probably a C-type [Albatros CIII?]. In which case
the colours would be violet [or red-brown]/dk. green/light blue.
How does that sound for a hypothesis? 80)

>
> Of related interest, several years ago when the US Air force Museum
> was restoring the Caproni Ca-33 there was considerable discussion as to
> what dope to use for its clear doped finish. I'm not sure what the final
> decision was. Part of the concern was replicating the "orange" finish of
> this clear doping, which was to suggest that the chemistry of the dope
> contained some amount of orange coloration. I'll be interested to know
> if anyone can shed light on this matter.

If it was anything like the clear lacquers I'm familiar with, it isn't
actually a coloration, although the lacquers do have a light amberish look,
even the clearest of them; it's probably not a pigment in suspension, just
a natural yellowing of the lacquer as it cures.
I guess a lot depends on the quality of the lacquer as well, I'd
think.

Cheers,

Mick.

-- --
Mick Fauchon | Internet: ulmjf@dewey.newcastle.edu.au
Reference Section, Auchmuty Library | Ph (intl+61+49) 215861
University of Newcastle, AUSTRALIA | Fax (intl+61+49) 215833

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