Congratulations Bob

[Ken_NJ]

Post is here for those that are interested.

https://forum.rc-sub.com/forum/general-topics/174311-how-many-of-your-subs-have-been-lost?p=174329#post174329

[RCENGR]

Regarding the cause of the bubbles... It's not unique to ABS and model paints. In my club we had a 144 USS Alabama sink and it took about 3 weeks to find it. It had the same bubbles in the paint, but the decks are of sealed plywood painted with latex house paint. It was covered with fish excrement, so maybe that is part of the explanation.

I initially cleaned the Alabama with a pressure washer. I expected the paint to come right off, but it wasn't damaged. After about two days in the sun, all the bubbles were gone and the paint looked normal.

[Albacore 569]

Regarding the cause of the bubbles... It's not unique to ABS and model paints. In my club we had a 144 USS Alabama sink and it took about 3 weeks to find it. It had the same bubbles in the paint, but the decks are of sealed plywood painted with latex house paint. It was covered with fish excrement, so maybe that is part of the explanation.

I initially cleaned the Alabama with a pressure washer. I expected the paint to come right off, but it wasn't damaged. After about two days in the sun, all the bubbles were gone and the paint looked normal.

Thank you . Thats interesting to me.

[NicholasRadzykewycz]

I am wondering if the hollowness of the plastic material did not trap air which then attempted to rise over time, slowly leaking thru the paint and dissolving into the water under pressure. Even solid plastics normally have some air trapped inside them and absorb water when submerged. The expelling of this air might get trapped by the paint and cause bubbling on only the upper surfaces.

[Subculture]

Paint is porous, extended periods submerged in the water will lead to osmosis. I expect the top half blisters because that part is exposed to some sunlight which heats up, expands the moisture underneath the paint and then blisters.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Paint is porous, extended periods submerged in the water will lead to osmosis. I expect the top half blisters because that part is exposed to some sunlight which heats up, expands the moisture underneath the paint and then blisters.

Also. Even in laboratory fresh water -- because of gravity, and its soul-mate, buoyancy -- the liquid is subject to a stratification of thermal and particle layers. Over time these conditions produce different effects on a submerged body, no matter the substrate. Look on a selected column of water subjected to one-G as a kind of weak Parfait Sundae dessert. Examine drydocked ships and you can see the varied colors, marine growth, and bleaching from keel to waterline.

[Das Boot]

Water will get in between the surface of the model and the paint itself. Once that happens, the water has nowhere to go and makes bubbles. Same thing happens if your house develops a leak in the wall.