I once read something once where it was said that Russian and German aircraft during WWII at times had their wing surfaces covered in wax to make the surface smoother in order to squeeze a bit more speed out of the airframe. Has anyone heard of this?
I have not read anything about the wax, but I have been reading about the finish on these Warbirds. The Germans and the Soviets did paint some sort of finish that was like semi gloss when the aircraft were new. I’m guessing that as the aircraft aged the finish would tend to go toward the flat type of finish. I haven’t figured out how to do a semi gloss yet so I will be sticking with Future for a Gloss finish and I like the Testors Dullcote in the spraycan for my flat finishes. Just as a tip I put my Spray can of Dullcote in tap water ( as hot as it can get straight out of the faucet ) and let the can soak in it for several minutes … and of course I shake it really well. When I spray it I try to keep it light, just enough to do the job and no more. When it’s warm it seems to flow better and lay out better. I’m relatively inexperienced, so there may be some old pros out there who can provide better tips. Good luck. Bob H.