comments:
On looks: you can go as far as you like. Filling the grain on the fins goes a long way to making the rocket look good. A lot of rocketnutz fill the spirals on the tube as well. But filling takes a lot of work; fill, dry, sand, repeat. If you can work outside (active ventilation needed!) Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty is a great choice; find it at most auto parts stores. Thin it with a little acetone or lacquer thinner, to heavy-cream consistency and paint it on. Thin coats will dry in an hour. Can't work outside? A lot of rocketnutz use Elmer's Wood Filler. Thins and cleans up with water. Takes a bit longer to dry, though. Sand the tube with 320 grit paper to remove the shiny glassine layer before marking for fins; glue and paint don't stick to it very well. Sand the nose cone to remove the ridge from molding. Paint won't hide imperfections. Semi-gloss paint often looks better than gloss if there are imperfections. If possible avoid using the plastic loop on the bottom of the nose cone to attach the chute and shock cord. I've seen several nose cones tumble to the ground when the loop breaks. Some rocketnutz find a way to solidly attach a screw eye to the bottom. Finally, a trick to speed gluing fins. Run a thin bead of glue on the root edge of each fin. Stick each carefully in place, remove. Wipe off excess glue from both surfaces. Wait 5 minutes. Now run another thin bead and stick each fin in place. You may not need to hold them at all! Good luck!