Elder 60 Restoration

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Wait, what?? Did you mention what kind of covering that is? It looks like the type where you need to paint the adhesive on to the structure first.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Cool, I look forward to your overall review. I'm thinking of using it on some upcoming work since SolarTex is no longer available.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Finished half the bottom - even with a fresh scalpel blade it takes some force to pierce this fabric, but it cuts just fine. This is going to be much more resistant to hangar rash than the decade old Monocote.

Won't be able to put the other half of the bottom on tonight, but I am looking forward to it! :D

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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
@rockyboy - the surface is nice - do you think it would stick to a 3D printed frame?

Not sure - but I've got something around here that's 3D printed with PLA I can give it a try with tonight.

PLA prints around 190C and the adhesive on this covering activates at 90C so that lines up OK - I don't remember how high the shrinking temperature is, but I think it was in the 150C range and PLA might be getting soft around there. Worth a try anyway! :D
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
So yes - it does stick to 3D printed PLA very well - and the PLA doesn't seem to warp or melt, although I didn't leave the iron on there for a long time. That's one very solid glue joint there - I put a lot of tearing pressure and it didn't want to separate at all.

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Finished the bottom of the wing, including the the other servo hatch, and held it in place with a screw.

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The top went on very nicely too - again in multiple pieces, and it was a little trickier at the wing tips but still easier than most any plastic covering I've used. I did the top in 3 pieces - the center piece between the two mounting blocks I did as a separate section, figuring the seams will be hidden in the fuselage if they turn out ugly.

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And lookee there - wing is all done! Went back over everything "hovering" the iron to tighten up any little saggy or wrinkly spots, but there was very little clean up to do.

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Very happy with how this covering went on! Next up is cutting the aileron hinge slots (so I don't lose track of where they go) and then covering the ailerons.
 
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Wildthing

Legendary member
So this covering is a cloth like material? I am new to covering and my first one was using the cheap HK stuff, one person said it is heavier material then the good stuff ( don't remember the brand) but I can never find a weight in any descriptions no matter what brand.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
So this covering is a cloth like material? I am new to covering and my first one was using the cheap HK stuff, one person said it is heavier material then the good stuff ( don't remember the brand) but I can never find a weight in any descriptions no matter what brand.

Yes, this is an iron on cloth that is lighter in weight than fabric for full scale aircraft, but made by the same company in Germany. The weights can be difficult to find, but somewhere I saw a chart from somebody who bought and weighed a whole bunch of them. Once I find it again I'll put the link up here. In general the fabric ones (Oratex / Solartex) are heavier than Ultracoat which is heavier than Monocoat which is heavier than Coverrite which is heavier than Hobby King's budget covering which is heavier than Coverlight, which is heavier than Solite.

The Hobby King stuff also need a lower temperature iron compared to pretty much all of the others which makes is very useful to apply over foam without melting the airplane in the process!

The paint seemed to be adhering well so I did the rest of the bottom of the wing.
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Think I'm gonna need a clear matt top coat on this.
 
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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Once painted do you still see some of the weave? That's a lot of the character I love in old-school planes.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Once painted do you still see some of the weave? That's a lot of the character I love in old-school planes.

Yes - except where I painted too heavily the weave is visible. Would probably be better if I used a detail spray gun and thinned the paint some. I really like that effect too. :D

Hinges oiled for safety and all epoxied in now.

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Good to know the weave is still visible. Eventually I need to re-build a 1/3 scale Sopwith Pup, and the weave is absolutely required to give it an authentic look.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Here are a couple close ups - hopefully this shows the weave effect. It's pretty obvious that it's a fabric covering except for where I really overdid the paint. And it feels so nice too! I'm really hooked on this stuff now! :D

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PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Looks nice n shiny.

With that subtle weave I would think an airbrush would be best for painting this. Would be fine enough spray to get the coverage in all the low spots with out filling them up
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
Solartex was the stuff that made me look like I knew what I was doing when covering an air frame. Looks like this stuff will do the same. :) I used solartex on my Corsair for the fabric surfaces and painting with an airbrush has always been my go-to for this technique. The paint is atomized more finely so you need less paint for the same coverage and you end up with a more pronounced weave look.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
ok, I see a great paint finish but I don't see "weave" LOL

Zoom in more! :p

Looks nice n shiny.

With that subtle weave I would think an airbrush would be best for painting this. Would be fine enough spray to get the coverage in all the low spots with out filling them up

Yeah, I agree on the air brush for sure. I want to get a little larger detail spray gun (have the super cheap but well reviewed $13 Harbor Freight one on order) before I paint the top of the wing - cause doing 84" x 24" with a brush having a 1" spray pattern isn't my idea of a fun evening. :)

Solartex was the stuff that made me look like I knew what I was doing when covering an air frame. Looks like this stuff will do the same. :) I used solartex on my Corsair for the fabric surfaces and painting with an airbrush has always been my go-to for this technique. The paint is atomized more finely so you need less paint for the same coverage and you end up with a more pronounced weave look.

Looking forward to having the top look better than the bottom with the right equipment and technique :D