Quick tip involving the new foam.

[Grifflyer]

So, last night I was working on a plane and trying to easily remove the paper off the new adams foamboard and I stumbled across using a cotton swab to help remove the paper.

To begin, you'll need a cotton swab, and bit of water, and of course your foam. But before we start a bit of a warning this involves wetting the paper and if you apply water beyond your area you are looking to remove doing so could weaken the bond between the paper and your foam which in the long term could mess up or ruin you airplane so be CAREFUL.

Your first step is to dip the head of your cotton swab into some water and then rub it on the area of paper that you want to remove but, as I said above keep a good millimeter from the area you don't want to remove so, after you applied area is a little damp/wet wait ~30-40 sec and then remove, and just like that you're done.

I hope you find this helpful.
Grifflyer

 

[Hai-Lee]

In Aus we have been forced to use the "NEW" FB types or similar for quite a while and as some of the FT designs required to have paper removed I found a simple and very fast way to remove the paper without damage or similar to any untreated area and that is I use an old Steam iron, (no Steam), and with the iron set to a moderate temperature I warm the edge of the FB piece and using a wiping action with my finger on the heated edge I start the paper pealing off.

Then I just rest the FB flat on the surface of the iron and start pulling the paper end downwards whilst the FB piece slides across the hot plate of the iron. The piece slides quickly and easily past the iron and the paper separates easily and in one piece without any damage to the foam.

The paper can be saved for use as a template if required and there is NO mess.

It might take a bit of practice but I stripped ALL of the paper from the fuselage and tail of my Experimental FT spitfire build in less than one minute without any foam damage or marks.

Just one method that works well for me!

 

[cranialrectosis]

Video or it didn't happen Hai-Lee.

 

[Hai-Lee]

Would photos suffice? I do not have access to a video recording source and am one of the few persons that believe the U Tube and the like are best avoided.

I tried uploading a Go Pro video clip earlier and the forum refused to accept it.

 

[cranialrectosis]

I don't blame you about YouTube.

You had an interesting post and I thought you might post a more visual step-by-step. Just to help out those of us who 'get it' better with something to see.

 

[Hai-Lee]

Video or it didn't happen Hai-Lee.

I made a short video just over 73Mb which shows me stripping the paper off of a bit of scrap I had around.

The video was taken outside of my workshop for security and allied reasons now that I sell my own FB designs through the local shops. Honestly my workspace is a real mess with plans, templates, and models everywhere so there was no room for a video production.

The video was started just after the iron was connected to power so it is a little slow to start but the gist of what I have stated is obvious to anyone who would wish it.

I will try to extract a few stills for my next post here.

 

[Hai-Lee]

A further examination of the video shows that it is 56 seconds long and the iron was still too cold at the beginning. Sadly I normally hold the Iron inverted between my knees but that does not make for a clean video so I am sorry if it seems everything was happening slower than I previously stated.

Anyhow here are a few pics ripped from the video:

Paper labelled for reference purposes, (hard to duplicate a hand written message)



Warming up the paper on the edge.



Edge paper lifted



Back to the Heat



Remainder see next post

 

[Hai-Lee]

Part 2 or heat removal of FB paper

Hold the Foamboard flat on the iron



Pull the paper and allow the FB to slide across the iron face



The last bit



The removed paper or template



All done in under a minute and without mess, smoke, fumes, or damage to the foam!

If you want to try it save a pile of your scraps and borrow the wife's iron and practice. (She will never suspect that you have the iron).

Have a good day!

 

[cranialrectosis]

It wasn't how I had pictured it so thank you for the detail Hai-Lee.

Hey look! The iron is your friend!

 

[OlliePackman]

Part 2 or heat removal of FB paper

Hold the Foamboard flat on the iron

View attachment 82491

Pull the paper and allow the FB to slide across the iron face

View attachment 82492

The last bit

View attachment 82493

The removed paper or template

View attachment 82494

All done in under a minute and without mess, smoke, fumes, or damage to the foam!

If you want to try it save a pile of your scraps and borrow the wife's iron and practice. (She will never suspect that you have the iron).

Have a good day!

Do you need to steam the iron or is it just the heat?

 

[Hai-Lee]

Just the heat BUT not too much as the foam will melt quickly if too hot.

Have fun!

 

[Piotrsko]

Part 2 or heat removal of FB paper

Hold the Foamboard flat on the iron

View attachment 82491

Pull the paper and allow the FB to slide across the iron face

View attachment 82492

The last bit

View attachment 82493

The removed paper or template

View attachment 82494

All done in under a minute and without mess, smoke, fumes, or damage to the foam!

If you want to try it save a pile of your scraps and borrow the wife's iron and practice. (She will never suspect that you have the iron).

Have a good day!

Maybe your wife would not, but mine has developed a 6 th sense for when I am up to no good, sometimes even before I make an attempt.

 

[PoorManRC]

Was this actually a problem?? 😲 I've always been able to simply peel the Paper right off of Adams Ready Board....
Is there a variation?

 

[Hai-Lee]

Was this actually a problem?? 😲 I've always been able to simply peel the Paper right off of Adams Ready Board....
Is there a variation?

Sadly not everyone has access to Adams ready board!
There are a number of different FB manufacturers and lots of other applications for the use of FB and so there are a number of different types and manufacturing methods.
The simple truth is that people need top find ways to use the FB that they have access to.

This is just a method to remove the paper from a type of FB with the strongest paper to foam bonding!

have fun!

 

[PoorManRC]

@Hai-Lee AHA! I had a feeling.... Actually if the Paper has a stronger bond, I'd find that MORE desirable - unless of course I need to remove it.

I was actually considering using Elmer's Foam Board on my next Build. It has more tensile strength, although a little heavier...
But I'm figuring that using it for single Panel Tail Feathers, would increase strength, but not be so heavy that I have a hard time getting enough Nose Weight to balance things out. 😉

Having fun! Just became a Grandfather again!! 😁😁😁

 

[Hai-Lee]

@Hai-Lee AHA! I had a feeling.... Actually if the Paper has a stronger bond, I'd find that MORE desirable - unless of course I need to remove it.

I was actually considering using Elmer's Foam Board on my next Build. It has more tensile strength, although a little heavier...
But I'm figuring that using it for single Panel Tail Feathers, would increase strength, but not be so heavy that I have a hard time getting enough Nose Weight to balance things out. 😉

Having fun! Just became a Grandfather again!! 😁😁😁

As for the Grandfather issue or statement I saw your announcement and congratulations. Enjoy it but sadly after 10 or more grandchildren the shine wears a little. I have a hard time remembering their names and birthdates now and half of my children are not old enough to have a family. (I had 7 children - 4 sons). If I live long enough the tally could rise to twenty.

Love them and enjoy them while you can they grow up so fast and we will not be around forever!

Have fun!

 

[PoorManRC]

....Love them and enjoy them while you can they grow up so fast and we will not be around forever!

Have fun!

TWENTY!!??? 😲 That's an ARMY! 😜

Very true statement my Friend! Our time is limited. I'm planning on enjoying ALL of it!!