rxAxilleas

hi everyone,
i want to cover the ailerons on a 85in SBD Dauntless with fabrik.
i am thinking sig koveral since the surface is not sheeted. the problem is that i live in greece and i can not find dope to use it on fabrik. i can not order from towers the sig stixit because it is not for airmail shipping.
can i use z-poxy finishing resin?
i intend to sand ,primer and paint with latex collor.
any help will be apreciated!!!
thanks very much
achilles

Ed Smith

From what Iread about Sig Koverall it needs the dope ti shrink it tight. Epoxy resin probably will not shrink it.

I would suggest that you use "Super Coverite" if it is available to you. This material is heat shrinkable. This materia;l when applied does not need a primer and can be painted with pretty much any paint.

Ed S

rxAxilleas

hi Ed ,
thanks for the reply. i found this at towers http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXB235&P=ML
i dont know if that is what you mean . i see that it needs dope too.
if i use balsarite and sig kovelal and hit it with heat gun before the finishing resin?will it shrink?
also a newbie i dont know how hard will be the resulting surfase with the resin or with the dope.parhaps the dope has somekind of flexibility that finishing resin doesn t?
or this is not an isiue?
thanks
achilles

Rodney

Use any of the ...tex's (Solartex, Colortex etc.) as they are all fabric and prepainted and can be painted with epoxy paints or finishing epoxy. They go on easy and are great for going on compound curves, shrink well with heat and are self adhesives. The tex's are also very strong relative to any of the films.

TFF

Koverall is heat shrinkable before you paint it it is just coverite before the glue. I have heard of pva glue used to stick it down by painting a couple of coats in the structure lightly thinned with water. when dry the koverall is ironed on the structure like an iron on; then srunk with heat. The rubberband powered plane guys will use pva thinned to seel their tissue instead of dope because it is less noxious Some use koverall like silk by applying wet to help smooth it out, but it does not shrink with the water; these guys just keep working the material out to get it right. I like using it.

Tom

rxAxilleas

hi , thanks for the help,
i have already a roll of :Coverite 21st Century Fabric lemmon yellow that i never used it. it is ok to use it instead of solartex or instead of koverall with pva glue?
i heard that 21Century Fabric is the same as solartex.i never used anyone of them. do i use glue?it is stronger than koverall with stixxit?
if not , where can i find this pva glue to use with koverall?
thanks again
achilles

scratchonly

I use koverall for all my covering; I glue it down with water base polyurathane. When dry I run a sealing iron over the perimter where it is glued, which firmly attaches the fabric, then shrink with medium heat and then seal the rest with poly. On solid surfaces I poly the perimeter. shrink and poly the rest. You can prepaint wood with poly and while still wet apply the cloth then poly thru the cloth. Experimnt on some scrap. A 15 foot by 4 foot piece weighs 6.5 ounces and is very strong. Good luck.

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

The adhesive on Coverite fabric is marginal. at best. If you are going to use the Coverite you need to put a coat of Balsarite or Stixit on the frame first.

For the PVA glue, check the fiberglass suppliers in your area. Possibly an auto body repair shop may have some.

As recommended above, I would suggest using one of the "texs" (SolarTex, WorldTex, etc. ). They are all the same thing, have excellent adhesive and accept latex paint perfectly.

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

Another thing you can try; I've used it on small areas (and your ailerons qualify). You can tack the Koverall with medium Ca to the trailing edge, wrap it under the bottom around the front and overlap it on the trailing edge, and run a THIN bead of medium Ca along the trailing edge. It will wick through the fabric and bond it to the wood Stick down the other edges the same way, trim close and lightly sand the edges to smooth them and get rid of the fuzz. Heat the koverall, either with a hot air gun or iron, to shrink it tight. Koverall will get drumhead tight with heat alone and doesn't require dope to tighten it, but dope does help to keep it tight over time, because handling invariably causes pokes and pushing on the covering between ribs, stringers, etc. Tape the seams and over ribs, just like any other fabric-covered structure. If you want to brush epoxy resin over the tightened Koverall, it will get stiff, like fiberglassed cloth. Do the first coat and work the resin into the fabric and let it dry. Then do a couple more light coats to finish filling the weave and smooth the finish. The fabric will have the characteristic "high/low" surface like any other fabric finish over ribs, but will be harder like fiberglass and very durable. It is a heavier finish than dope or polyurethane, though.

rxAxilleas

thanks for the help all you guys,
one question .
khodges sayd : "Tape the seams and over ribs, just like any other fabric-covered structure" what exactly do you mean?
anyone know a good site to find instructions? it seams that it is getting more complicated...
also at many sites i found that polyurethane is a good or best alternative.triyed to find water based polyurethane but at a suply store i ask the said that polyurethane isn t water based. i dont know exactly how to name this product here in greece.parhaps a asked the wrong person at the supply shop.where this water based poly is used so i can ask at the apropriate shop?
i found some products for wood floor. some water based and some not , can i use any ?
can i use the NOT waterbased polyurethane?
thanks
achilles

TFF

If you have Century 21 fabric, first try it without anything added to the airframe to keep it simple. It does not shrink much because it is painted not dyed, so you have to get it tight before you shrink it. The tape and such is the scale details for the stiching if you are going to do that. you need to make some test panels from balsa to test the methods you want to try, so you dont mess up the actual plane with somthing that does not work.

Do not use NON waterbased poly. you will end up with a mess if it is oil based.

Tom