| Image Comments |
| mark eggebeen | 15-Feb-22 22:20 |
| back to basics and then I'll decide how to go from there |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 14:22 |
| I plan on trying silkspan on this build. Does it shrink like tissue. .? If I put it on wet,what glue works best? |
| David Duckett | 16-Feb-22 14:29 |
| Not glue, dope. |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 15:12 |
| Explain |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 15:37 |
| Love silkspan! It's thicker so you can "stretch" it more then tissue. I like to put my on damp. I use a wet paper flat on a plate, lay the silkspan on the towel until it is damp, then put it on the plane. I use EZ-Dope to attach it to the frame. Others like Butyrate dope, which I used for years. It's pretty strong smelling though, so I switched to the EZ-Dope which is like thinned white glue, but faster drying. I use a hair blow dryer to hasten the drying time.
Before putting anything on this nice frame, I'd build a couple of test frames with stringers to get a feel for how the tissue/dope works together. |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 15:42 |
| What size bottle of EZ dope .? |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 15:47 |
| Which hobby shop has the most stuff in one place. |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 15:58 |
| EZ-Dope, I get at amazon.com 250ML bottle goes a long way! I thin mine about 1:1 with water when applying the tissue, and 1:2 (dope:water) when using it to shrink and seal the tissue. |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 16:03 |
| Do you also use silkspan after some of the filling is done. I h saw this would make the finish smoother… |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 16:09 |
| Yes! If you have any carved wood, fillets, etc on the model that you can do before putting the silk span on, do those and fill/sand as needed. Then apply the silkspan over those areas to give a consistent surface. Fillets that you apply after you put the model together can be covered separately and doped. |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 16:13 |
| When I put the silkspan on, I get it damp, put it on the model and stretch it as much as possible, then with a medium brush, apply the 1:1 ez-dope only where the tissue touches wood. Don't put dope on the open areas yet. Once the piece you are working on is completely covered, I go back and use the 1:2 thinned dope over the entire piece, drying each layer with a hairdryer. It will take several layers, and each will wrinkle the tissue less each time. You will know when you are done when the ez-dope isn't soaking into the tissue anymore and you have a nice dull sheen. |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 16:15 |
| Personally, I find this part one of the hardest in Balsa building. I want perfection and it is tough to do. I've pulled a lot of tissue off a model because it didn't stick right or was too wrinkled. But when you get the hang of it, it makes a great finish! It just takes some practice and patience. |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 16:16 |
| Should I worry about overlap when putting the silkspan on.? |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 16:22 |
| You will have overlap because you will not be able to cover something as big and curvy as your fuse without doing multiple pieces. I don't know about this model, but Guillows usually puts an instruction sheet in that shows the best way to cover the model. It's usually small pieces that cover one or two formers at a time. The good thing is, once you dope the model, you can take some fine sandpaper and sand down the overlaps so they don't show much. Just be careful not to sand through the silkspan. I then use sanding primer over the tissue to fill in any seams that may still be there. It won't be "metal surface" smooth, but you can get it pretty close. |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 16:27 |
| I have looked At that part of guillows sheets…That,s a lot of small pieces!! |
| edtherenderman | 16-Feb-22 16:28 |
| Note to toot my own horn, but check out this http://www.virtualaerodrome.com/image_detail.html?p_aircraft_id=708&p_user_id=1412&p_image_id=41491. That's TopFlight medium silkspan, EZ-Dope, spray can automobile sanding primer and regular acrylic model paints. |
| mark eggebeen | 16-Feb-22 22:18 |
| tell me about sanding primer (brands) |
| edtherenderman | 17-Feb-22 09:59 |
| This is the primer I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R244LN4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details but I think you can use any automobile primer as long as it states that it is high build filler and sandable. |
| mark eggebeen | 22-Feb-22 10:45 |
| How many of you use a lot of thin C A glue? |
| edtherenderman | 22-Feb-22 11:19 |
| LOL! It's my glue of choice for building! Of course, I always have acetone or fingernail polish remover handy for when I stick my fingers together! I use yellow wood glue (Tightbond) for infilling because it sands easier then CA and drys pretty fast. |
