acdii

Im working on my Top Flite Gold Edition p-51 and want to glass the wing and fuse, but I dont know how much cloth to get for it, or what to use to make a hard surface. The balsa is so thin that Im afraid I will poke a hole in it just moving it around. Ihave some Z-poxy finishing resin, but I dont know if it will be enough for the entire plane.

I've been using Bondo auto resin to make molds and repair cowls, but Idont think it will be the correct stuff to use for the wings and fuse.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

The Z-poxy is good to use for glassing. When I do this I use 3/4 oz cloth. lay the cloth on the part to be covered, mix only enough resin that you can use in 20 min. pour some at the center of the part and sperad with an old credit card or Bondo spreader. Once all the cloth is saturated, blot with a paper towel to remove any excess resin as it only adds weight and makes it difficult to sand. When blotting, the use of a heat gun to warm up the resin really helps. Feather sand the edges of the privious sheet of glass before adding the next. When it comes to the size sheets just think of it as you would an iron on covering. Always have between 65-70 degrees during application and cure. When fully cured, sand with 220 to smoothen out. There will be some visable fabric weave if you blotted enough resin out, I wipe a thin coat of resin on the surface to fill the weave and sand a second time. At this point you should be ready for primer.

sensei

All your really doing is sealing the balsa so you can paint and not read the balsa grain later. One ply of 3/4" along with Z-poxy will not keep you from damaging things from handling errors, and heavier cloths will add too much weight to fly worth keeping, so do yourself a favor and forget about using any kind of polyester or epoxy resin, keep it light and get yourself a can of Minwax polyurethane from Lowe's or Home Depot, place the 3/4" cloth down and brush on the Minwax, allow to dry, scuff sand with 320 grit, brush another coat Minwax repeated by sanding and your ready to start priming. This is simple, light, and the most cost effective way to prep for finish. measure length X width of everything and divide by 144, this will give you your SQ. FT. area of cloth to purchase.

Bob

acdii

Well since it is a gas power plane and not glow, the minwax idea looks good, plus I have a few gallons of that already here.

OK I just had a really dumb idea pop up, Stain the plane Mahogany! It would look like one of those desk models made of wood. LOL

As far as the actual fabric, is it about the same equivalent of glass to monokote rolls, or would it be less?

sensei

It will be the same SQ. FT. usage.

Bob

Luft-Gangster

sensei - Great idea. Will put this to use this buliding season.
Thanks Leroy