bbrown2828

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Hey guys I have just bought a RV6 plane and Ineed some tips on restoreing it to make it look like a full size plane that i painted last year. I have posted some Pictures.... the first ones are of my rc and the othere are my uncles plane that i painted last year... I am trying to decide if i should do it with monokote or fiberglass it and paint it Iwant to make this look as close as possible as i can make it look... I am just looking for some good feedback if ya can help please.. i think i will also be converting my rc from a taildragger to tri gear

flyngfrog

I suggest if it is covered with monokote to re-cover it with monokote in the trim scheme of the full size plane.

good luck with your project

Avaiojet

bbrown,

This is an easy one.

Because you are capable of doing it, go with the paint. Otherwise, and you know this, you'll never be happy about the finish.

Tell me I'm wrong.

Nice work!

Charles

RC MANIAC119

My Feedback: (14)

Simple.......just peel off the teal stripes, and add the burgundy, for 2 reasons.
#1 Simplicity......in just a few hours you can have that looking like your uncle's bird.
#2 Fiberglass will add tons of weight to the air frame. Never Good!!!

Good Luck....keep posting pics

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

fiberglass doesn't add that much weight if done correctly, it does however add alot of extra work,I glass my planes with water based poly and .56oz fiberglass cloth and its quite light.
it really depends on the quality of finish and if your willing to do the paint work,trimming it in mono would be alot quicker if you have the skills with a iron,I am admittedly bad at covering so I prefer to paint my models, most are scale any way.

Mr67Stang

Paint would look better, especially if you painted the one pictured. Outstanding work!

bbrown2828

My Feedback: (76)

i did paint the one pictured... it was a very tuff job but well done took me all day on a saturday to spray the white and then came back on sunday and did the trim work and the clear it took almost five gallons of clear coat but she is a beautie.... so how would i go about fiberglassing this model the guys around here at the local hobby shops tell me it will add to much weight and case too much wing load....

FallDownGoBoom

My Feedback: (1)

Bbrown:

Your paint job on the full size is gorgeous.

If you're going to attempt painting the model:

1. Before you strip the monocote, are there open areas in the wing ribs/fuselage? Fiberglass cloth will not stretch over these the way monocote does, so you'd have to fill them with balsa, which would add weight to the model, to say nothing of all the fun you'll have figuring out how to fill the gaps. If there open bays on the model, I'd probably stay away from painting it.

2. Assuming there are no open areas, you'll have to strip off the monocote, which can be a real pain. Once it's off, you'd want to lightly sand the entire balsa surface to try to get rid of residual adhesive, smooth out dings in the wood, etc.

3. Then you fiberglass the surface. If done correctly, glassing/paint does not add a significant amount of weight, maybe an ounce or two. But you have to pay attention to detail, which means minimizing the amount of resin/WBPU you use to adhere the cloth, priming/sanding to fill the weave to a smooth suface, and minimizing the amount of paint.

There are two approaches to glassing the surface. You can use either .5 or .75 oz/sq yd cloth, I've done both and there doesn't seem to be any difference in the result. You can use either fiberglass resin or water based polyurethane to adhere the cloth. Check out www.airfieldmodels.com for details on using resin, and there are numerous descriptions of the WBPU methods in the RCU threads. Both approaches, done right, will yield a smooth surface for paint. But there's no avoiding the prime/sand/repeat cycle, which ultimately determines how the finished paint will look, as well as how much weight you add to the plane.

4. Paint: more decisions here. Depending on your budget, you can use exterior latex; model specific formulations such as Klasscote, Nelson's, Stitts, etc.; or automotive paints. In the end, you want to end up with a fuel-proof surface, which may require some sort of clear-coat finish as well as the base color coats. The hard part here is not to use too much paint, that's where you end up adding weight. Doing the trim is probably the same as on the full size: masking curves and sraying smaller areas.

Sorry about the length of the above, but the decision to paint should be made with the knowledge that it takes more time than than heat-shrink covering. If you go the paint route, you can end up with a unique plane that gives you a great deal of satisfaction. If you go the film route, you can be flying quickly. The painted finish will look great on the ground; but 50' off the deck, 50' out, and going by at 50mph I doubt anybody can tell the difference. And don't even think about how you'll feel if you crash...

Hope this helps,

Fred

SeamusG

Excellent post Fred - gonna make a copy for personal consumption.

Couple of notes:
If the film is Monokote - it is a 2 layer film, a clear covering layer and a color impregnated adhesive layer. When it is removed as adhesive is left on the plane so will some color. Acetone will cut the adhesive but I'm guessing that it will leave a colored stain on the wood. Not a big issue when color is white.

If the film is Ultracote - it also is a 2 layer film, the external layer carries the color with a clear adhesive layer. Very little color is left on the plane's structure.

A heat gun will do a better job removing covering than a mechanical method - sand paper, razors etc. Long tweezers are invaluable in keeping finger tips from blistering. Watch the heat as the gun can burn the balsa.

You can paint and film. If the fuse, fin and stab are totally sheeted they can be glassed & painted. Even if the fin and stab are open construction you can still paint the fuse. You obviously have HIGH standards (beautiful job btw) and it is difficult to get a decent nicely stretched film covering of the tail feathers. If the wing is of open construction you can just cover it with film. Monokote is glossier than Ultracote but Ultracote is easier to stretch and work around the rounded areas.

Post some "in progress" and finished pictures!

bbrown2828

My Feedback: (76)

thanks for all the imputs on this topic guys but i have decided to let someone from the local hobby shop that is  experienced  in covering... i tried to do it on some little parts and i was just afriad i was going to mess it up but it will look great when done

FallDownGoBoom

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Seamus.

I totally agree, using a heat gun makes removing monocote/ultracote much easier. Another great thing to have around is an "Ov-Glove" or some kind of heat resistant kitchen mit. Within limits, you can grab hold of a piece of film covering and stretch/pull it as much as you like.

R Verbael

I took in a crashed 1/3 scale T-18, rebuilt it and then repainted it to match my full scale T-18. I used automotive paint sprayed out...came out pretty good. [8D]

FallDownGoBoom

My Feedback: (1)

Looks good... nice paint job