DaveB

I have used pre painted Solartex on several planes and acheived good results. This time however, I am considering using the natural (unpainted) Solartex with Stixit and then painting with primer and latex. This will be a first for me and I would be appreciative of any comments regarding this method. Is it a good idea? Would I be better off with Koverall and nitrate or any other method for that matter? The plane is a Dynaflite Chipmunk that is currently in the beginning build stage.

Thanks,

DaveB

Chevelle

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Beautiful job SunDevilPilot. Congratulations on the plane and the maiden flight.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Dave,
I have never used Latex over Solortex, but I will say this, All the times I painted over it I've use spray equipment, Sraying latex can be very difficult because of its thick nature, true for most water based products.. Also you want a paint that will go on thin and cover so the fabric weave is still visible, Other wise why used Solortex, right? I'd do some test samples to see what the finish product will look like before you commit to the whole model.


good luck

TomCrump

I agree with parts of this statement.

Latex is thick, and can be hard to spray. All waterbased paints are not viscous, or hard to spray.

Products from Nelson Hobby Specialties http://www.nelsonhobby.com/paint.html and Warbird Colors http://www.warbirdcolors.com/ are waterborne and very easy to spray. Both are fuel proof, and require no clear coat. Nelson's is available in flat or gloss. WBC is flat.

Chevelle

My Feedback: (2)

Ipainted both the Fokker DR1 and the Hudson Flier with latex over SolarTex. The DR1 was sprayed and required thinning and Flotrol. The Hudson Flier was brushed on and required less thinning and therefore fewer coats than the Triplane. Both preserved the fabric look. I was happy with the results in both cases.

Augie11

Gary-

No one should be this happy !

GaryHarris

Wow!

GaryHarris

I'm allmost done with the wing and I can't say enough good things about this covering. Ill take some pics this evening.

Ok, on painting the maltese crosses and stuff, I'm ok with rust oleum rattle cans and wait a week before minwax?

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Tom,
Good point, "Waterborne" Paints/Lacquers/Ploy-Us are designed to be sprayed, and work fine,
By "Most" I meant the common house paints,, that's where you'll run into troubles

GaryHarris

I haven't finished the wing yet and have yet to do the second round of re-shrinking that I'm normally used to, so they're are still some bad spots yet to be worked on.

GaryHarris

I'm also toying with the idea of breaking the rules when it comes to building the Eindecker EIII. Since the BUSA kit aint true scale, I'm leaning towards using brass up front instead of aluminum like everybody else does. I'm not even sure they had aloominum way back then. But I like color contrast of brass against the antique Solartex and am thinking of letting the brass tarnish for that well weathered look.

This pic isn't representative of the actual piece I would be using, just a throw down for grins. Whatta yall think?

TomCrump

[quote]ORIGINAL: GaryHarris



Rustoleum seems to take some time to dry. Set your model in the sun for a few hours, on a couple different days. Sun light does wonders for curing paint.

Minwax? If you are talking about Minwax Polycrilic, I have not found it to be fuel proof. For a clear coat, I'd go with Warbirdcolors or Nelson's.

Here's a pic of my Solartex covered Sig Spacewalker II. It's painted with Nelson Paints.

WacoNut

I am covering my 33% Cub with Cub Yellow Solartex. The stuff is going down great(much better than monokote IMO). The only thing I do not like is the Solartex is too transparent. I will be spraying a coat or two of paint once I have the tapes applied.
The Solartex does work around the wingtips very nice.
Later!!
Anthony

rye

My Feedback: (10)

hi
is there a web page on Solartex that i could read about this covering? thanks

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Don't know about a web page but on Balsa USA site they talk about it. It's just a very good fabric covering that goes on like any iron on covering only better. It's mostly used on warbirds and period planes that were covered with fabric.

GaryHarris

^ What the young guy said. [8D]

WacoNut

I can tell you a 1/3 scale Cub eats up alot of covering. I ordered a 10 meter roll and it is not enough. I just placed an order for a 5 meter roll. It's really looking good. All the seams lay down nice and I am placing them where the reinforcement tapes will cover the seams.
Later!
Anthony

WacoNut

Here are a couple of pics of the wing panels. Not one wrinkle
Anthony

Augie11

VERY nice!

For reinforcement tape, I make my own out of the Solartex itself. My wife showed me how!

There are rotary cutters available at craft/fabric stores like Hobby Lobby. I use a straight blade to rough cut my covering. But the circular blades also come in a variety of 'pinking' designs. I pick one that's close to the scale I need and cut strips to the width I need then iron those strips right over the base solartex layer. Is it exact scale? No. But I can get pretty close. Just be patient and get those cuts parallel. Sure, you waste a few strips but it's fun. When I did my 1/4 scale Cub it felt like I cut 2 miles of pinked strips. But the finished result looks great!!!!

The problem with Solartex is that once you use it your spoiled. I think it has also resulted in me building one plane over another. By that I mean that given a choice between building an Extra 300 or a Fokker D. VIII, I'll go with the D. VIII and solartex so I don't have to fool with plastic. : ) As I've mentioned before, I've also cut simple graphics like Maltese crosses out of 21st Century fabric and, with it's shine, it can be applied right on Solartex and that looks really nice as well. Maybe you've already figured out that I'll do ANYTHING to minimize painting. But when I do have to paint it's Nelson latex all the way.

chuck l

My Feedback: (17)

Waconut,

Which do you prefer now, Koveral or Solartex?

Chuck

WacoNut

Hi Chuck,
Too early to tell just yet. The Solartex does apply faster and easier. I will have to wait until I get the rib stitching,tapes and paint completed before making that determination. I can tell you I would not be happy with the Solartex as applied, it is just too transparent. You really notice it on sheeted surfaces and you see all the grain of the wood and also the differences in the color of the wood. Not very appealing on a 1/3 scale plane. I do believe I can apply Koverall cheaper than the Solartex. The Solartex is going to run $150 to cover this plane + $20 for paint. I could cover with Koverall for less than $100.
I am sure the finished results with the Solartex will be nice.
Later!!
Anthony

chuck l

My Feedback: (17)

Waconut,

I should have mentioned in the email I sent you, about the difference in ease of application, that the colored material is transparent and would need to be painted anyway. I don't see any reason to buy the colored Solartex with the large scale planes you and I build.

Chuck

WacoNut

I agree, but on the plus side it will take less coats of Cub Yellow paint to achieve the desired look by starting with the Cub Yellow Solartex. I took a sample of the Solartex to Home Depot and had a quart of Yellow color matched.

Here is a pic of the starting of the rib stitching and tapes. The tapes from Pink-It are cut from the Cub Yellow Solartex. The tapes go down very well over the Solartex.

BTW: The stitching is from Scale Rib Stitch in Canada.
Later!!
Anthony

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

You all have me convinced- I'm gonna try this stuff. Anybody got cheaper prices?

WacoNut

I have heard that all the iron on Tex coverings are made by the same manufacturer and packaged for sale by different vendors. Not sure if this is true or not. I would suggest just doing a search.