Propwash in Pa

What type of balsa fillers do you use and why? Micro-balloons and epoxy has worked okay for me but is heavy. Light weight spackle ?

John - 373786

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Depends on where and what I'm filling. when I need the strength of epoxy I use epoxy and corn starch (cheap substitute for micro ballons). for filling balsa I use lightweight spackling compound. Although, on my current build I'm trying something new. While wandering the isles at Lowe's I came across a new product. It's Elmers Professional Wood Filler. The nice thing about it is that it comes in various wood colors, and the Natural color is pretty close to balsa. It seems to be about the same weight as the spackle, so it looks like it might stay on my worrkbench.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I don't like those light-weight spackles, they can melt under the heat of a covering iron.

I use plane ol' Elmers Wood Filler (For light colored woods)

You can smear it on, and smooth it out with a wet finger to make for less sanding, and it holds up great.

Plus, it's not too heavy (Once it's dry) and really, if you're using so much filler that weight is a problem, you should be working on your building skills

Elmer's is available in two types containers; Tubs, or tubes

Kaos Rulz

Ken,

You'll like the Elmers' Professional Wood Filler. It's easy to work with, cleans up well, and is a breeze to sand. Most importantly, as Minn said, "...and it holds up great."

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Minn and ED STEFAN,
I'll definately pick some up on my next trip to Lowe's and give it a try.

JMO

My Feedback: (136)

I use sig 20 minute finishing resin and micro ballons. you can get 1 oz of filler with just 1/8 oz of resin, which really keeps the weight down. It accepts all kinds of paints as well as balsa rite or stix it by sig for shrink covering. It is a breeze to sand and it is also wet sandable which is a big plus to us who still paint our finishes. The down side is length of drying time which is 8 hours before you can sand it. John in Iowa

WCB

Like Minnflyer I have been using "plain old Elmer's Wood Filler". It works well on balsa because it sands easily. Some fillers dry harder than the wood and are hard to sand without leaving a ridge.

saramos

I went to my local hardware store after reading this thread. They didn't have the Elmers, but I found some latex based wood filler by MinWax. The thing that really caught my attention was how light the container was. I picked up a couple of tubes. It seems to work pretty well, but I wish it would feather a little bit better.

Scott

Ernie Misner

Also, go to Aerospace Composites and look at all the professional fillers they have that are intended to be mixed with epoxy. Micro balloons are just one of many choices.

Ernie

Propwash in Pa

Hey RCKen, is that a Hog in the picture. I am currently building one and am considereing a 4-stroke .90. what are your thoughts?

John - 373786

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Propwash in Pa,
You do have a good eye. Yes, that is a Sig Pig (Hog Bipe). I fly mine with a OS 91 Surpass 4-stroke. I think that the plane was designed for that motor, because they are the perfect combo. You can't go wrong with that motor on the plane. You'll have a blast with. I fly the wings off of mine

Propwash in Pa

I recognized the &*&%@ cabane struts. Messed with them last night. Do you have pics of plane? I made a couple of mods:
1. hatch for tank
2. dual pushrods for elevator
3. glassed landing gear plate from inside
4. used 2 1/2 glass on bottom wing.
5. dual aileron servos
6. Sulivan tail wheel

John

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Built pretty much by the planes. couple of mods - dual aileron servos. plus high output servos for elevator and rudder. other than thats she's a straight build.

ballgunner

My Feedback: (1)

I use baby powder and Elmer's white glue mixed to paintable consistency. Dries fairly quickly and snd easier than anything else I've tried. Might take several coats but will give you finish that looks like metal. Most important part of using any filler is the sandpaper.

flipstart

Elmers Professional wood filler seems to work as well as any-have tried various ones-seems like the ones that are real easy to sand do not hold up. Mixing balsa dust and Titebond makes a good filler for durability but is more difficult to sand. The Elmers filler can be thinned with water to any consistency you desire, mixed with balsa dust to fill deep cracks, and it holds up well -always trying new products but seem to come back to the orange and white containter. Flipstart

Daryl_y

Elmers here too the can says "Fill and Finish" light interior wood filler. Speards easy esp if you thin it some with water. dries fast and looks like balsa. It is heavy compared to balsa filler but I don't think it would add more than an once or so to most planes. Seems like Elmers has 1000 kinds of wood filler but I think they are all mostly the same.

8178

My Feedback: (17)

I use the old “Hobby Poxy” method and the process can be seen on this build thread
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Howa...2434444/tm.htm