Avalanche2

Hey, Ive searched and read but, still cant find anything that works well for fuel proofing. Not over paint just plain balsa/wood fuel proofing.. Ive seen something about using epoxy but seems heavy..?? any help or tips?.. thanks

fancman

My Feedback: (16)

Mix epoxy with alcolol, about the consistancy of water and then just paint it on your bare balsa. Works great!

Sport_Pilot

You can also use white glue thinned with water, works just as good.

fancman

My Feedback: (16)

Didn't think white glue would stand up to nitro. No doubt epoxy will.

carrellh

You can mix up some slow (30 minute or longer) epoxy and heat it with your heat gun until it's runny like water. Brush it on and it will not add a lot of weight. The Balsarite (for film) can says it is a good fuelproofer.

Sport_Pilot

Yeah! Why do you think it is such a common glue in RC planes! Wouldn't be nice for the tail to let go during a runup because you used a non fuel proof glue.

fancman

My Feedback: (16)

LOL I usually cover my airplanes before flying and fuel never gets on the wood in the tail of the airplane and these days I would guess that CA is the most common glue used in building RC airplanes. I could be wrong. LOL And isn't the glue on the inside of the structure????? Silly me.....perhaps I've been doing it all wrong for the last 25 yrs of RC modeling. Who knew!!!!!

Sport_Pilot

If you keep them long enough then the fuel will eventually get under the covering and plenty gets on the tail.

CA is not recommended for critical points where a strong fuel proof joint is required, such as the firewall and tail plane to fuse. Normally when plywood is used epoxy is recommended, however when the joint is balsa to balsa white glue is just as strong. Because of so many who are alergic to CA and epoxy and those who simply want to save money and see no need to hurry, white glue is probably as popular as CA.

scratchonly

I use mineral based spray varathane on firewalls and the interior of exposed tank boxes. Try a few coats. You can also buy quarts for brushing. Fuel proof to 15% nitro after curing for A FEW WEEKS. Good luck.

fancman

My Feedback: (16)

Thanks for the tutorial. I never heard any of this in 25 yrs of modeling. LOL I must have missed the part where I asked for building lessons. Too funny. You rock dude!!!!

Sport_Pilot

25 years of modeling and you never heard of white glue? Ever use Pica, Titebond, or even Elmers? Or never heard that CA is not fuel proof and not recommended on areas of high stress and fuel such as firewalls? Either way you must have done your modeling in a hole somewhere?

fancman

My Feedback: (16)

LOL Reading comprehension wasn't one of your best subjects in school, was it........I was joking. You really need to get over yourself.

sebo

For fuel proofer use BalsaRite for film. I put some on 2 pieces of balsa. Then I put the sticks into a baby food bottle full of 15 percent fuel. Closed the lid. Opened the jar 2 weeks later and broke the sticks. They were perfectly dry and snapped as they should have.
Been using it ever since. I also use it over dope if I want a colored look. Works great!

Sport_Pilot

Here is a trick with white glue, it works better than balsarite. Mix up some Elmers or similiar with water till it has the consistancy of milk, then spread a coat on the wood you are covering, let dry, sand, add a bit more glue to the mix, and apply another coat. Do this till there is no rough fuzz, but do not try to seal it as with sanding sealer. Now when you use a film covering such as moneykote or ultragoodcote it will stick to the glue. However, the white glue does not actually melt, but the heat does cause the outer molecules to cling to the film adhesive, I do not understand why. This only works one time as the heat changes the molecular structure of the white glue. The good part is unlike balsarite it will not come loose near a hot muffler or in the hot sun, though the film adhesive may.

I have used this trick where film did not want to stick to fiberglass, even after sanding the glass.

Avalanche2

Thanks for all the help... Lots of good stuff to use...... thanks again

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I recently bought some balsarite for fuelproofing and also to seal the wood before I glass with poly. I was expecting the balsarite to be thin but the can I have is more the consistency of honey. Are you able to brush this on pretty easy?

sebo

Don"t use balsarite before you glass....the glass is fuelproof!
You can't glass over balsarite!
Don't use gasoline for fuel if you use balsarite. It may not be gasoline proof.
Does someone else have insight on this?

sebo

i use balsa rite to fuel proof the fuel tank compartment and engine areas. you are going to have terrible problems if you use balsa rite in areas you intend to glass. you will have a mess. yes balsa rite is thick and sticky. it is a heat sensitive glue.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I was going to use balsarite to seal the wood before glassing. I will be using water based poly to glass and the wood needs to be sealed or it will soak up a lot of water from the poly before it has the chance to evaporate.

I dont remember where I read it but in one of the how to articles that I read said you could use the balsarite to seal the balsa.

I would be interested to hear what other folks have found.

Sport_Pilot

I would stick with epoxy to do the fiberglassing.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Where I live the epoxy is very difficult to come by. Lots of folks are getting excellent results with the water based poly. After reading a lot about glassing with poly and painting with latex I gave it a shot.

I glassed with poly on foam and it gave fantastic results. Light and smooth as can be. Not as beefy as glassing with epoxy but I didnt need the extra strength, just a good surface to paint.

The foam doesnt soak up the poly like balsa will. Lots of folks say to use sanding sealer first on the balsa but I cant find it here so I also read where someone had used balsarite with good results. Thats why I was surprised by its thickness. So if the balsarite is not suitable I need something that will work for sealing the balsa.