sir crashallot

Right when finishing the build of a model and it comes down to glassing the fus and wings before paint. how much stronger does it make the airframe after glassing it. thanks for any replys or advice

gene6029

I dont glass my planes for extra strength, but to prepair the surface for paint. With out doing it, the vibrations & stress from flight can cause the paint to crack if not glassed. Im not saying the glassing doesnt add strength, just that its not done for that reason. Alot of models can and are covered with iron on finishes in stead of glassing, so like i said, its generally done for surface prep. Another process is useing water based polycrilic. I just finished one this week with this process and like the results......Gene

sir crashallot

i understand theres variouse methods of coveringand painting and so forth and i have personaly been at this hobby for just over 10 years. i have never come accross or performed glassing and really want to know just how much strength it adds, i understand it adds allot of weight but strength is my main concern thanks for your input though

firstplaceaviator

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Same here, I glass them only to create a "glass smooth" finish. It is slightly more durable than a non glassed structure, and like Gene said, the finish won't crack like it will if you simply fill the grain and paint. I use West System Epoxies and glass. Just make sure that the surface is absolutely clean. There cannot be any dust in the grain. That will cause the glass to lift eventually.
Doug

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Add another ditto. It gives a good painting surface. I dont do it for strength. And with practice can be done almost as light as an iron covering. I only put on one coat of reson then fill it with spackling/water mixed to a little thicker than milk rubbed in with fingers. Does a good job filling the weave.
Edwin

sir crashallot

right thanks for the info guys.

il fill you in on what im doing shall i. im finishing off the designs for a 64 inch spit which will be an all built up structure. i was contemplating on skinning the fus and wings with thinner balsa as i possibly could and then glassing the fuselage with a good grade. bassicaly cutting corners to try keep the weigth down on the fus. reason i am trying to build to a diet as it will be powerd by a 61 2str irvine once its been overhauled and the retracts are air/oil operated.

if this sounds alittle silly and you know of an easier alternative please doput your opinion in as il be ordering the wood once i worked out what i need. thanks again guys for the advice its really apreciated

sir crashallot

edwin you mention spackling/water what is spackling as i guess i should know for when it comes to the glassing, sorry for all the questions but i reall wana get it allright the first time as money wont allow me to make any mistakes[:@]

Edwin

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Its light weight spackling from the hardware store. Its used for dry wall repair. There are two kinds. One is heavy and is obvious, the other is very light weight and will also be obvious. I just mix tap water to it until its a little thicker than milk then rub it into the weave with my fingers. When it drys it will be lumpy, just sand it lightly down to the weave. You dont want a layer on top of the glass, just fill the weave. Keep doing that until you're satisfied. Then prime and sand. And you're ready for finish paint. A really good paint to use is warbird colors. I havent used it yet but will be on a P-47, J3, and a L4 pretty soon. The big benifit of warbird colors is its high pigment content. Takes less paint. Perfect paint "the brand" used to be like that. Its not longer made. This makes a very light finish when using 1/2oz to 3/4oz glass.
Edwin

firstplaceaviator

My Feedback: (27)

I would stick with with the thickness that the designer incorporated. The thinner the sheeting is, the more it will sag in between ribs, stingers and formers. If weight is the primary concern, I would glass it with 1/2 Oz. cloth and MinWax polyurethane. Use the lightweight Spackle (similar to Goldberg Model Magic) to fill the weave. Then one coat of Plastikote "High Build" sandable primer. Sand that until smooth with 400, one more LIGHT coat of primer sanded with 600. Finally, finish it off with your choice of paint scheme.
Doug

sir crashallot

well doug the designer is me. iv mearly reworked a set of 3 view drawings and changed the airfoil section for the top flight spitfires section and slightly enlarged the stab and fin to make it slightly more comfertuble to fly. the design is formers nd stringers through out with a 1/16 skin. does this sound about correct

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I would agree with not going to thin. Been there did that. Kept putting my thumb and fingers through the wood. Made it tough to pick up the plane. I dont think you'll save that much weight. Just my opinion.
Edwin

firstplaceaviator

My Feedback: (27)

Sounds good to me![8D]

sir crashallot

well thats all i need to no, thanks guys. il have to drop the link into this thread when he build starts in a few days or so. you might be able to point out any thing you think dosnt lookcorrect. always handy to have people watching as somtimes a problem is in your face and you will never notice till its too late. thanks again.
Brent

firstplaceaviator

My Feedback: (27)

Looking forward to it! I have been building and flying models for the past 32 years and been a full scale mechanic for the last 18. So, anything you would like to know, I will be happy to help.[8D]
Doug

sir crashallot

well its official the order for all the wood is complete, now i need to get these templates and measurements finished and the build thrad started i think. hopefully those retracts will be here tomorow never heard of air/oil operated ones before but there oldbut in good condition so £30 was worth it i think.

heres the link to the build itself http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_89...tm.htm#8934467

bingo field

I was concerned with weight, and went and used monocoat over the stock balsa on my Top Flite P-47 Thunderbolt, shot Warbird Colors paint over it with my airbrush. They recommended scuff sanding the monocoat first, which I did , using some medium steel wool to start, then some 350 grit sandpaper, which seems to work better. Wiped it down with some paint thinner, and let it dry. The finish was great, it looks pretty much like I wanted it to (I am no artist). The whole thing came out under 10 lbs, but I did use mechanical retracts. You can see it in my gallery.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

bingo, Do you have some flying time on the paint job? When I painted over ultra-coat, it generally worked fine except around the cowl where it rubbed the finish. The paint rubbed off. Every place else had no trouble. I fixed it by using some red ultracoat where the cowl fit on the fuse. This was a 60 sized mustang. I used rustoleum and the nice thing was that when wrinkles showed up (hot in Texas) I could reshrink the ultracoat by laying down a white T-shirt and ironing over that. Just dont let the T-shirt move around or it might smear the paint. But it shrank the ultracoat without cracking any paint or any deformations.
Edwin