The ugly truth about running diesels is how the fuel spray gets into every nook and cranny to ruin the plane. I've seen planes go from one day old to 10 years old in one day . Running a COX with the spray going everywhere makes matters worse. How do you seasoned runners of these stinky wonders keep your planes looking good?

We don't need no steenking nooks and crannies! I am impressed that diesel fuel is much less viscous than glow fuel. So sealing up the nooks and crannies is even more important than with glow fuel. Nitrate dope is fine, just have to use enough to get things well sealed. Butyrate works OK as well.

Thanks, Jim. So that's the ugly truth, painted finishes work better than film. I haven't been able to come up with a seam sealer for iron on film that works any better than clear tape, but tape is pretty darn ugly [PDU]. Where I fly, silk span is out of the question, and fabric seems too heavy for 1/2A, I guess that only leaves some of the hobby store covering products that are a cross between fabric and paper?

Rustoleum is a good finish for diesels too. I had a real disaster with Rustoleum and glow fuel but with diesel there is absolutely no deterioration and it cleans up to like new condition. I use clear nitrate to prime and seal.

I've used Polyspan, Airspan, and Koverall. The first two are very light and the first is also very strong. Airspan is OK but it will tear. Koverall finishes are not as heavy as you might think. I'm about to try Thai Silks which should be fine for small models.

Now here's an ugly truth--every film covered plane I've seen at our club field, no matter how great it looked at it's debut, looks lousy a few years later due to wrinkles that finally won't shrink out any more, lifting edges and scratches. Paint is worth it to me no matter what the fuel. And the nice thing about small planes is that it is really no big deal to paint them.

Jim

This is a toughy. Like you I've found that the plastics don't really seal well with Diesel. The exhuast isn't the problem, it's the ether and kero that eats the glue backing at the seams around the center section. When I was flying the diesel combat event I used to cover the wing up close to the engine mount. I'd then sand the shine of the covering for about 1/4 inch at the edges and then "paint" the mount area with two coats of laminating epoxy that flowed onto the sanded area to protect the covering edges. I also did the leading edge seams out about 6 inches on the leading edges. That seemed to protect most of it but if there was a lot of fuel flying around it would still lift the seams in places.

Most tape glues just melt right away when kerosene or varsol like solvents are around. Heck, I use WD40 to remove the goo left behind by the tape and it works lickety split so I wouldn't expect any tape to protect against diesel fuel.

I recently picked up some synthetic silkspan like material from a sewing supply place. It's tough and does not tear at all easily but I'm not sure if it'll shrink or not. Its intended use is for cutting out permanent patterns. If it'll shrink with water or heat then it would be an excellent substitute for silkspan where some puncture resistance is needed.

Film the wings, and paint the body myself. I look for 21st Century sprays for the body. A bit harder to work with than other paints, but it goes on thin and soaks in good. During use it will get 25% nitro fuel on it without much to worry about if you wipe the spill off the finish.

Also , paint the inside of the fuse, too. will prevent damage from fuel line leaking.

Mine don`t seem to last long enough for this to be a major problem. I tend to use Litespan on these little models and that seems to be as diesel proof as any covering I`ve tried.

After a few mess-ups and mishaps around engine bays I now just brush paint the area with coloured dope and then apply a good coat of polyester resin using a small foam squeegee. I guess two-pot epoxy would be just as effective.

Alan W

CP,

I thought that CL diesel combat planes didn't last long enough for the covering to be a problem.

Bipe, it's almost impossible to total one of those British DBAT planes out. Out of an original batch of 6, I still have 4. They have gotten heavy enough from fuel soakage and repairs to not be competitive, but this is after 5 years of service. I use the WARLORD design, it is compact and simple. I covered them with SEAL-LAMEN [DOCULAM?] so you can see internal damage, plus the covering is dirt cheap. The most fun with those PAW .15s is with RC combat though, on converted .40 sized C/L combat planes. Just tape on a pair of elevons and fins and have a blast. These planes are truly beyond the point where cleaning them would do much good, and they ought to be stored in a fire proof shed .