Any feedback on using Doculam as covering material?

Lots of folks here have done it and seem to like it. I plan to try it someday.

I have used a bunch of the stuff on combat models. If the plane is going to go fast and or use nitro or other model fuel seal the edges as the glue is not to strong or fuel proof. Some places that make signs use this to seal photos and it may be possible to score some wide sheets for free. Just ask for the roll ends.

It comes on rolls. It's fairly thin and strong. It doesn't shrink all that much and it requires a high heat to stick really well. It's also clear since it's primary purpose is to laminate documents (well duh! ). So you either need to paint it on the outside or very carefully color the glue side in some way that won't compromise the glue or make it so when the glue melts from the iron that it squishes around and looks awful. Most folks paint it on the outside or just paint the framework and use the clear film.

1/2A Hec's little glider is covered in Doculam and airbrushed. It's a recent thread so dig that up to see how it looks.

I love the stuff... Just "Stripe" the edges with 1/4" $cote.

Well I am looking for something to paint.

Anything else out there besides silk?

I don't paint on the outside of laminating film any more but when I used Rustoleum it seemed to help when I rubbed it down good with lacquer thinner before starting to lay on light coats. Sometimes it took a month for that darn paint to finish gassing off but then it stood up to hot fuel pretty good.

FWIW one of these days I'm going to have to recover my 8-foot Senior Telemaster ARF (yes, I know) because that yellow flying billboard drives me nuts! But do I love Telemasters - almost as much as little TDs - and I'll have to keep this one for a couple more years. Anyway, my point was that I have no qualms about covering this gas-powered model with EZ Lamin (they are all pretty much the same). That stuff is strong as well as light and way cheap. Good luck with your project.

Lam film can be tinted by boiling with "Rit" fabric dye,it then looks like the other transparent films on offer. Note both the glue and shrink need considerably more heat than boiling water so theres no glue set or shrinkage dureing dyeing.
Stewart

Walter,

Here is my little Schweizer TG2 glider 30" WS that BMathews was refering to. It is covered in Doculam. I misted yellow on the adhesive side and the blue is air brushed on the outside. I love it. This is my first model covered in Doculam. I am SOLD!

Hec

I've always used monocoat then Steve from Select hobbies (Scalawag here on RCU) suggested laminating film. It took a little getting used to but I like it much better than monocoat now. I paint the inside and it works real good. I've found Krylon paint works best. Rustolium doesn't seem to work as well. I then seal the edges with clear fuel proof paint. I've also found that the Krylon paint is available for plastic and if you let it cure after spraying for 7 days fuel doesn't bother it. That way you can spray it on the outside. The 7 day cure is ecessential. Its so cheap. 25 inches wide by 500 feet long for $30 delivered.

It looks like Walther is getting geared up for a diesel powered project.?
Whichever iron on covering you use, make sure to seal the edges well or the fuel will ruin the covering job quickly, much quicker than glow fuel can.

tewitt49,

What sort of "clear fuel proof paint" do you use to seal the edges?

He must mean fuel proof for diesel fuel, cuz there isn't any paint that comes out of a spray can that is glow fuel proof. I've tried them all, and they all end up on the cleaning rag.

2 part paints that you mix on the spot are fuel proof.

i used doculam on a 20" ws piper cherokee.. i thought it would shrink down like monokote so i applied it like i do monokote, only to find that after application it didnt shrink so well, so one of my wings is not as tight as i would like it to be, but otherwise i think the stuff is swell when it comes to keeping a small plane's weight down!

I used some stuff from Tower Hobbies in a spray can. I will check on the name, but I think its made by Top Flight? I used some clear stuff 25 years ago that was spray from tower and workded good I assume it is the same stuff. Although I've put it on planes lately, the weather has been so I can test it. I believe the can says fuel proof. I haven't used it on diesel fuel either. I have my Sky Drill with a diesel in it but the weather hasn't been so I can try it. It may come off like CP said. One thing that I've used with glow fuel that might work with diesel and that is styrofoam and laqure thinner. I use sheet foam that is used in home building and I disolve it in lauqure thinner. My son in law tried doing it and used some foam that his rc radio came in but there is something different with that foam. He ended up with some thick snotty sticky stiff in the bottom of the jar. If you use the correct foam, it disolves competely and doesn't settle to the bottom. It stays mixed completely. The more foam you put in thinner the thicker it gets. I then brush it on, and depending how thick you make it, it will soak in the balsa like thin ca. You can put a few thin coats on or a second thicker mix and it will fill the pours nicely.
I'm sure that nitro won't affect it but don't know about diesel fuel. I will try it today and get back with you on the findings.

Terrry

Here's how it goes on a sheeted wing, paint is Goldberg and no longer available (only because it WORKED and had stuff in it that made yer twig 'n berries fall off):




I recommend buffing the areas you will paint with steel wool first.

Fozjared-
but you have missed the best part of covering with Doculam:
If you dont like how it came out, tear that $0.32 of cover off & try it again.... and again, and again.

You can rest easy throwing 20' or 30' of the stuff in the trash from botched cover jobs or just saying "I can do better than that." Go ahead, tear it off & try again, spend the extra forty cents. If you botch a coverjob with $Kote you are looking at a few Bills getting trashed instead of a few Dimes.

Of course, as others have mentioned with Trim,
you can cover vast square feet of surface with cheap doculam, and then do the hairpin compound curves with $kote. Just think of it as making 1 roll of $kote last for 5 or 6 planes by just using little trim pieces for the serious curves ontop of Doculam for the big, less super-shrink demanding areas.

I tried some of my special concockshion of foam insulation and laquire thinner and it will hold up to both nitro and Diesel fuel. Neither fuel disolved it so it will work for sealing down edges of the laminate film. I did take some fine steel wool and ruffed it up to help bonding as the film is quite smooth to get a good bond to. Terry

As Bruce mentioned in post #4 some paint the framework and just use the doculam clear.
I have used floral spray effectively on both balsa and on the adhesive side of the Doculam.

Here is a pic of my Starlite just after I painted it with the floral spray. All pieces after painting weighed just 1.4 ounces as you see them. Span is 36 inches.

Robert

Ok Does anyone know weight of doculam/sf or sm? I was under the impression it was quite heavy - especially after paint.
I know it is cheap but how does it compare to say Nelson-lite or solite weight wise?

If you guys are comparing it weight wise to an opague heavy covering - it may weigh less, but certainly not light - 'eh?

Would someone mind painting and weighing a piece, if this has not been done?

Robert,

That looks great! Is it flying?


Hec

I checked the can of fuel proof clear that I got from Tower and its luster Coat. I says its fuel proof. It does say you must wait 24 hours before putting fuel on it. I would guess a longer wait is even better. Did you try this stuff CP? Terry

Hec it isin't flying yet but not too far from it. I do have a problem with one wing panel. After covering I wond up with a nasty warp I have not been able to get rid of yet. It would fly like a corkscrew!

I just bought myself a camera and will get down to figuring out how it works and get pics of the covered parts. It looks really sharp but for that stupid amount of washout! If it were tissue I could steam it out. As the Doculam is waterproof I do not think steam is the answer.

Any thoughts folks? It would also be helpful to have a second pair of hands. Maybe not though.

Robert

Robert,

Put on a thick pair of gloves and hold it down to a good flat surface and hit it with a good heat gun. That should do it.

Hec

Since I've started using doculam I notice 1 big advantage. With in the last 2 months I built several planes and covered them 90% with doculam and 10% with monocoat. The doculam is still bone tight and still as if I just covered it. Already the monocoat has wrinkes and needs tightening. These planes have been hanging in my shop and not even flown yet. Another plus for doculam.