shd3920,
NOTE: Anyone can correct me if they can prove their correction.
ORIGINAL: shd3920
If I cover my PT20 with silk from a fabric store and use dope ONLY around the edges to apply it, can I later use my iron to shrink it without any affects from the dope?
No ..... you cannot ..... dope should not be heated with an iron because it destroys its long time self-shrinking characteristics.
Silk from a fabric store is not real silk unless labelled as such. It is a fabric treated to look like silk, feel like silk but is not made by the worms that produce genuine silk.
Genuine silk is very expensive .... example ... a small scarf 18" wide by 72" long is over $100.00 .
The strength of the fabric is destroyed by the treatment given to make it look and feel like silk.
Instead of silk from the fabric store I use a light polyester material or light Ceconite.
If I am lucky enough to find silk in the colors I want all I should need to do is apply it as mentioned above, then coat with a few coats of butyrate dope to fuelproof it. RIGHT???
If you insist to use artificial silk from a fabric store, that is your choice. Good luck in finding a color sheme that you like, stripes, wave patterns, all kind of flowers. I have rarely seen this fabric in a single uniform color if you wish to make your own color scheme.
Or would it be alot easier to use stix-it and an iron, then few coats of butyrate dope to fuelproof?
I prefer the dope method because the dope would hold it in place better as you iron it taute. IF you CAN iron over dope.
Using stix-it is fine but if you apply it to bare wood you will need two or three applicatons so that there is a thick enough layer of stix-it on the surface to grab the fabric solidly. The first application of stx-it will penetrate the wood if the wood is not sealed.
You can iron the dope if you wish to lose its good qualities but you should not; read above again.
Dope is self taughtening for ever.
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Good luck with your project.
Zor