WacoNut

I completed my test of Solartex weight compared to painted fabric.

I made a test panel for weight comparison while I was covering my 1/3 J-3 Cub. The panel was 8"x9". I used the Stits process for finishing the fabric. The Poly Fiber Lite fabric was attached to the panel with Poly Brush the fabric was then sprayed with 2 coats of Poly Brush and then 2 coats of Ploy Spray (silver base) I then sprayed 3 coats of Poly Tone color coat (OEM J-3 Yellow). The test panel was then sprayed with a heavy coat of NASAN clear coat.

I cut the test panel out of it's frame and laid it over Solartex Cub Yellow and cut the Solartex to match. I removed the backing and weighed the 2 panels.

Solartex= 4.4 grams
Stits = 9.7 grams

Now there is a lot of room here for variation. My test panel and plane came out with a very smooth finish. No hint of any fabric weave showing in the finish. I probably could have gone with just once coat of Poly Spray (Silver) and 2 coats of Poly Tone (Color) and one lighter coat of clear and come in at under 2x the Solartex weight.

Now this is my opinion and just take it for that, we all know how opinions go. Everyone has one.

I had my Cub originally covered in Solartex Cub Yellow, it was very transparent. You could see all the structure thru the fabric especially with the sun behind the plane. I was constantly having to re-shrink the Solartex. Also when I removed the Solartex it was too easy to remove. It was barely stuck to the airframe. It also tears very easy. In my opinion it adds no strength to the airframe.

A real fabric finish is much more durable, never needs re-shrinking. I believe the minor weight penalty is far outweighed by the benefits.

Now you could add stix-it or similar to the Solartex and spray it silver then your color coat to eliminate the transparency but this would eliminate the weight savings and still have a covering that is weaker than real fabric and deal with the re-shrinking which can be an issue after painting..

I am attaching pics of the test panels, in the first picture the Stits is at the top and solartex on the bottom.

Hope this helps someone!!
Anthony