hello,

I am trying to repair my balsa trainer and have a question. The landing gear broke off during a heavy landing and I have had to replace the landing gear block on the bottom of the fuselage and the balsa sheet that covers the fuselage bottom from the fire wall to back behind the servo tray section. I have already glued in the LG block and now just need to glue on the balsa sheet. The sheet is actually slightly wider than the fuselage so i was going to glue it on and then simply trim up the over hang and sand it smooth. the first problem I have is that the bottom of the fuselage is not a straight edge as there were small chunks taken out of the side. I intended to glue the sheet on and then fill these slight gaps later with gap filler. Will this be okay?
Also what glue should I use? I have CA, 5 minute epoxy and pva wood glue.

Thanks

Troy.

P.S. I have already posted this in the repair forum but didnt get any replies.

If you want to sand to a smooth edge, use the wood glue (aliphatic resin). If you use CA you will sand a depression around the glue.... CA doesn't sand. Epoxy not as bad but still doesn't sand like wood glue. You can use wood filler to fill in the jagged edges.

Good Luck

Greetings and welcome to RC Universe,
It is against forum rules to post a question in more than one forum. Let us know so we can move the thread for you.

In answer to your question(s):
Apply the bottom sheeting oversize and trim to the edge. Don't be concerned about the small gaps.

Fill the small gaps with baking soda and then apply a few drops of CA. This will form into something as hard as a rock so get the baking soda to the shape you need first. I use a small artist's pallet knife to place the powder.

so baking soda first and then u add a drop of ca onto the baking soda?

Just don't let the tip of the CA bottle touch the powder.

EXCAP232

Troy,
My vote for strength is the epoxy, though 30 min. or 2 hr. would be better.
Red91sit, Yes powder first, then thin CA-just don't let it "drop" on or it will make a perfect little moon crater that will then not be pretty.

Jetts

Evryone has their own method, and they all work, so it's your choice.

I would use madium CA to glue the balsa plate on, then sand off the edges, add wood filler, let dry, and sand smooth.

so u put the tip close to it and ooze it onto the soda?

Thanks for the advice.
One more question, can I put monokote straight on to the balsa or do I have to prep the balsa in some way e.g sand it first?

If it is not structural, get yourself some red devil spackle and fill it with that. Then sand. Baking soda works, I have used it in the past, but I don't any more. If you use it, watch the smoke coming off of it when it kicks. If you get it in your eyes, you will know it! It stings like hell. Its also good to wear saftey glasses if you are doing that just in case it pops. I have seen that happen and get in a couple guys eyes. The docs hate scraping it off an eyeball. Kicker will do that too if you use it on thin CA sometimes.

red91- Yes.

Jetts

thank u

No prob!

Jetts