dukman

Hello all,

On 03/14/04 I requested help with repairing some wing damage on my Hobbico SuperStar 40. I haven't done much with the repair except for removing the covering and sheeting from the damaged area (probably will get the materials today). After removing some of the covering I found parts of the sheeting that seem to have cracks or dents in it. I didn't know how easy it is to crack the sheeting until I saw how thin and plyable it is!!

Is there some type of filler that can be used to join the cracks and holes back that when dry it hardens and can be sanded smooth?

Below are some pictures of the stripped areas and cracks. I may have gone a little overboard with the covering removal, but it'll get me some practice in covering.

Thanks!!

- Donald

Edited to add the link to my previous post:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_16...tm.htm#1622042

dukman

Here are a few more pictures of the sheeting and covering removal.

FHHuber

Dents... apply a bit of water then go over it gently with a steam iron. This lifts a lot of the dent out. The heat expands the water inside the wood and "fluffs" it back out. (works on minor furniture dings too. )

The cracked area... you want to glue back togehter as best you can, then mix up a filler putty. OR just cut oput the dmaged area and replace more sheeting. Since you are already patching the sheeting in the wng bay beside the cracked area, I would go ahead and just replace a larger section.

The best filler is a mix of "microballoons" and epoxy. for a small batch, you mix the epoxy and then add the microballoons to make a filler about the consistency of common white toothpaste. (Crest is a good example) Thies wuill still be "damp" enough to stick to the wood, but won't be excessively heavy. The stuff is not too hard to sand when it sets up. (use 30 min or longer cure time epoxy... you nee the time to mix in the microballoons.)

You can make a filler by mixing the dust from sanding balsa with 50% yellow glue and 50% water to get the desired consitency. This stuff is not as easy to work with... but its very inexpensive. Note you often have to paint the area that this putty will be applied to with glue-water mix to get it to stick.

*********

Microballoons are available at most places youcan get model aircraft stuff. They are very tiny hollow spheres made of some kind of plastic. the stuff is mostly air really due to how thin the shells of the little balls are. (under a magnifyng glass... they look somewhat like the toy balls that kids jump into a pit full of at some Pizza places and pre-schools.)

DBCherry

My Feedback: (4)

For cracks in sheeting (like your first pic), if you can get it level, just hit it with a couple drops of thin CA. The CA will wick along the crack and glue it together.

You can buy "light spackle" at Home Depot or Lowe's. This stuff will fill small dents and sands very easily. (I prefer it to microballoons and epoxy, which can be very hard to sand smooth, especially on sheeting.)

Looking like a good repair job so far!
Dennis-

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Ditto to Dennis' idea about the thin CA.

For most of the rest, I would just use some Elmer's Wood Filler (Available at Walmart etc)

As for the major repair, you'll have to rebuild the Leading edge, but check out this article, it should give you some good leads:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=98