hey guys I am not new to RC but I am new to covering and well I decied it was time to recover my plane (super sportster) so I started with the wing I got this plane 3rd hand and its been a wonderful plane and I would like to see more seasons out of it but I found a bit of a problem on my right alieron there is a good bit of fuel that got under the covering I was wondering if there was a way to fix this

here the's pic

I soak the area with denatured alcohol, let dry and see if it needs more. I then apply one or two coats of Balsarite and then cover. Make sure that you use the right Balsarite. They have two formulas. One is thin as water and is used with plastic films. The other is thick and is used with coverings that have no glue on the back side.

There are other ways to pull th eoil out. I have heard that KR2 spot remover, Laquer thinner, MEK, and other thinners will also pull the oil out.

Dru.

Never done it myself but from all my reading, a lot of guys swear by K2R spot remover. I've seen that mentioned enough that I don't think it's a fluke. Might be worth a shot.

I suggest using K2R spot remover or talcum powder. With either, apply it (spray or sprinkle the talc), let dry (usually over night) and brush off. It is going to take a several applications to get the majority of the fuel out.

Once the fuel is out of the wood (or as much as you can get out), apply a coat of Sig Stix-It or BalsaRite and let dry 24 hours, then sand with 220 to remove any lumps/bumps. The Six-It or BalsaRite will give the new covering something to adhere to.

Considering it is just an aileron, have you considered cutting the old one out and replacing it ? You would need to relocate the hinges (no biggy) and inlet the aileron for the torque rod. The bottom line is that you would know the aileron AND the hinges are OK. The amount of work involved either way is going to be about the same.

Best advise!! The other methods will work to some extent but it is so easy to replace the aileron!!

You could try and lay a couple of paper towels down on the area and heat it gently with a hairdryer or covering gun. The heat will thin the oil and the paper towles will soak it up.... or cover it with kitty litter and let it sit for a while. (non clumping and non scented!)

Andy

Yep, on an aileron I would replace it BUT - this is a perfect time to practice with K2R. Get a can, last time I found it at ACE hardware.

Spray the K2R on the oily part until you have a good white coat on it. Let it dry and brush it off. Keep doing this until you have a dry piece of wood. You will be amazed at how well it works.

I have done this on 20 year old monokoted firewalls that were completely soaked. Worked very well.

One caveat though, at some point the wood will be way to oilsoaked to salvage. I pulled the firewall off my Headmaster a couple of years ago. 20 years of flying and the firewall was soaked all the way through. Weighed about twice as much as the new one I cut out. Used K2R to get the oil out of the fuse sides, put in some tri-stock and epoxied on the new firewall. Good as new!

I agree with making a new aileron. I have found it a bit easier to recover a wing if i remove the ailerons anyway, so this might actually be the best way to go on this one. all other suggestions on removing the fuel are good ones as well, but just making a new aileron in this case is the best solution to your problem. I have also used PLAIN kitty litter- NOT the clumping kind! It does a pretty decient job.

I have used K2R as well and it is a good solution if there is no other choice, but it takes a lot of time and is relatively expensive (in th UK). Cornflour also works well - I once made a runny paste of cornflour and alcohol and smeared it on with some success.

If you can get hold of blotting paper, place a piece of that over the fuel-soaked area then apply a covering iron to the paper - this works pretty well in drawing the oil out.