Starting to finish up my first plane/build. Anyone have suggestions/tips for doing the covering around the compound curves of the cowling. I'm using ultracote for the finish.

thanks

flynte

I coat the inside of the engine compartment with a mixture of epoxy and Practer 'Namel color.

Then cover seperatly, the bottom - sides - top of the cowl in that order... the usual manner of installing covering.

When covering this area. Cut the piece way oversize. Warm the contact area with the iron while pulling on the edges. Use the excess to grip the covering and stretch. The fuselage must be held down some way while doing this.

Due to the smaller areas, wrinkles are not that much of a problem.

Enjoy,

Jim

Check out [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3641086/anchors_3641086/mpage_1/key_COMPOUND%252CCURVES/anchor/tm.htm#3641086]this thread[/link] - I explain how I covered [link=http://this cowl]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3638232[/link] with ultracote - as well as some other discussion.

Here is another option. When I built my contender, it had a "cowl" similar to what you have there--all balsa built up under and beside the engine. Instead of wrestling with covering, I just bought the monocote paint that matched the covering I was using. Painted it, then covered the fuse sides up to the painted cowl. Worked wonderful, and you can't tell any difference at all. Put several coats of paint on to get it thick, and then iron the covering "into" the paint, and it will never peel back. Blends perfect. I believe ultracote has a set of paints to match their coverings as well. (I hope so, as I've recently switched to ultracote and love it!). One thing I didn't do that you will want to is apply a paint sealer of some sort before painting, or the wood grain will show through the paint.

Good luck

The paint for Monocoat match is called Luster Coat.

Ultracote has Ultracote Paint...

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByC...odID=HANU86600

Hey there. This is where a good heat gun helps. The best to get is an adjustable gun so you can use just the right ammount of heat. When you start covering you iron down the edges, be sure to have extra like the above post so you have something to grab, use your heat gun to heat the covering and pull it around the curves. Ultracote works really nice around corners. After you get it molded then hold it until it cools. Finish ironing and trim. I then like to take thinned epoxy and seal the edges and inside of the engine compartment area, that will keep the edges from peeling

I would also spray everything with hair spray yes hair spray all it is, is laquer then lightly sand re-spray and with a very fine grit sand again. it fills the grain and helps with the adhesion of the covering, plus helps to iron out the wrinkles you may get. Iknow it sounds wierd but it works.

Lots of good tips here! I'm gonna remember the hairspray tip for sure, that sounds like a winner to me. I also like 2slow's alternative to covering that area, & depending on what coloring/striping scheme your doing, I wonder if you couldn't incorperate some pin-striping tape to help hide any transition line you might have going from paint to covering? Just a thought.


Mark

krossk, I just went back to your build thread link, I still can't believe how clean that Fed-Ex plane came out! Did Bruce put you up to that?


Mark

Are you kidding? He doesn't need any more softballs thrown his way - he does well enough on his own!
Now if it only flies as good as it looks (or even my first build) I'll be

I really hoped to have it ready for tonight's club meeting/show-n-tell/Christmas party, but I don't want to show it until it's done.

Ahh go ahead & show it, let em drool all over it.[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=tongue.gif]


Mark

These cheeks were done in one piece. Pull, heat, pull, heat, pull, heat some more pull some more.



Not as difficult as the cowling but just another image of surfaces done with one piece.

Covered entire plane using ultracote.

somegeek

P.S. - observing these SSE threads as I have a kit to start after the holidays.

Nicely done Geek, I wish I could get covering to co-operate like that for me[:@] But it never seems to want to.


Mark

Thanks, elenasgrumpy. It took some time to get the covering to lay down flat. A lot of stretching and heat gun work. Had a few inches of extra covering hanging over so I could get a hold of it to pull it. You could almost stretch it and shrink it at the same time if that makes sense. Would stretch it length-wise but shrink it width-wise.

I seems to need about three more hands to be able to hold everything in place, stretch, pull, & shrink with the gun all at the same time.


Mark

That's why we have knees and teeth
... well, at least us younger folk![sm=bananahead.gif]

I've run into that problem also. I made the wife hold the plane when I'm doing a cowl.

Enjoy,

Jim

Haven't been around for awhile.....thanks for the tips. Some nice looking cover jobs by the way [8D]

flynte

I'll post more pics as I get further

As long as we're talking about covering complex objects, [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3677384]here's my latest piece in progress[/link]