Hi,
My covering has come loose and torn off behind the engine compartment.
I believe there is probably some fuel soaked into the wood.
What are some of the tricks for getting covering to stick again?
Thanks,
KW_Counter

Use cellulose thinners and talcum powder to remove as much of the fuel that has soaked in. Brush the thinners on then the talc then wipe off. Repeat until it wipes clean.

Mix up some epoxy and smear it on to the wood. Let it go off abd reapply the covering.

You will need some new covering probably, I I have never had much luck with fuel soaked covering but you can try.

Ditto, but I would avoid using epoxy afterward. Epoxy often leaves a waxy residue that covering doesn't like to stick to either.

A better choice would be Balsarite or even paint.

A good product that I've used with great success in getting fuel soak out of wood is a carpet stain remover called KR2. Its available from hardware stores like Ace. Spray it on the wood and let it sit and turn to a white power. Wipe it off, and go over the area several times with alcohol to make sure it's clean from any residue. I found the Monokote sticks as good if not better over the areas I cleaned with KR2 as it does fresh wood.

Hogflyer

I also have used that product with good results. I use coverite most of the time and it also sticks well after the application.

After the surface is cleaned real good as described above I have had good luck using " Aqua Net " hair spray as an overcoat for the wood and an undercoat for the covering. It works about like Bulsarite and helps with the covering adhesive. ENJOY !!! RED

Red Head,
Aqua Net specifically?
Has anyone tried other hair sprays?

Everyone - thanks for your responses!

KW_Counter

Aqua net is the only one I've used, Use " UNSENTED ". I can't say about the rest, sorry. ENJOY !!! RED

Cat litter has been used to dry up oil from the wood. Especially in tank leaking into the fuse situations. Remove the motor and tank or plugthe fuel lines and burry the nose in the cat litter for a couple of days then clean and seal the wood. I seal all my planes with clear polyuerathane before covering. I spray the inside of the tank area and the floor of the fuse to the former under the TE of the wing and firewall and cowl cheeks. Good luck!

Balsarite is great stuff but I gave the hair spray A try this year, anything my wife has in stock at the time. It works pretty good!!! A lot cheaper and doesn't go dry in the can. K2R became hard to find in Calif. so I used all kinds of different tricks to get out the oil, acetone and alcohol mostly. Sometimes it worked and sometimes not. I have looked for K2R here in NV and haven't found any but haven't had any bad fuel soaked planes to recover yet. I may try Mr. Dunckers method A try. Here in NV we can still get Balsarite, in Ca. it is A nono??? Club members that would come here to Vegas would have to smuggle it across the boarder for us.

Years ago I had some problems getting K2R so I started fooling around with some other stuff and I found if I sprayed the wood with " ELECTRONIC spray " ( CRC ) and went over it with a stiff brush it helped, then use the hair spray. Just be carefull when buying the CRC spray as they sell other sprays and some of them WON'T be good for wood. ENJOY !!! RED