microengine

Is it a bad idea to have a diesel motor on a tissue paper covered model? Will the fuel damage the surface?

Motorboy

Use fuelsafe paint at tissue paper against dieselfuel.

Jens Eirik

Bodge

I assume that you mean a tissue and cellulose dope finish. Cellulose dope is fairly resistant to diesel fuel - use several thinned coats. I would be safe and use polyurethane fuel proofer spray around the engine compartment and exposed areas.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

Boy, you must have nostalgia really bad!

I used to enjoy covering with tissue paper too. Then they put that mustard oil in the model airplane dope and I stopped. Discovering Monokote helped too.

Diesel fuel is not as hard on model finishes as glow fuel. Your options for finishing paint really opens up when using a model Diesel engine, since the fuel residue isn't nearly as aggressive a solvent as is glow fuel residue.

How about posting a pic of your pride & joy when finished? I would appreciate seeing it.

AMB

I started a 1/2A PT19 I at this point do not remember the kit maker so far got the tail feathers together and covered with a very light
wt silk I got at a fabric store and used some nitrate dope, came out ok, will have to build the wing next and cover the same.Its been sitting in the box for the last year my planned power is a norvel 074 conversion, looks a little better than monokote or equiv. and silk fabric thing a little truer. And as stated doped tissue or fabric no issue with gasoline or diesel martin

gcb

Ed,

What dope do they put the mustard oil in?

I remember around 1960 when they started putting it in cement. I was using mostly Ambroid at the time. Some kids were sniffing the glue...what a waste of good cement!

I cover almost all of my models with silkspan and paint with Butyrate dope. Sometimes I use nitrate for initial coats, then switch to butyrate. Although butyrate is not needed for fuel proofing with diesels, I do not know of a source of colored nitrate.

Sometimes I switch engines from diesel to glow, and vice versa. Butyrate handles both.

George

burtcs

An associate (now gone) once flew a 3/4 scale Goldberg Sailplane with a diesel. This was done in SAM competition. By days end the oil and goo given off by his engine (sorry I don't remember what it was) would run down the inside of the fusealage and collect in the sub-rudder. The model did fly well except for the oil soaked wood inside and the sub-rudder full of goop.

My own efforts include a Goldberg Zipper powered with an ED Hunter MK IV and a Hermes Hayseed B powered by a Burford Deezil 2.0. The Zipper is silk and nitrate dope, the Hayseed is silk span and nitrate. Aside from being really sticky and gooey at days end, both finishes were unharmed. I just wiped the models down with and alcohol soaked rag. Go for it.

Regards - Steve B.