Hi guys, just wanted to ask if you have any recommendations on what I can do with my Katana's cowl. Unfortunately I did not foresee that the Electric violet oracover would not have any match for paint

Since I can't have it painted electric violet as there's no match for the paint, any of you guys can recommend what I do with the cowl and the wheel pants? As of now it's painted silver temporarily. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Why not use the same covering?
I've covered the [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3638232]built-up cowl[/link] on my SSE, am working on the [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3677384]landing gear[/link] and will also do the wheel pants in Ultracote. There is a good chapter in Faye Stilley's book "Covering R/C Aircraft" on how to do complex pieces.

Hi Krossk your Sig SE is wicked! Nice job on covering the cowl. Anyway, I was just wondering how'd you cover the cowl if it's plastic? Won't the heat from the iron soften/melt the cowl?

Also, since I've painted my cowl silver temporarily, do I need to strip it of the silver so I can cover with the violet oracover?

Happy Holidays and thanks in advance!!
Shaun

Here's a thread that has some similar discussion as well as my experience covering [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3641273]the cowl.[/link] I didn't consider the plastic cowl - there may very well be problems with heat and distortion with the thin ABS plastic. I was assuming that the pieces were fiberglass. It does take a lot of heat to get the necessary stretching and shrinking to handle compound curves. If you don't try to wrap over both the side and front edges, you may be able to use low enough heat to get it to stick without damaging the parts. As long as you have good adhesion of the paint, I wouldn't see a need to strip it off, but if it isn't stuck really well, it will all come off regardless.

shauntot,
Is there an automotive parts store near you? If so, take a sample of the covering in and see if they can mix paint to match your covering.

Ken

Hi kroskk, thanks mate, I'll read through this thread you gave. Sorry, I have typed in the wrong info, it's actually fiberglass. I've just been working so much with parkfliers that I thought it was plastic like what a usual parkflier has. Anyway, do you think the fiberglass will stand the heat? I'm just a bit worried about the rounded corners though..

rcken,
that sounds like an idea, it'll take a fair amount of experimenting though, but i'll give it a shot also.

Oh why oh why did I choose this crazy colour??!?! Happy Holidays guys!

also, i can't see the thread you posted, the link you gave actually points to a website called pflag.com ?? weird

Hmm - got a couple of stray characters in the URL - I've fixed it in the original post. Give it another try.

I think fiberglass will stand a moderate amount of heat, just pay close attention to it. I did most of my work with a trim iron, so the heat can be kept pretty concentrated and should minimize the potential problem.

Wow, I'll try that covering method. I used oracover on the plane though, I just hold it holds up the same like monokote or solarkote

Ultracote (whick is what I used) is another brand name for Oracover. In fact, the purple on my SSE is metallic purple as well. If you check [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3677384]this thread[/link] that I've been reporting my progress on, the DuBro landing gear is covered with that same stuff.

Cool, thanks krossk. I'll try that covering on the cowl then, you gave me some courage that it can be done..thanks!!

Good luck and keep us posted on the results. That should finish up to be a very sharp plane!

hey krossk, didn't finish up the cowl yet, but the plane already maidened last sunday..went beautifully without any bad habits. here's a few shots after the maiden. no cowl yet as the engine was on break-in and wanted it cool

Looks great! Man that purple sure does "pop" in the sunlight.
Check back in the thread I referenced earlier - I did my SSE wheel pants too. As long as you don't melt the cowl - it CAN be done!

tnx, wanted a pretty wild color for it anyway, i haven't gotten to covering the cowl and pants yet, but boy this plane will look nice i think when complete