I am about to try my first Glassing. I have a PICA FW-190, 60 size. The wing is already glassed using Z poxy. The fuselage is ready to prep for glassing. I want to glass it, but have heard good things abouy MINWAX use in glassing and want to try it. This plane has several ABS plastic parts, should I cover the wood and the ABS to blend it all together? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Denny

Glassing with a waterbase polyurethane is quite easy PROVIDED you follow the following steps. The steps outlined below may seem complicated, but they are not. The end result is a structure that has about 60% of the strength of a resin job, but only 1/2 the weight. As added pluses there are NO FUMES and soap and water cleanup.

I would not glass the ABS parts. The glassing and finish on the fuselage is normally quite thin using poly so there is no need t build up the outside of the ABS. I do recommend re-enforcing THE INSIDE of the abs parts with some 2 oz fiberglass(especially the cowl and any other large ABS pieces ). There are several different ways to add the fiberglass strips to the interior of the ABS. I prefer to sand the interior with some 220 paper to provide a better bonding surface, then attach the strips using thin CA. I have not had any luck using resin to attach the strips (I also worry about whether the resin is going to "melt" the ABS ). I recently read a thread about using PVC cement to attach the glass strips, however, I have not tried this method yet.

Glassing with Water Base Polyurethane


1. Sand the model with 220 grit and remove any highs/lows you may find.
Fill as needed with lightweight filler and sand.

2. Give the wood 1 thin - medium coat of wood sealer. I use the
commercial stuff. What this does is twofold - it stops the balsa
from soaking up too much of the poly and at the same time protects
the balsa from the water in the polyurethane.

3. When dry, sand lightly with 220 to remove the "fuzzies".

4. Some people say to apply a light coat of 3M #77 adhesive to the
wood at this point. I have found that this is more trouble than it
is worth since if you have a wrinkle, the complete piece of fiberglass
has to be removed to straighten it out.

I prefer to lay the fiberglass cloth on the part/area to be covered and
smooth it out using a SOFT brush. Brush FROM THE CENTER TOWARDS THE
EDGES. The static electricity usually holds it in place. I normally
use 1/2 oz (.5 oz) or 3/4 oz (.75 oz) fiberglass cloth.

5. Using WATER BASE polyurethane and a FOAM brush, start at the center
and brush towards the edges of the fiberglass. All you want to do is
stick the fiberglass to the balsa, so excessive amounts are not needed.
Any additional pieces of fiberglass should overlap each other about
1/2 - 3/4 inches.

Let this dry. DO NOT SAND !!

Brush on another coat of polyurethane. This coat can be a little heavier.

Let this coat dry. DO NOT SAND !!


6. Mix up some polyurethane and microballoons. I use 1 part
microballoons to about 5 parts polyurethane. This will be on the thick
side.

Brush on a medium coat of this mixture and let dry.

7. Wet sand this with 220 or 320 grit paper. BE CAREFUL, AS YOU CAN
VERY EASILY SAND RIGHT THROUGH THE FIBERGLASS.

8. Check the fiberglass carefully to insure the weave is filled. If
the weave is not completely filled, repeat step 6 and 7.

9. SPRAY a coat of water base polyurethane on the plane and let dry.
DO NOT SAND !!

10. Spray a THIN coat of primer on the plane. When this is COMPLETELY
dry, block wet sand with 220 or 320 grit as much of the plane as
possible to highlight any highs/lows you may have missed during your
sanding/prep. The areas that can not be block sanded, CAREFULLY sand
by hand. (TIP: CA some of the wife's/girlfriends fingernail file boards
together. Wrap the sandpaper around them so you can block sand in tight
areas. The CA helps prevent the boards from disintergrating in the water)
Fill any low areas with a lightweight filler and sand when dry.

Apply a THIN coat of polyurethane to these areas.

When the poly is dry, repeat this step until you are satisfied that all
the highs/lows are removed.

11. SPRAY a thin coat of polyurethane on the plane. When dry, spray
the primer.

12. When the primer is dry, you can apply your rivets, panel lines and
other detailing desired.

13. Now you can spray your paint.

Campy, Everything you said makes sense to me. The biggest issue is where to get the water based polyurethane and what are the name brands of of some of the items. Sounds like the poly is from Home Depot or maybe a boat supply place?
Thanks, Denny