nurseguy

I am starting to build again after many year of absence. I am going to use silk and dope finish. Is it necessary to cover the balsa parts with fabric after proper preparation, or can I just paint them?

sensei

You don't have to cover the balsa parts with silk or anything else as long as you don't mind seeing the woodgrain.

Bob

jester_s1

You don't even have to see the woodgrain if you are willing to take the time to seal and fill it. Whether the sheeting should be covered or not though is based on whether the plane designer meant for it to be. A layer of fabric adds a lot of strength, so you should check to see if the plane is supposed to have it.

You also might consider some of the newer products that are on the market now too. Silk and dope works as well now as it ever did, but there are easier things to use. Sig Koverall is a good product if you want a painted finish with the advantage that it heat shrinks instead of relying on water or butyrate to shrink it tight, and there are the various polyester film coverings for a much faster finishing method.

nurseguy

Thanks Sensei and Jester_s1. I'm building a Sig Kavalier and the fuselage seems to be pretty strong. I may cover it anyway. Not sure. Anyway, the control surfaces are just 1/4 inch balsa, and I see no reason to cover them. I'm old school and already have the silk, so that's the way I'm going to go. I've tried Monokote and other iron on products in the past and never had any luck with them.

sensei

I sure wish you the best.

Bob

jester_s1

Don't forget to post some pics of your work when you are done. There aren't many old school builders around anymore, and a nice painted model stands out.

gene6029

Nurseguy, you can cover the fuse with silkspan or tissue also to help hide the wood grain. However, since you allready have the silk, it would be great to see it finished that way. Please post some pictures once you get underway......Gene

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Quite a few of my models were scratch built my a veteran builder who has since had to retire from flying . He used suit coat lining and dyed some of it for different unique colors then put it on with dope and painted the accent stripes,etc... What a job he did and they are some tough finishes. Some of them are 30 years old and still are solid, look good.and fly well. I did one giant scale frame in silk&dope and it is a lot of work but the finishes\d product is worth it. Good luck with yours !

skylark-flier

IMHO, I've always considered that the tiny weight added with ANY covering material is worth the strength gained. Any fuse takes somewhat of a beating with landing, and some take a beating with maneuvers in the air. The Kavalier is quite the maneuverable plane - I'd opt for full cover with silk and dope to aid in lessening flex.

I'm with everybody else - love planes that have been done the old way. Many of mine are.

TFF

Cover bare wood with silkspan or something unless you are trying to show wood. Every plane I have built that was just painted wood will pop the joints with hard landings and minor crashes much easier than if even covered with something lite. It also takes tons of more filler and dope to fill in grain than on top of covering.

Hossfly

Amen to Brother Ben, TFF.

I covered a 50" Stuka, (powered by ASP 25 glow and flew very Scale Like) some 20+ years ago with silk and dope. I used some old Nitrate for base and butyrate for final. Looked good until hanging in garage shop for first 3 years, then for reasons unknown, the silk turned very brittle and soon completely rotted. Several other planes with same treatment never had that problem. They died in action!! I may well do it again soon.

TFF is right about grain and weight.

Rodney

Every plane I had back in the 50's/60's was a dope and silk finish. Yes, the silk would deteriate over a few years, get very weak and easily shattered or ripped after about 3 years. For a lasting finish, use some form of fabric and epoxy paint. Have one plane like that where the wing is over 20 years old and still strong as new. It is hard to beat Ceconite or any of the tex's (Solartex, colortex, Worldtex, etc.)

CafeenMan

You can't get grain free finishes without a covering. Even if it's grain free when you finish, over time the finish will sublimate into the wood. Wood also expands and contracts which opens the grain and draws the finish in.

Fiberglass is another option and if you do it right the weight is insignificant. But no matter what, if you want grain free then use some kind of covering - silkspan, silk, glass, whatever...

As somebody mentioned, most coverings will increase the strength of the structure as well.

Edit to correct spelling error ("with" to "which").

Leroy Gardner

+1 on that.

Leroy

jaka

Hi!
Nobler covered in silk and dope powered by an OS LA .40. Started building it 39 years ago. Hope to finnish it this year.