buzp

I am trying to re-cover a 4-star 40 that I have had for about eight years. When I tried to remove the coating (econocote) a lot of the glue remained behind. No amount of heat with an iron or heat gun would allow me to lift the coating off intact. Attempts at sanding the glue off only resulted in smearing it all over the plane. I tried acetone, but that doesn't work either. Does anyone have any tips on removing this glue. Should I just continue to sand and hope I get enough balsa exposed to recover? I plan on using monokote this time as I learned long ago that econokote is not the best material to use.
Also, there are large areas on the tail surfaces where fuel from the exhaust seeped through seams in the econocote. These areas are now oil soaked and I don't think any coating will adhere. Is there a way to treat these areas so that they can be re-covered, or should I just cut out the effected areas and add new balsa?
Actually, this project looks like it will be more time consuming than building a new 4 star, but before I give up, I would like to see if there any solutions to the problems encountered. I already tried doing a search on these subjects, but could not find anything relevant. Any help would be appreciated.

Spad_man

My Feedback: (8)

Use model dope thinner, should remove the glue and fuel soaked areas. The wood my need to be replaced.

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

What you can try for the fuel soaked wood is the following:

1. Talcum powder - sprinkle on the affected areas and let dry. Then brush off. It usually takes several applications.

or

2. K2R spot remover - spray on the affected areas and let dry. Brush off. This also may take a couple of applications depending on how badly it is fuel soaked.

After you have cleaned/removed the oil from the wood, apply a coat of Sig "StixIt" or Balsarite.

The best way is what spad-man suggested - replace the wood.

buzp

Thanks for the help. The thinner removed most of the old glue and helped some on the oil. Used talc on some spots and this worked, too. Did have to replace some balsa on the tail, but not a lot. Looks like the old 4-star is going to look new again.

Huntster

Thanks for the inputs....The Talcum might help me bring back my GLH 2.