what is the best method of restoring fuel/oil soaked balsa to a point that it can be reglued? I am presently covering everything with kitty litter. any advice or hints guys. my favorite plane is in deep trouble!

thanks

Bruce
aa2dd

If it's really soaked there is not much you can do. I am a gunsmith by trade and i use some stuff called "whiting" to pull the oil out of stocks.sold by Brownells inc. it works execlent on oily stocks,wood and stuff like that, I use my heat gun on the wood to help draw out the oil then put the powder on it. Google Brownells inc. and it should pop up. if not let me know and i'll get you their address.

thanks

Bruce

aa2dd

I've used the hot air gun to bring the oil to the surface then wipe it with a paper towel. Use a new area on the paper towel each time. But if its bad, best to cut it out and replace the wood.
Edwin

oatmeal!!!!
Good luck,
Darrolair

Hi Bruce
aa2dd

Find some KR2 spot remover. Its sold to remove spots from clothing. Works like a charm to remove oil and fuel from balsa.

(bad attempt at humor) Did you try setting a giant steel funnel over it?


But seriously, I THINK true value has k2,or can order it...

If you can't find K2R use any spot remover that contains carbon tetracholride.

If it's really soaked bad then I'd do all those things mentioned here. First I'd heat it to draw the oil to the surface and wipe off with paper towels and cheap alcohol. Then heat it some more and spray K2R on in it. I'd repeat the K2R several times. When you've got it as good as you think your going to then I'd use Balsarite on the oil areas before trying to cover it. I'm sure there is a point where it would be easier to just replace some of the wood but that would be a judgment call on your part.

Has anyone ever tried automotive brake parts cleaner? I use it on guns and it will suck the oil out of a sealed can 3 feet away! I do not know what it would do to balsa wood though. Probably nothing.

Some one with time could soak a few pieces of balsa with fuel and try treating with K2R, acetone, laquer thinner, etc.  The results should be interesting.

K2R is a long proven method. You can also use kitty litter.

Bruce,

All of the previous suggestions will work to some extent but none have ever done an acceptable job for me. The only thing that is guaranteed to work perfect is to cut out the oil soaked wood and replace it with fresh wood.

I just finished recovering a nine year old club trainer that was in pretty sorry shape. I worked a week trying to get MonoKote to stick and finally just cut out the real bad parts and replaced the wood.

One of the problems with using liquids such as Acetone, MEK, or Lacquer Thinner is that they just thin out the oil and allow it to soak further into the wood. The Lite Ply fuselage sides were a problem first because MonoKote doesn't want to stick to ply very well anyway and second replacing the fuselage sides would mean rebuilding the whole fuselage. What worked pretty well for me was to soak the affected spots with Acetone and then using a dull flat knife blade at approximately 45 degree angle just press down hard and scrap the sludge out of the wood. You will take some of the wood with the sludge but that part is what you don't want to remain anyway. I made two or three passes with this technique then let it dry out and sanded with 200 grit. It wasn't perfect but at least the MonoKote would stick.

Another technique that I use is to prevent oil from soaking into the wood in the first place. I have found that using clear Polyurethane or some other fuel proof paint and seal the edges where one edge of the covering overlaps the edge of the underlying covering or where the edge of the covering meets open wood such as around the engine compartment. If you ever let oil get under the edge of the covering you are just dead meat because the covering will come up and the wood will soak up the oil like a sponge.

Here is a picture of the newly refurbished club trainer.

If the affected wood is ply and it's been soaked through a layer then the ply will start to delaminate. Really need to cut out the bad wood and begin reconstructing.

My first experience was a friends Super Sportster 90 that had years of fuel soaking. Symptom was that the wood had a green tint to it (green fuel), a slimy feel and the covering was pulling up. He had recently bought the plane at auction (really cheap price). The first landing was a simple nose over. Damage? The fuse sides back to the former located just behind the wing saddle delaminated instantaneously. Reconstruction / recovering and it's flying nicely today.

Let us now how your renovation project goes. Always an excuse to recover with a new scheme - like Don's club trainer.