Just got back from the swap meet, where I bought a Gentle Lady that had been finished in tissue and dope (!), with a TeeDee on the nose. However, there are a few repaired tears on one wing (2 bays to remove) that I wish to replace the tissue on...It's been 30 years since I've used tissue, and I don't really remember how to apply it. Hows about a walk-through?

Thanks,
Doug

Ah, my kind of post....

Cut away the bad panel out to within 1/8 of the ribs, spars and leading and trailing edges. Dribble a very thin line of medium CA onto the little tab that's left and quickly fold it over with your finger and rub back and forth until it's stuck down well to the inner faces of the ribs, spars and edges. This will imobilize the tissue. Use dope or Ambroid instead of the CA if you're feeling particularly nostalgic....

When it's time to patch cut the patch tissue about 1/4 wider on either side than the rib width and leave about 1/2 to 1 inch past the leading and trailing edges. Dope around the edges of the opeing about 1/4 wide to freshen up the base. Don't worry about rushing. You'll use thinner in a second to stick things down anyway. Now take your tissue and dampen it lightly with a mist of water from a spray bottle. If it's the old style authentic Jap tissue (I doubt it on a model of a Gentle Lady size) then skip the water. Lay the tissue in place so it's nice and smooth. Use a paint brush to lay on some pure dope thinner around the edges and lightly then more firmly rub the tissue down to bond well. A little dope added and rubbed in following this doesn't hurt either. Let dry to shrink.

Lay on 3 or 4 coats of clear. For the first couple I like to put the dope on the open areas first as it slackens off the tautness. After the open areas are done I slap a thinner layer (so it dries faster than the rest) onto the seams. After the second coat done this way you can just lay the dope on normally.

Ah..... tissue and dope. The way things SHOULD be..... ( oh boy, I'm gonna catch it for this last bit... LOL)

Well, my wife has appropriated this plane, so the repair will be hers to do, and she thanks you very much. She fell in love with the look of the covering...On the way home, she was examining the tissue, when she comments (and points) that it looks like there was a repaired slice right here...POP! Should have seen her face LOL! I have no idea about the original tissue as to type, but the repair will be done with Japanese tissue, as that's what my LHS had. BTW, she now has a better idea of what I mean when I say "Boy you don't see many guys using such a delicate covering on power planes nowadays".

YOU'VE GOT A WIFE THAT FIXES YOUR MODELS...?.....!....?....!...?....!

Well good for her

Just check a sample of the tissue to be sure it's water strong. Original Jap tissue (which I doubt has been available for 20 years) and regular wrapping tissue does NOT have any wet strength. Like toilet paper when it's wet. The covering tissue that they sell nowadays from the free flight outlets DOES have wet strength. Sort of like super light silkspan. It'll be weaker than when dry but it won't practically disintegrate when wet.

Some shops don't know the difference with all the plastic these days and sell the wrapping/craft tissue as model tissue either unknowingly or deliberatley as it's dirt cheap compared to the real stuff. The craft stuff works but you need to use it dry and then mist it after it's stuck down. But it's so crinkly that it's hard to make it stick. Because of this if it is the craft stuff try using a crafts glue stick like UHU for paper. In this case I'd modify the method slightly. Dope the edges and let dry until not tacky at all. Add a thin line of UHU or other glue stick around the edges in a thin line. Cover right away dry using a patch that's the 1/4 bigger. The small water content in the glue stick goo will help deaden the crinklies and the tissue should lay nicely. If there's wrinkles lift quickly but carefully and reposition to remove them. When happy let dry for about 3 or 4 hours. This is important or the water mist spray to shrink the tissue will let the glue slip. It will anyway but not as bad if it's totally dry.

When she mists it VERY lightly then use a brush to flow a heavy coat of thinner all around the edges only to soak through and reactivate the dope underneath and melt it to the tissue. If she rubs it in DO IT LIGHTLY. The tissue will roll up in a ball super quick. Just the pressure from the brush will do it.

But hopefully it's the good stuff and all this won't be required.

Best of luck to her and you. Happiness is a new Gentle Lady and a calm day coming together....

BTW, the little model in my avatar is a Jap tissue job. Here's a better pick of it sititing on the gas tank of one of my other toys....

Thanks for all the good advice. The tissue I picked up is from Peck Polymers and is labeled as Japanese Tissue (though that might not mean much at the end of the day), so I must assume that's indeed what it is...And this is not the first time I've 'lost' a plane to her. She has also apropriated my Herr Cub. She's not sure she wants to learn to fly them (that's me talking her into it), but she's enthused about building them after seeing the progress of a Ben Buckle Quaker Flash that MikeSell's son (a real craftsman, that young man) is building for me.

One thing that no one has mentioned is that TD on the nose.

Last thing you do - fuel proof the patch and the surrounding 1/2" or so.

The Peck's IS the good stuff. Go back to my first method and ignore all the second part.

And in my books she's got the right idea. Building models like the Herr kits is geat fun in itself. That little Monocoupe has been getting lots of photo milage because it was a reawakening for me about how much fun can be had with a few sticks of 1/16 sq and some scraps of 1/32 sheet. And this was even after building lots of old time rubber models over the past 12 years. But THOSE were for contests. The Monocoupe was just for ME.

I'm planning on doing less contest stuff and more for ME as that's where the smiles come from.