Hangar 9 60cc Corsair
11-08-2014, 02:16 PM
#1251
Hi
Could you just remove the cap strips from the wing ribs and meausre/cut some balsa sheeting to fit the bay? You could probably get the wing solidly sheeted in an hour that way.
Glassing is one of those 'once begun, halfway done' kind of things. It's more daunting to think about than to do for the first time. There's a hundred different methods, but I've found the easiest method is the brush-on method with thinned resin. I use West System which you can order online from a few different sources (I get it from Aircraft Spruce and Specialties). It's not a 50/50 resin, but comes in a kit with a metered pump (one pump of hardener per pump of resin, though the resin is 4 times the volume). I thin that with acetone or denatured alcohol 50/50 and use the cheap $1/ea Home Depot paint brushes. I lay the cloth over the dry prepared surface (filled/sanded as fine and smooth as I can get it, then blown with a leaf blower) and brush the mixture onto the surface through the cloth. Shiny spots mean too much resin pooling up. That's not stronger--only heavier. For wings and stabs, I do the tops first and take my time carefully going around edges. I keep an x-acto handy in case some speck gets caught under the cloth (make a small slice, remove the fod and fair it out with the brush) and let the parts dry. Direct sunlight gets it dry enough to handle in 90 minutes. If not, overnight in room temperature will do the job well enough for you to trim the edges, sand them smooth and do the other side. Once both sides are done, I use another dose of resin mixed the same way for the finish coat to fill the weave. Some use filler or primer, but I like this. The difference is I don't use the brush this time since it leaves brush strokes that are hard to sand out without a lot of work. For this coat, I use a small, cheap 4" paint roller (also from Lowes or Home Depot). No brush strokes to sand and done with one side of an average small jet (two wings, two ailerons, two flaps, two stabs and one rudder) in a half-hour.
West System sands easily to powder if you follow the directions with regard to mixing. I use 220 grit to block sand the surface, then 320 wet as a final sand. Your primer will reveal how good your work really is. It will reveal most of your imperfections which usually are solved with a little more sanding. You end up with a smooth, durable surface that's not much heavier than covering at all. Some people claim the glassing adds no strength, but that's silly. A good glass job with properly oriented weave will definitely add strength. Just take your time, and don't overstay your resin. When it starts thickening up, don't just dilute it more--mix another batch (one ounce at a time with West System).
I was pretty happy with the last glass job I did and it was quick! The glassing part starts on Page 5:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-j...l-build-5.html
Good luck!
Could you just remove the cap strips from the wing ribs and meausre/cut some balsa sheeting to fit the bay? You could probably get the wing solidly sheeted in an hour that way.
Glassing is one of those 'once begun, halfway done' kind of things. It's more daunting to think about than to do for the first time. There's a hundred different methods, but I've found the easiest method is the brush-on method with thinned resin. I use West System which you can order online from a few different sources (I get it from Aircraft Spruce and Specialties). It's not a 50/50 resin, but comes in a kit with a metered pump (one pump of hardener per pump of resin, though the resin is 4 times the volume). I thin that with acetone or denatured alcohol 50/50 and use the cheap $1/ea Home Depot paint brushes. I lay the cloth over the dry prepared surface (filled/sanded as fine and smooth as I can get it, then blown with a leaf blower) and brush the mixture onto the surface through the cloth. Shiny spots mean too much resin pooling up. That's not stronger--only heavier. For wings and stabs, I do the tops first and take my time carefully going around edges. I keep an x-acto handy in case some speck gets caught under the cloth (make a small slice, remove the fod and fair it out with the brush) and let the parts dry. Direct sunlight gets it dry enough to handle in 90 minutes. If not, overnight in room temperature will do the job well enough for you to trim the edges, sand them smooth and do the other side. Once both sides are done, I use another dose of resin mixed the same way for the finish coat to fill the weave. Some use filler or primer, but I like this. The difference is I don't use the brush this time since it leaves brush strokes that are hard to sand out without a lot of work. For this coat, I use a small, cheap 4" paint roller (also from Lowes or Home Depot). No brush strokes to sand and done with one side of an average small jet (two wings, two ailerons, two flaps, two stabs and one rudder) in a half-hour.
West System sands easily to powder if you follow the directions with regard to mixing. I use 220 grit to block sand the surface, then 320 wet as a final sand. Your primer will reveal how good your work really is. It will reveal most of your imperfections which usually are solved with a little more sanding. You end up with a smooth, durable surface that's not much heavier than covering at all. Some people claim the glassing adds no strength, but that's silly. A good glass job with properly oriented weave will definitely add strength. Just take your time, and don't overstay your resin. When it starts thickening up, don't just dilute it more--mix another batch (one ounce at a time with West System).
I was pretty happy with the last glass job I did and it was quick! The glassing part starts on Page 5:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-j...l-build-5.html
Good luck!
11-08-2014, 03:46 PM
#1253
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yellow thanks for the info but i fear if i remove the strips what will support the balsa sheeting im pretty sure im going to strip this bird . although the covering job is amazing a couple hours with an iron and it would look like it was glassed but of course the finish is prone to dents an scratches if one of my warbirds deserve glassing it is this one /closes i will ever get to a comp arf corsair lol
11-08-2014, 03:53 PM
#1254
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I use a similar method, slightly modified, to what Yellow posted. I don't use alcohol to thin it but I have several squeegee boards ready to remove as much material as possible. They are typically thin plywood, 1/16" or thinner, that are about 2 inches wide, very straight edge that is sanded smooth with 600 grit paper and slightly rounded edges so it doesn't grab the cloth. The resin gets applied and then pushed away as much as possible. What is left is only what is needed to hold the cloth to the plane and no extra resin. Filling and sanding past that point is from sandable primer.
11-08-2014, 10:51 PM
#1257
Does anyone have any close up shots of their Evolution 7-77 installation here? I've got the same setup and the top bolt is pretty close to the edge of the firewall. Are you having to snip a bit of a blind nut to get it in there, and how thick is the wood mount you're using... 1"? I guess it's required to cut away some of the firewall and bracing to get it to fit properly....
11-09-2014, 09:04 AM
#1259
I use a similar method, slightly modified, to what Yellow posted. I don't use alcohol to thin it but I have several squeegee boards ready to remove as much material as possible. They are typically thin plywood, 1/16" or thinner, that are about 2 inches wide, very straight edge that is sanded smooth with 600 grit paper and slightly rounded edges so it doesn't grab the cloth. The resin gets applied and then pushed away as much as possible. What is left is only what is needed to hold the cloth to the plane and no extra resin. Filling and sanding past that point is from sandable primer.
Yep,
A lot of people prefer this method. I did try it once, but found couldn't get the cloth to stop sliding/moving when I was trying to spread the resin. I'm sure that if I'd kept at it, I'd have gotten better. I find that with the thinned resin and a paint brush, I can get the cloth lain down in 1/3rd the time. In fact, I've done complete glass jobs (wings, stabs, elevators, ailerons, flaps and rudder) in a single Summer day. The thinned resin with direct sunlight can be sandable in 90 minutes. I had a buddy helping and we did two Y/A A-4's in one day. Primer the next morning
11-09-2014, 11:30 AM
#1260
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well decided to glass the plane starting with the wings covering came off fairly easy some spots took a lite sanding . but still not sure on how to remove the cap strips without damagine the ribs am going to try and cover with balsa sheeting. .yellow how are u planing on joining the solertex to the fiberglass on the wing and tail sections for that scale look if possible can u please post some pics for us beginners kind regards
11-09-2014, 12:13 PM
#1261
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yellow aircraft i was thinking of using fliteskin over wings and rudder and fg cloth for the fuse what do u recomend 1 once for fuse ? will be going with zpoxy thined down but for wings i was thinking to put fliteskin over entire wing without removing any balsa at all . thoughts.
11-09-2014, 02:48 PM
#1262
Jony,
First of all, I'm not currently building this airplane. I am about to assemble the TF one for a customer who I couldn't persuade to upgrade to this bird. When I was discussing dealing with the open bays, it was theoretical. I know exactly how I would tackle it (which is what I detailed in my comments before) but I have yet to actually try it. I've built enough to have a good idea of what will or won't work, so I'm confident that I could glass the plane's wings and still have a fabric-covered, open-bay covering on the wings.
I've never used Fliteskin, so I can't speak intelligently about it at all. In the case of this TF Corsair, I'm going to build a new rudder since the Frankenstein's boot they've got hinged to the fin won't do. I'm using a light blue Solartex fabric for that. I'll paint it to match the rest of the plane later.
Where can I find out more about Fliteskin?
First of all, I'm not currently building this airplane. I am about to assemble the TF one for a customer who I couldn't persuade to upgrade to this bird. When I was discussing dealing with the open bays, it was theoretical. I know exactly how I would tackle it (which is what I detailed in my comments before) but I have yet to actually try it. I've built enough to have a good idea of what will or won't work, so I'm confident that I could glass the plane's wings and still have a fabric-covered, open-bay covering on the wings.
I've never used Fliteskin, so I can't speak intelligently about it at all. In the case of this TF Corsair, I'm going to build a new rudder since the Frankenstein's boot they've got hinged to the fin won't do. I'm using a light blue Solartex fabric for that. I'll paint it to match the rest of the plane later.
Where can I find out more about Fliteskin?
11-09-2014, 03:22 PM
#1263
11-11-2014, 08:35 AM
#1270
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Kirk,
Thanks. The only hesitation for me with the water-based stuff is when I read the builds, these guys are doing 5 coats with sanding between each. Also, the one example of a finished airplane I handled in person was really soft to the fingernail (it was handled post-mortem so the owner didn't mind me tapping and digging on it). When I use West System, I do one lay-down coat with thinned resin and a paint brush, then a weave-filler coat with a roller. Seems nice and hard compared to the water-based.
Thanks. The only hesitation for me with the water-based stuff is when I read the builds, these guys are doing 5 coats with sanding between each. Also, the one example of a finished airplane I handled in person was really soft to the fingernail (it was handled post-mortem so the owner didn't mind me tapping and digging on it). When I use West System, I do one lay-down coat with thinned resin and a paint brush, then a weave-filler coat with a roller. Seems nice and hard compared to the water-based.
Actually, I'm not experiencing the water based clear as being softer than the West System epoxy. I'm using the Varathane clear for finishing wood floors. Also, I'm applying it the same way I do the West System epoxy. It's possible the Varathane clear for finishing floors dries harder than the Minwax clear for finishing furniture. Or it could be the technique I'm using or combination of both.
I way I apply the West System epoxy and the way I'm doing the Varathane clear is the same:
1. apply a thin coat over the glass and scrape off the excess until you can't pick up any more
2. mix the second coat with micro balloons, apply, then scrape off the excess. I mix in the micro balloons until the it's a thick paste. This is a light-weight way to fill in the weave of the cloth and gives a very smooth finish after sanding with 400 grit.
Kirk
11-11-2014, 08:40 AM
#1271
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if i wanted to cover the entire wing and forget the openings what would u guys suggest. i was thinking of fliteskin expensive but i heard good things. when glassing the fuse did u drape one piece over the whole fuse or do the tail piece seperate ? this would be my first glassing project and dont really like the covering
Kirk
11-11-2014, 08:56 AM
#1272
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well decided to glass the plane starting with the wings covering came off fairly easy some spots took a lite sanding . but still not sure on how to remove the cap strips without damagine the ribs am going to try and cover with balsa sheeting. .yellow how are u planing on joining the solertex to the fiberglass on the wing and tail sections for that scale look if possible can u please post some pics for us beginners kind regards
Kirk