I found two companies online that sell Nitrate and Butyrate dopes.

www.freeflightmodels.com
www.wicksaircraft.com

And www.dpproducts.com sells Flex-all that makes a good plasticizer to put as the top coat.

Thanks very much for all of the advice. As cumbersome as the old school techniques seem, they aren't too much more difficult then the newer stuff and produce a really nice result. I have a decent P-47 build going, but here is a summary of my most recent 48 hours of pain.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4451275/tm.htm

Take care all,

Tom

Silk from Thai Silks does not shrink very much so it needs to be wet when it is applied. Then paint with a tautening dope. You have to know what you've got. Sig Nitrate is non-tautening, Superkote is a tautening butyrate, Litekote is a non-tautening butyrate, Brodak gives you a choice with the nitrate, I believe, and Aerodyne nitrate is tautening. Jim

What weight of silk do you normally use for covering? does it vary by model size, i.e. lighter for .40 sized heavier for quarter scale and larger?

All the Hatori silks from Thai are heavier than the silk Sig sells--tighter weave--and all are lighter than Koverall. So take your pick. Personally I would use 8 mm for .25 size and up, and one of the lighter ones for small planes. The 8 mm is available in stunning colors and the weight with clear dope won't be an issue on practically any RC glow model. Jim

What type of brush and size are you using, and who carries them?

Art supply stores... get a good, wide camel brush. Cheap ones leave bristles in the dope. Thin it the dope alot even if brushing. I'm going to spray only after the first coat or two.