Andrew Mclaren Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hi all, i am nearly finished building my first plane having spent three years flying heli's, i need some tips on covering so any help would be greatly appreciated.Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hi Andrew, just two things, get the iron the right temperature, and stretch/heat the Solarfilm with the iron BEFORE pulling it down onto compound curves. There is a pretty good set of "how to" videos on the solarfilm.co.uk website. I thought I was pretty good with the stuff but I still learned a fair bit from the videos.The one regarding mixing colours was an hour long, but very useful, the one outlining the basic steps was much shorter.I am sure all of us on here will help you any way we can, just ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 There is a little bit of a knack to it so don't give up, you'll get better at it with every model. The quality of the final finish is only as good as the surface underneath so give surface preparation plenty of attention.Cutting Solarfilm seems to blunt blades quickly so have plenty of spares to hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Oh and it helps if you learn to grow an additonal hand! The times I end up grasping a wing between my knees, totally unproffesional but needs must..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead-stick Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Andrew, Dare I say follow the instructions provide with the material, and keep practicing on some scrap wood untill you feel confident enough to tackle your plane, plus all of what the others have posted so far. Dave Ashby mentioned using a sharp scalpel blade; this is probably the single most important point (pun intended!) to acheiving a neat looking finish. Be prepared to use plenty of fresh blades. As soon as the blade seems to 'drag' or take more effort to use, change it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Anybody ever tried solarfilm over ABS? I have a Wot4 ABS cowling that needs a small patch of blue at the top and the rest yellow. I have the Solarlac for the main yellow compound curved section, however the top bit would need less than a brushful of blue Solarlac. @ £4.50 a tin I am tempted to just use a small piece of the blue solarfilm. My fear is the iron may melt/deform the ABS. Would balsaLoc help to stick it at a cooler temperature?Anybody tried this??I know I'm a cheap skate LOL I should just buy the blue Solarlac! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I'm not sure I'd try it Danny, for the reasons you mention, what about a piece of solartrim? It's about £3-4 a roll but always handy. In case you've not come across it, solartrim is like solarfilm but sticky backed, so you peel it off and stick it on, I use it a lot - you can use a heat gun or iron on it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 hi David, I didn't know you could use an iron on Solatrim, I have some but not the right colour LOL. And indeed that would work, but and I know I am being picky my local shop has neither the blue solarlac nor the blue solatrim. The yellow SolarLac took over a week to come in :( Before you say it.....why didn't you order the blue at the same time LOL well I would but i couldn't remember the specific name of the shade of blue! Sometimes I am not safe to be let out on my own you see, my wife's allways telling me so......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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