Steve Thomas 3 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hi everyone, Please can someone advise me on what is the best covering for built up wings, I have an old KK Elmira that I have had to do a lot of work on the wings and now at the covering stage. I fly from a very heavily grossed site and don't want to keep having to patching holes. Any advice would be greatly received. Many Thanks Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Depends on the weight you want to carry The most common covering is an iron on film - the stuff on the Hobbyking website is well priced and good stuff Other ways include sheeting it in balsa then glassing it - the older techniques are also still valid using shrinking dope and nylon/silk etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingCrust Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 If you're after a traditional tissue paper/dope type finish try Solarfilm LiteSpan. It doesn't come pre-glued however so BalsaLock is applied to the structure before covering. I find it much tougher than Tissue paper, more tear resistant than Solarfilm but not as tough as Solartex. It does look very trad though. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas 3 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Ok, many Thanks for both of your help, I think they were originally covered in Solarfilm so perhaps Solartex maybe the way to go. I have been away from the hobby for about 25 /30 yrs and you tend to forget some of the things that go with the hobby. Thanks again Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hi Steve Solartex may be a bit heavy for the Elmira. If you haven't seen it, PM me your address and I'll post you a bit so you can judge for yourself. Personally, I would go with Litespan or World Models Lite-Tex (which is lighter and goes on better then Solarfilm). M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas 3 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hi Martin, I have seen Solartex b4 used to use is on some of my powered models yrs ago. Im going to my local model shop tomorrow so will have a look at some of the different types and go from there. I just don't see the point in covering it only to have to keep patching it up up due to punctures from the gorse Thanks for the offer though mate Regards Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I was going to say to use Solartex, but I see the Elmira has a D box and trailing edge sheet so it probably doesn't need the extra rigidity you get with 'Tex. Litespan does look good, very much like doped tissue in appearance but stronger. Quite flexible though - I covered a flair Sunrise with it. It looked great but the wing fluttered itself to bits one day when there was too much lift.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eflightray Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 The Elmira is a 116" span glider ?, so quite a big girl. At that size I would go for something like Solartex as well, I covered my Majestic Major 88" span in it, it's really nice stuff to work with and certainly gives a strong finish, similar to nylon. The yellow is standard Solartex, the black is Glosstex as I want it a bit shiny, the Glosstex also pulls round curves nicely, as on the MM's nose. Edited By eflightray on 31/07/2015 15:48:59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas 3 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Wow, Eflightray, That looks very nice, I like that Solartex / Glosstex it is I think. The fuz is done in a dark blue so may go for a light blue wing & tail plane Thanks for your in-put mate. Regards Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 "heavily grossed site..." Is this some teen speak like I'm too old for ? Is your site that bad then Know what- I'd be tempted to tissue and dope it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas 3 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hi Stevo, Spelling mistake mate should have been Gorse, dam spell check lol steve Edited By Steve Thomas 3 on 31/07/2015 19:15:26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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