How do you firm up spackle?

[flystoolow]

Good evening,

I am repairing wing damage on a second hand Sagitta that I recently picked up, and have filled a depressed area with light weight spackle. It is completely hard, sanded and smooth, but easily dented with a fingernail.

What is commonly used to harden it's surface before covering? I am considering rubbing on a little watered down wood glue.

Any tips for me?

Thanks.

[BMatthews]

I've had good luck with thin CA. It soaks in and kicks off nicely.

But why do you need to do this? If the area around it is balsa then it's easiliy dented with a fingernail as well. The spackle is about the same as the wood in that regard.

I'd suggest you just go ahead and cover it... and cut your fingernails before going flying... :D

[raschow]

[QUOTE]What is commonly used to harden it's surface before covering? I am considering rubbing on a little watered down wood glue.

Water would soften the spackel and maybe mess up your hard work! Thinned (with pure methyl alcohol) shellac works well. Good Lift!

[Masterpiece]

[QUOTE]Water would soften the spackel and maybe mess up your hard work! Thinned (with pure methyl alcohol) shellac works well. Good Lift!

Yes, I can relate to this when you use water over spackle :( . It REALLY ruins the hardwork done.

I tend to not use spackle (even light weight stuff)anymore, but rather epoxy resin and Q cells. Q cells are much finer than spackle and sand to a much better finish. If you can get Q cells then micro balloons are good too, but not as fine as Q cells and much more expensive (that's the mirco balloons), at least this is so in Australia. DON'T get mirco balloons from your LHS, unless you like being ripped off :mad: . Get them from your local fibreglass shop, where you can buy them by the litre (I get mine in old ice cream containers). Q cells are sooooo light that if you put your fingers in the container, you won't feel them around your fingers. I love them

Cheers
Glen

[erich]

I use something called Micro-fill, dries in about 1-2 hrs., is quite hard and sands just like balsa.

erich

and here it is:

[Jurgen]

A trick i was told once (but never needed it myself) for restoring dents in balsa:
- remove the cover around the dent;
- wet the dented balsa area with water so it is soaked to the depth of the dent at least.
- Then iron this area with a maximum heated iron.
It seems dents would completely restore itself this way. The boiling water in the dent make all fibres go to their original position making it look like a miracle, even for big dents. One always can apply diluted schellac (to the dryed region) to secure the fibres afterwards. Thats what the legend says :)
Jurgen.

[slopemeno]

I wouldnt bother adding glue- theres white glue in the Spackle. I've had great luck with Red Devil Spackle, which seems to apply and sand out easier, and must have finer micro-balloons in it.

Another technique is to glue a sliver of balsa in the dent with Ambroid or Duco cement, as they sand way easier than CA.

Also- I built a lighter sloper recently and used balsa leading edges. it got a dent and I used a diabetes syringe (very fine needle) to inject water into the dented area before hitting it with a really hot iron. It sputters and snaps but boy that dent comes RIGHT OUT. You may not be able to get syringes depending on the legality in your area, but I had a diabetic cat so I have a lifetime supply.

[flystoolow]

She's all fixered up now, I just flatened out a soup can and riveted it on there....should have just skipped the spackle part in the first place :rolleyes: .

No I didn't, :D Thanks for the tips!

[mlee8249]

Hi Flystooslow,

Uh, I think you should take a look at the label of that Spackle. Some of them have additives like latex to keep it flexible to prevent cracking over the years and that makes it soft for your fingers to leave an impression. I use drywall mud, which drys really fast, sands very nicely, and hardens up well. Spackle started out as just drywall mud in small containers, but over the years, they changed the formula to be more versatile for the home user. So, if you can find the original formula Spackle, it works well. Otherwise, go find some housing developement that is putting up the wall, and ask them for a handful of the drywall mud. Put that into a plastic sealed lid container and you have a lifetime supply. If it gets a little hard and crusty, add a little water and stir.

Mike Lee

[flystoolow]

Hi Flystooslow,


Mike Lee


Now that HURTS! ;)

[kwmtrubrit]

I wouldnt bother adding glue- theres white glue in the Spackle. I've had great luck with Red Devil Spackle, which seems to apply and sand out easier, and must have finer micro-balloons in it.

Another technique is to glue a sliver of balsa in the dent with Ambroid or Duco cement, as they sand way easier than CA.

Also- I built a lighter sloper recently and used balsa leading edges. it got a dent and I used a diabetes syringe (very fine needle) to inject water into the dented area before hitting it with a really hot iron. It sputters and snaps but boy that dent comes RIGHT OUT. You may not be able to get syringes depending on the legality in your area, but I had a diabetic cat so I have a lifetime supply.

Off the model subject, how old was your cat when diagnosed? I had one diagnosed at age 10. He died at age 20 of a brain stem stroke. Our other cat just died (not diabetic) aged 24. Just wondering.

[slopemeno]

OK, this is as far off topic as I go, I swear.

Oatie (aka "the oatman") was a throwaway cat who had weird ears and a dead tail. My girlfriend/now wife had rescued him from an apartment where the ex-tennants had all moved out and left Oatie behind, so we have no idea how old he was, maybe 15 when he died? One time we flew to the east coast and had to put him in the kennel for five days. When he came out his back legs were virtually parylized. He was peeing constantly too. We took him to the vet and they told us we had to shoot him up daily with about two lines on the little diabetic syringes. He could have cared less when we shot him up. The only drama was when we gave a little too much insulin- he would come walking back into the kitchen bent like a 'C', and would keel over. A little maple syrup on his gums and he would spring back to life like nothing happened. I think he liked the syrup actually- I swear he tried to fake me out a couple of times...
Well, these things never get better, and he finally went into his big exit over one weekend. we tried to keep him as comfortable as possible. He insisted on climbing into the tub (we'd hear a huge 'klunk'), or no joke, sticking his head into a bucked out on the deck and meowing as loud as he could-but only when he put his head in th bucket. He bit the big one overnight and died quietly.
So in answer to your question- the peeing is a big tip off. The insulin isnt a controlled substance, but the syringes were, so we had a friend who worked at a needle exchange program get us a box when the vet wouldnt prescribe any more needles without bloodwork. I wasnt going to drop $400 on a cat that I knew was going to biff it soon, but I wasnt going to kill him either, so we did our best.

[kwmtrubrit]

You are right on the money with the peeing. Infact the symptoms are the same as a human. Peeing, weight loss and drinking a bunch. I got the syringes and insulin without an Rx. The insulin reactions were pretty funny really, but dangerous. We gave Karo syrup. Worked the same. Fond memories!

[dr.E]

Polyurea, Polydipsia........


Symptoms of feline diabetes are very symilar to acute Ethelyne Glycol poisoning...... Common layman's terminology Antifreeze (dreaded Kitty Cocktail)

A buddy of mine had a cat who was addicted to the Kitty Cocktail... He named it Rasputin Prestolini ..........

[DCS]

More evidence that this is really a cat forum with the occasional RC plane post!

And I LOVE it!

I'm constantly calling my wife over to the computer screen so I can show her the latest picture of a glider with a cat sniffing around it. Check it out sometime, there's a large percentage of RC Groups photos that also feature cats.

Regarding balsa filler: I recently tried a paste made with Titebond and West Systems "Fairing Filler" on my Gnome ressurection project. It worked like a champ and sanded just like balsa. I'm sure there are cheaper ways to go, but I had a bottle of glue and the West Systems stuff in my shop already.

Ciao.

[mlee8249]

Hi Flystoolow,

uh, sorry about that....got a case of happy finger syndrome.

Mike Lee

[JustPlaneChris]

Check it out sometime, there's a large percentage of RC Groups photos that also feature cats.

You mean like this one?
http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=30250

That's Rico, short for Ricochet (because that's what he does, complete with the little "wheee" sound from the old westerns). Oh, and the glider is called The Mutt. :)

My favorite filler for small low spots in balsa structures is DAP Fast N Final Lightweight Spackling, or Red Devil One Time lightweight. Both dry fairly fast, are lightweight, and sand just like balsa. If I need to harden the area (say, at the edge of something so it doesn't chip) a bit of thin CA does the trick after it is sanded to shape.

Mike, I agree that wallboard mud dries fast and sands well, but wow it is heavy! I only use it on walls. :)



-Chris