Bought this for £1 from Hyper Value....

I've heard all about using the thin stuff for covering - but to find some....in Wales...?

Tried ironing it on as hinges (used Solartex before - see my threads e.g. Cessna) on some scrap 3/32. Sandwich trapped with top 3/32 strips using thick cyano.

Tried to pull it apart, bend it back and forth to crack it - no chance

Thinking of tissue covering, I even doped it a couple of coats! No adverse effect Nice transparent gap!

OK then - cabin windows/rooflights etc.

Great! I even gell-penned a couple of lines on the non-adhesive side. I DOPED over these to prevent smear...didn't look bad at all. With a bit of care this has possibilities

Give it a whirl!

"Harris" says "YAP!" to "Blue" - Jim! His ears have grown up like a MIG 15's fin

See? JIMA and me know what we're talking about! Wait till you actually cover something with it...other than the cute dog, of course



Glenn

Hi Glenn!

This stuff (80 - 100 micron) feels quite heavy - what do you look for for covering? (in microns). I'll hunt meanwhile

Cheers

Ade

Anyway, the not as cute as you think doggie has eaten some. Hope he doesn't become more unhinged than he already is from my dope fumes!!
Ade

Originally Posted by Adrian Britton

Hi Glenn!

This stuff (80 - 100 micron) feels quite heavy - what do you look for for covering? (in microns). I'll hunt meanwhile

Cheers

Ade

Dunno, the 10 foot by 25" piece I had weighed a bit over 2 oz., not bad at all for being heavier than Solite. It's the 1.5 mil stuff, have no idea what that is in microns. You may have got some of the heavier stuff, 3 mil I think it is.

I'll feel comfortable covering my 16.5" span Komet with it when I get round to it, as well as any other conventional plane over 2 foot span, if that means anything...

Glenn

Originally Posted by Adrian Britton

Anyway, the not as cute as you think doggie has eaten some. Hope he doesn't become more unhinged than he already is from my dope fumes!!
Ade

Egad...hope everything comes out okay

Glenn

Glenn and Adrian

I am confused about doculam--does it come with an adhesive on the material like solite has or do you use balsa lock? How well does dope or acrylic paint stick to it?


Pat Daily

Originally Posted by Pat Daily

Glenn and Adrian

I am confused about doculam--does it come with an adhesive on the material like solite has or do you use balsa lock? How well does dope or acrylic paint stick to it?


Pat Daily

Pat-

Adhesive's on it; fresh off the roll it looks frosted, goes dead clear with heat, and it's a high heat film like Monokote...which also means that as you're laying it out, it won't stick to itself the way Solite so annoyingly does.

Acrylic paint sticks fine to it. You can scratch it off if you work at it...but you have to work. You may recall that Stuka I built? Doculam with Polly Scale acrylic. Feels much like painted doped tissue when you're done.

Doesn't shrink as much as Solite and is a bit heavier, but is VERY stiff and absolutely refuses to sag...including keeping the washout in your wings. I use only an iron for covering, but at the highest setting the Doculam would go just a bit soft, perfect for pulling around curves.

I like this stuff so well I'm planning to use it for anything painted, including any Golden Age fabric covered planes I do. Ought to look stunning with gloss acrylic paint! Since I found a paint scheme for my current Halberstadt build that doesn't involve clear doped linen anywhere, I'm planning to use Doculam for it.

I'll try Airspan when I need a natural fabric look, of course, but I do love this stuff.

Best of all, if you like it, you can buy a 500' roll of it for $18.95 plus shipping from Laminator Warehouse...just make sure you get the lighter grade 1.5 mil stuff

Glenn

Thanks Glenn

Just what I needed -- 500 foot roll--should last until I die! Sort of like my collection of Hungerford wheels, Brown CO2 motors, balsa wood and kits. This morning I am sorting out magazines--still have the whole collection of Model Builder, Flying Models from 1975, American Aviation Historical Society Journals from 1975, WWI Aero and Skyways since it started, and hundreds of books and other assorted pubs. Where the hell would I keep a 500 foot roll!

Pat Daily

Although they don't look too bad for a lifetime's supply! But in time what else is going to outdate the stuff?

Found this for us UK boys a few minutes ago...

http://www.muro.co.uk/laminate/rollLamFilm.html

They also advertise a matt film, but its far more expensive. At 12" width (cheapest roll) you could use it to some fair-sized models 150 metre (500 ft) rolls cost £15 upwards.

Thing to do is share it, I suppose (for cash, of course ). I would imagine it about the size of a kitchen roll, so that's where Pat could store his

Well, a roll of big model film costs that much...

No problem, Glenn. Harris has been brought up around modelling, and has produced a superbly covered 1/18 scale torpedo ready for painting and fitting the prop and fins to ...I was kidding!!

Anyway, he won't touch junk food from glossy packets - we have to eat that

Ade

Adrian-

We have a similar cost difference for the matte finish here as well. If I find myself with excess cash burning a hole in my pocket (yeah, right) I may pick up a roll of it..bet it takes paint fabulously well!

As far as sharing it, I had a similar idea, but another e zoner, tiberius, told me he'd tried this and trying to measure, cut, and re-roll segments of the big roll were a chore he'd not care to repeat again in his lifetime! Being lazy, I take this advice to heart As thin as the stuff is, I imagine that as you say it wouldn't be all that big...I'll probably end up putting a roller mount for it down cellar and cutting it off as I need it. Which reminds me:

Pat-

Where the hell would I keep a 500 foot roll!

No problem. I'll get the big roll, store it myself, and trade you a manageable 50 feet or so for a pair of those Hungerford wheels whenever you want. Heh heh heh...

Pat,
Model Research Labs sells it
Item007 Clear Mylar covering, heat shrinkable and with adhesive, printable.
Same as Monocote but 1/2 the weight and 1/2 the thickness at 1/10 the cost
.0015 x 24" x 75 feet roll $25.00
http://www.modelresearchlabs.com/products.htm

Kurt

Originally Posted by Bengtson

Pat,
Model Research Labs sells it
Item007 Clear Mylar covering, heat shrinkable and with adhesive, printable.
Same as Monocote but 1/2 the weight and 1/2 the thickness at 1/10 the cost
.0015 x 24" x 75 feet roll $25.00
http://www.modelresearchlabs.com/products.htm

Kurt

Hi Kurt-

With all due respect, that stuff may well be good, but it ain't Doculam...it's mylar, whereas Doculam is a species of plastic, polyethylene, I think. Mylar is a polymer and will, I believe, be just as unhappy being painted as Solite is, whereas Doculam takes and holds paint nicely.

BTW, I am having a hoot building the Halberstadt. Started laying out wood last week for the fuse and it's almost done now (OK, I work slow!), framed up nice and square. The parts fit is, as expected, excellent; it's mighty nice not to have to make all those myself!

I ordered some CF tube from Air Dynamics along with rods and other goodies, so I should be making good progress in the days ahead.

The only part of the build I'm kind of dreading is making some faux Argus engine parts and the radiator, but Allan's Spandau kit should take some of the sting out of detailing

Nice work, thanks!

Glenn

Glenn,
Glad to hear you are having fun with the Halberstadt. You can do wonders with judicious sanding.
I have used the clear film material extensively as has Tom Hunt. It is document laminating film. It does paint if treated with alcohol first to remove the hand oil. It can also be painted on the adhesive side! Tom wrote an article in MAN where he covered a Dumas Hellcat conversion painted this way. Mylar is polyethylenepterapthalate a polymer just like any other plastic is a polymer. Polyethylene makes a poor covering, it is Saran Wrap. Polypropylene is a great material and is in Oracover. Mylar has incredible tensile strength and is very hard. "Clear film" resists scratches and imparts a lot of strength to a structure. The downside is that it tears easily when punctured.

Kurt