There are ways of reducing the amount of dope you need to finish the silk and hence the weight - it is not the silk which is heavy but the amount of coats of dope needed to airproof it. One is to use an airproof under-covering such as doculam as described in JMP and my posts above. The other is to employ a method of doping known as "meniscus doping". See http://www.vintagemodelairplane.com/...rs/Silk01.html for a full explanation of this.

Obviously film coverings are very user friendly, they have their place and some are excellent (although there are some that are absolute to apply) - but one thing that really pushes my "yuk" button is seeing scale models of aircraft that were originally fabric covered, especially World War One types, covered in shiny film

Obviously film coverings are very user friendly, they have their place and some are excellent (although there are some that are absolute to apply) - but one thing that really pushes my "yuk" button is seeing scale models of aircraft that were originally fabric covered, especially World War One types, covered in shiny film[/QUOTE]

I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU No WWI model should be covered with iron ons, no matter the weight, easier to apply etc. etc. My Fokker Triplane, for example, was covered with a fabric (not silk) and painted with the old Hobby Poxy paint. It looks dirty and very nice as the original Fokker was. I just can't imagine Richthofen's DR-1 in a beautiful plastic type shining red!!!

"Apply Doculam over the open areas.
Then apply silk wet and stick down with 50% dope. No run through, no streaks and the result is very nice."

I see no reason to put anything over the open areas. None of these had any.

Les

Please, What's "Doculam"?

Originally Posted by LesUyeda

I see no reason to put anything over the open areas. None of these had any.

It makes it so much easier to apply the silk or tissue, and it greatly reduces the amount of dope necessary to seal the silk. Altogether, I think that the saving in dope weight compensates for the extra weight of the Doculam.

Originally Posted by Edubarca

Please, What's "Doculam"?

Document laminating film as used commercially to laminate documents thus rendering them impervious to wet etc.


Seehttp://www.bindingbazaar.com/Laminating-Film.asp

See this build log for an example of a model covered in tissue over doculam http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...=cloud+snooper

Also see this thread for more info http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274520

Not much use to you in Colombia I know but a 100 foot roll of 38 micron costs £17+VAT in the UK - a fraction of the price of modelling films

Hope this helps

Originally Posted by Edubarca

Please, What's "Doculam"?

It is a polyester laminating film as found here:
http://www.oregonlam.com/Laminating_...e.html#1512500
I use the thinnest (1.5 mil, 38 micron) matt, but glossy works just as well. On a light rigid model, it can be used by itself, such as my Whizard which has been flown diesel or glow. The model was given one coat of dope, sanded, then the Doculam applied over the whole model and some trim done with Rustoleum paint from the supermarket.

This is a lot to consume and it's turned out to be pretty informative. Doculam is a new one on me I'll do some research on it (the planes shown are very attractive). Coverite is still very active with both "fabric" and "film" iron on's. I bought some of the Cub yellow fabric for the Goldberg J-3 I am working on. I know it's a cliche but I've got two Goldberg kits and I'll make the second one an L-4. I've also got a SIG J-3 1/4er scaler. I like Cubs.

I am inclined to do the Liberty Sport in silk for the experience while it's not a kit that really looks too whimpy it's got a lot of wing and can probably support the weight. I've got an engine for it in the upper end of the range. It's a pretty plane which was part of the Sig catalog in the 80's when I built a Kadet MKII and a Senior. I'd made a mental note to buy one and then dropped out for 30 years. I was happy to find one.

Back to the Honey-do list

My Scram is covered on Coverite. I beleive it is a polyester film with random fibres. It looks like heavy weight tissue once doped up. You heat shrink it and then seal with dope or the likes.
It is a heavy material compared to solarfilm but is very tough. Crash the model and you can take it home in its own plastic bag!
It doesn't impart moch stiffness though and stays stretchy.

Allan

Surely, all of us have our own preferred techniques and for me these may vary between models.

Iron on whether film or some variety of tex can be immensely useful and simple if you have the right tools. The additional benefits being that these are virtually without odour and one can work in either cold or hot weather.

Tissue and silk are pure pleasure but here in Oz it is a question of where you can buy your dope and thinners including the availability, quality, price, and volume being sold. The addition then being how well you can control the temperature and humidity content in your workshop.

As I fly electric almost exclusively I don't have to worry about the ingress of oil so fuel proofing isn't required and for me this means that if properly applied iron on can last for years. To be fair, and it may have been my fault, but I do find that both silk (I use Esaki) and tissue can become brittle over time due to UV.

"both silk (I use Esaki) and tissue can become brittle over time due to UV."

I have not observed that,

Les

Originally Posted by LesUyeda

"both silk (I use Esaki) and tissue can become brittle over time due to UV."

I have not observed that,

Les

Yes and that is the reason I do'nt use it anymore. When I was a kid, here in Europe it was common practise to use silk ànd paper on top (or the reverse)
The most popular film and cloth covering here is Oracover.

Originally Posted by JMP_blackfoot

It is a polyester laminating film as found here:
http://www.oregonlam.com/Laminating_...e.html#1512500
I use the thinnest (1.5 mil, 38 micron) matt, but glossy works just as well. On a light rigid model, it can be used by itself, such as my Whizard which has been flown diesel or glow. The model was given one coat of dope, sanded, then the Doculam applied over the whole model and some trim done with Rustoleum paint from the supermarket.

Thanks!!!!

Be sure to check out my build thread for the Sig Liberty Sport, covered in...yes silk!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...00#post1716468

Actually it is silk over silkspan. It's a technique that I've used on several models. This allows me to use a very light grade of silk. Even though I cover the model twice, it makes the silk job end up going easier and comes out better.

As far as durability, it punctures more easily than film, but is easily repaired. I crashed it once into a big bush after losing a prop and only suffered a tiny puncture that was patched with a nickel sized piece of silk. You do have to be more careful to avoid hangar rash--can't just toss it into a pile of planes when transporting.

"Yes and that is the reason I do'nt use it anymore. "

I just remember why I never had that problem. Just like the real fabric planes are painted silver before applying color. The silver paint IS the UV blocker that keeps the UV from attacking the fabric.

Les