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quick question about covering a zagi thl
I have econokote and I am covering my zagi for the first time..my buddy told me to tack it down at both ends of the wing and use a hair dryer and tighten it...it makes more sense to me to iron from the middle to the outside....and iron the whole thing..HELP....I would like to do my wing tonight.......the weather is bad..I think it is bad all over the US.....thanks for the help
Bill |
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Your friend's idea works best for open frame covering. I'd just use the iron on the whole thing. Just make sure it's a very low temperature. I'm not sure where the best place to start covering is though...anybody have any ideas?
-Brett |
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Hey Bill, here's what I do.
Once I hit the LE or TE edge, I will do the same trick but will slow the advance just a bit. At some point especially around the LE you might develop a wrinkle due to the slight curve of the airfoil. Although on balsa coverings you can really pull it hard I have found that does not work so well on foam. Best thing to do is to stop, grab your X-acto knife and make a cut from that point to the edge of the film. This will remove the winkle and allow the film to overlap just a bit at that wrinkle area and it will be hard if not impossible to see the cut. Especially at 50feet at 60Mph! I have discovered to not be afraid to make cuts as necessary and if the film separates and shows the foam underneath, then cut a small piece of film and cover that up. It sounds hard, but it's fairly easy. If you totally screw it up, just rip it off and try it again Ekonocote is fairly thin so until you shrink it it will look ugly and kind of wrinkled. Last tip, do not press on a wrinkle as this will crease the film. Once you crease the film it is almost impossible to get it out. What you are trying to do is to create a shrinkable bag around your wing. Tack down and seal everything (making the bag) before you begin any shrinking. Once you have covered the entire wing, then up the heat to the appropriate shrink temperature and duplicate the process all over again starting at the chord, down the middle to wingtip, sweeps to the LE, TE, etc. Most film coverings that I have tried including Ekonocote will shrink, then unshrink just a hair once it cools off. If you find that happening then just reshrink it again. Remember that covering jobs always look better in a photograph than in real life. It's amazing the imperfections that you can find with the Mark I eyeball that are impossible to see on a photograph, digital or otherwise. Matt www.yourzagi.com |
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Last edited by mtayl; Nov 10, 2002 at 12:49 AM.
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wow
Wow matt..thanks a bunch.....that is a lot of time to type that out but I really appreciate it....off I go to do my first cover job with covering....whooo hoooo....I woul dnot have bothered you but I looked on your site and I could not find it...you should take what you emailed me and put it on your website that is awsome..all you have to do is cut and paste...take care!!!
Bill |
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LOL. Yep, good idea! Hey, let us know how it turns out. When I did my first one it was a mixture of total panic and anxiety coupled with satisfaction when it turned out to be not as hard as I thought it would be.
Matt www.yourzagi.com |
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Here is how
Ok..I did the bottom...Looks awsome but the wing was bowed a bit....I was worried..then I did the top and it straightened out perfectly....straight as an arrow....but there where much more wrinkels on the top then bottom...My problem is the L.E.....I tore it off the L.E. and I will do It again..just on the L.E.....I will let you know how it turns out..It was longer than I thought...took me about 1 hour and 1/2 to do the whole wing.......I will let you know thanks.!!!
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Hey Thor
Just some food for thought!..... When you are ready to re-cover your zagi.... use ULTRACOTE!!! I have used many different types of iron-on films and Ultracote is not only easier to work with but much stronger than the rest! After many flights all you have to do is re-shrink it and it looks as good as new!.... |
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Re: Here is howQuote:
Matt www.yourzagi.com |
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