Easiest Way to Cover a Wing? / Balsa and Tissue Aeromodelling 

dope

Stick-built all the way :-) Three smells that still get me. Hoppes #9 powder solvent, butyrate airplane dope, and Windsong perfume. I wish I'd enjoyed more of the latter.

Buhydrate

@@sammoore9120 thats what you hear at the gym... "bruh hydrate"... ill see myself out

That was the rich man's stuff! Great product.

Sig still has silkspan, and their own "kolorfast" tissue. sigmfg.com/collections/finishing-accessories I personally use ezbuilt. easybuiltmodels.com/esaki.htm#gsc.tab=0 They don't have silkspan, but have their own domestic tissue AND "My Fuji" japanese tissue. From what I've read, it's pretty close to Esaki. Shalom

I've done this with Balsaloc and it worked fine.

Yes. Always pin during doping/drying.

Rough one

They're great options for larger models!

You probably already got this answered, but I believe it's 70% water, 30% Eze Dope.

The dope helps protect the covering and strengthens the wing. It will impregnate the tissue and give it a varnished finish, adding rigidity, preventing punctures and tears, while making it waterproof. Though honestly for an RC wing of this size they should go with a heavier paper covering like silkspan that can also be applied while wet.

It's one of several methods actually. Nitrate dope is used by some, and is the "traditional" method to a lot of people. But... It has a terrible odor. I've read of some that use banana oil, which has a similar effect to EZ Dope, but have never tried it. A lot of modelers are using clear krylon spray acrylic or similar. Light weight and easy to use. Plus available just about anywhere. I don't know how krylon compares to EZ Dope strength wise. From what I've read, the EZ Dope makes the tissue very tough, but I'm not sure about how much weight it adds.

I’ve used the Krylon on a couple models. Both rubber power, both Guillows. One a Cesna 150, one a P-40. Both flew reasonably well for Guillows kits. The covering turned out nice and tight. The Krylon shrunk the tissue even tighter than it was with just water. It added sufficient strength that I was not worried flying them in tall grass. I didn’t have doped models available to compare weights but they didnt seem heavy to me.

I assume after they've been through the dryer? Sounds like it would be similar to silk span.

Yes. Dope, banana oil, krylon spray acrylic... To name a few.

You want light, non-bleeding tissue. If it maintains strength when wet, that can help with curves. Sig, Wind it Up enterprises, and EZ built Models all carry tissue specific to model airplanes. For large models, if you want to go traditional like this, silkspan is good, available from Sig manufacturing.

You can use cellulose dope applied to tissue or you can cover with Oracover type covering films that use a heat iron for application. ☺️ Info on alternative dopes here: www.vintagemodelcompany.com/dopes.html

White glue like Elmer's diluted with water, about 50%

gary murphy you keep using the word “of” when you mean to use “have”

I was wondering if that was really necessary, if they're already using a glue stick. I'm thinking about doing some simple stick models to experiment with all this.

I used to use Nylon and Silk back in the day. It's a different approach altogether. Basically use Cellulose Dope all over the airframe and let dry, pinned down. Cut out your nylon panels and damp them. I used to put them in a tray of water for a while and them wring them out! Next drape the damp panels over the air frame and using the dope and a brush, stipple the edges down, pulling out the wrinkles as you go. The dope with soak through the material and stick to the pre doped air frame. Use you finger to rub the edges down. ( It's a messy business)! Pin it all down again and leave to dry. Now you can start to apply dope to the fabric. The first coat needs to be a very light coat all over, top and bottom. Pin it down again and leave to dry. You can then add heavier coats, pinning and drying in between until you are happy its taught enough and air tight. Hope this helps. Solatex or similar is a lot easier if you can get it!

@@bobi2582 thank you so much for your descriptive response. I have tried to use Solatext and so on with an iron and have never been able to grasp the technique.

I'd be worried about the weight. May experiment with it though.

@@kf4293 it actually comes out quite a bit lighter than store bought dopes and glues.

...and elevators judging by the lack of takeoff!

I guess you missed the 0:35 mark in the video.

Generally the glossy goes out, matte glues to frame.