View Single Post
  #6  
Old September 13th 12, 07:41 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Herbert kilian
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 48
Default Glider Wraps, Gelcoat Refinishing

On Sep 12, 8:43*pm, wrote:
On Tuesday, September 11, 2012 1:33:42 PM UTC-5, Herbert kilian wrote:
Soaring Cafe has published an article I wrote about the subject:


http://soaringcafe.com/2012/09/whats...ey-fajita-or-g...


I would be interested what this forum thinks about the points made and


what the potential downsides are of wrapping a glider in plastic.


From my research, it should be a viable alternative to total


refinishing.


Herb Kilian


I would call Dick Butler he can tell you about that.


Dick Butler's Concordia has - from the reports I've read - some
control surfaces wrapped in Monocote, a shrink film used for model
airplanes. This was done solely for mass reduction reasons, no gel-
coat on those structures. Car wrapping films are quite different.
I'm contemplating starting a field study by wrapping the (short)
winglets on my LS8-18 in white glossy film and to apply it myself
since I have some background. This is a non-structural component and
mine are like the rest of the glider in immaculate condition. The
material is available on-line and would cost around $50 for the two
winglets. That's cheap enough to remove the film after 1-2 years and
see what's underneath (if it holds up that long).
Herb