On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 08:25:49 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Aug 5, 10:04*pm, "Morgans" wrote:

Rich Shankland's Emerald used glass, I believe. *Many Falcos go with glass.

Thanks, Jim - but the Emeraude was covered (all surfaces) with 2.6 oz
Dacron, sealed with Poly-brush, UV'd with Poly-spray, then color
coated with Imron and the trim was clear coated. Since a good percent
of the surface is plywood rather than open framework, I considered
using 1.7 oz fabric on the ply. It would have made for a much more
difficult job, with the extra seams and all; and wouldn't really have
saved enough weight to go to the bother. Besides which, I'd rather
have a seam on the leading edge, wrapped over the curve, doubled, and
then taped. Using two weights of cloth would have meant an extra seam
adjacent to the open bay and right out there in the airstream, trying
to rip open.

I expect it to last at least 30 years if I keep it hangared, at which
time it should be removed to inspect the structure. I have seen
picture of Emeraudes being recovered and the wood rot was enough to
scare me. These were planes that spent their life outside - in
England, no less.

Because the Imron is not susceptible to solvents, as is a doped
finish, I expect the removal of the old fabric will be more of a
chore. Had I used fiberglass cloth and resin, it may have been
impossible to remove without damaging the structure. When it's time to
recover, whoever does the job (I don't expect to be doing such things
when I'm 87) will probably be wishing I had used dope.

Rich S.

Rich yours is the preferred method of covering ply as in the original
request. if you use polytone paint the surface remains infinitely
repairable.

even at 87 you'd be able to do the recover job (set that as one of
your life's targets :-) )
if you use MEK as the solvent the finish and the fabric can be taken
back to the wood quite easily.

in fact for polyfiber finishes MEK is a damned handy tool. you can
wipe the finish back to the fabric in a flash even after 20 years.
you can reapply it quite easily back to a concourse finish.

for the original poster, ignore the other suggestions, what Rich has
described is the optimum way of achieving a manageable long life
finish. using dope is a dumb idea.

(of course there will be a hundred posts disagreeing with this :-) )

Stealth Pilot
(who will go to hell for using enamel paint in repairs before
realising that it was going over polytone ..aaargh!)