Fabric covering

On Feb 12, 1:43*pm, Orval Fairbairn
wrote:
I wonder about the long-term viability of chemical UV blockers. don't
they sacrifice themselves to UV, rather than simply reflect the UV, as
aluminum powder does?

There is some truth to that (yes, some bonds are broken) but it's
irrelevant. The real problem is not the UV blocker but the binder
(cracking, ringworm) and the fabric (no blocker is 100% efficient, and
the fabric will eventually deteriorate). As it is, the problem is not
that the fabric doesn't last long enough - the problem is it lasts too
long. The metal and wood under the fabric were never meant to go
decades between inspection and repair even when new. You wouldn't
believe some of the things I saw in aircraft when we removed cover.

Just what is the objection to the use of aluminum dope, anyway? It is
easy to apply, easy to determine if you have sufficient coverage and
easy (with a lot of wet sanding) to get a good finish.

The bit abut a lot of wet sanding is the objection. In every other
respect it is at least as good as the chemical blocker. An expert
(someone who does it all the time) can actually get a better finish
with aluminum dope than he can with Superflite - but someone who is
only going to cover one or two planes will not. And he will work a
lot harder and longer not to get it.

Michael

One of the guys on the Fly Baby mailing list used latex house paint atop Stits:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/latex.html

He used indoor latex primer, which has titanium dioxide, and he thought it might
have some UV resistance. In addition, he added a half-pound of aluminum powder
to the 1 gallon can of primer for extra UV protection.

The finished product:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/drew%20taxi.jpg

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/pix/drew2.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message ...
One of the guys on the Fly Baby mailing list used latex house paint atop Stits:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/latex.html

He used indoor latex primer, which has titanium dioxide, and he thought it might
have some UV resistance. In addition, he added a half-pound of aluminum powder
to the 1 gallon can of primer for extra UV protection.

The finished product:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/drew%20taxi.jpg

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/pix/drew2.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

How did the weight come out? Anything to compare it to?

On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:25:02 -0500, "Blueskies"
wrote:

"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message ...
One of the guys on the Fly Baby mailing list used latex house paint atop Stits:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/latex.html

He used indoor latex primer, which has titanium dioxide, and he thought it might
have some UV resistance. In addition, he added a half-pound of aluminum powder
to the 1 gallon can of primer for extra UV protection.

The finished product:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/drew%20taxi.jpg

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/pix/drew2.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

How did the weight come out? Anything to compare it to?

Strangely enough, yes: The plane had been previously flying, and Drew had to
rebuild it when a hangar collapsed on it.

The weight when newly-restored, with the latex paint, was 22 pounds *lighter*
than his last W&B eleven years ago.

The earlier iteration had a full pressure cowling, a canopy, and enamel over
Dacron. The rebuilt version has a lighter Cub-type open-cylinder cowl and open
cockpit. But the rebuilt version has bigger tires plus a battery, radio, and
transponder, too. My guess is that the weight of the fabric and paints are
probably pretty darn close.

You can find his rebuild story at:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/fidoe_oldplane.html

Ron Wanttaja

On Feb 14, 12:26*am, Ron Wanttaja wrote:
On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:25:02 -0500, "Blueskies"
wrote:





"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in messagenews:l046r39u92rdhkidbh873uidq7k8vnu9ic@4ax .com...
One of the guys on the Fly Baby mailing list used latex house paint atop Stits:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/latex.html

He used indoor latex primer, which has titanium dioxide, and he thought it might
have some UV resistance. *In addition, he added a half-pound of aluminum powder
to the 1 gallon can of primer for extra UV protection.

The finished product:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/drew%20taxi.jpg

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/pix/drew2.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

How did the weight come out? Anything to compare it to?

Strangely enough, yes: *The plane had been previously flying, and Drew had to
rebuild it when a hangar collapsed on it.

The weight when newly-restored, with the latex paint, was 22 pounds *lighter*
than his last W&B eleven years ago.

The earlier iteration had a full pressure cowling, a canopy, and enamel over
Dacron. *The rebuilt version has a lighter Cub-type open-cylinder cowl and open
cockpit. *But the rebuilt version has bigger tires plus a battery, radio, and
transponder, too. *My guess is that the weight of the fabric and paints are
probably pretty darn close.

You can find his rebuild story at:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/fidoe_oldplane.html

Ron Wanttaja- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I was about to ask the same question that BlueSkies did. I wonder how
it will fair/stand the test of time and the repeated vibrations of the
covering surface.

Wil

On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:46:35 -0800 (PST), William Hung
wrote:

He used indoor latex primer, which has titanium dioxide, and he thought it might
have some UV resistance. *In addition, he added a half-pound of aluminum powder
to the 1 gallon can of primer for extra UV protection.

I was about to ask the same question that BlueSkies did. I wonder how
it will fair/stand the test of time and the repeated vibrations of the
covering surface.

Drew did some samples using different techniques years ago and put them in the
backyard to weather. So he's not too concerned about the sun or rain.

How well it withstands the vibration is something that remains to be seen.
Another Fly Baby up here repainted one horizontal stab painted after a repair,
and he hasn't had any cracking so far.

Ron Wanttaja

Yeah I kneaux its an old thread, but I've been out of the country for a
month and a half and its taking me awhile to get caughtup...

Scott wrote:

Randolph, I believe, has a water-based system.

Stewart Systems is water based:
http://www.aircraftfinishing.com/products.aspx?cid=1

Met him at Oshgosh, nice guy and a fantastic product, wished I'd met him
before I invested in Polyfiber...

Supposed to be getting another hanger "any day now" to complete the Pacer
project I started too long ago now...

Local airport hanger construction is currently 4 months behind schedule...