Fabric Work

In article ,
(Doug) wrote:

Well, what you describe is pretty much what I did, albiet with less
than ideal workmanship. What I want to do now, if completely refabric
the horizontal stabilizer. If I mess with it again, I want to redo the
whole thing. Get it as right as it can be.

So what you are saying is 2 coats of nitrate, then 3 or even 4 of
silver. Then spray on the polyurethane?

2 coats nitrate, BRUSHED on, then sanded smooth.
More than 3 or 4 coats silver, as you want to get everything smooth,
then more silver to block UV.

When everything looks good and smooth, then you are ready for the poly.


Is there any way of looking at the existing piece and knowing what
THEY did? I want it to match the other fabric on the plane.


See if lacquer thinner softens the base material. If it does, it is
probably dope. If the base cracks, it is something else.





Orval Fairbairn wrote in message
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..
In article ,
(Doug) wrote:

OK. So I put a rock through the bottom of my horizontal stabilizer
landing my Husky up in Wyoming (hunting gophers). I repaired it with
duct tape which got me home, and I patched it with fabric and painted
it. It is about a 12" x 12" repair. My mechanic signed off on the
annual with the repair so it is airworthy. But...it's not cosmetically
so good. Now I think I can buy the fabric, fabric "tape", and manage
to take the piece off and re-fabric it. The part I am not sure of is
the painting. All I know is the final coats of paint will be what is
on the rest of the plane which is a polyurethane (the two part stuff),
PPG Insignia White. But what do I put on top of the fabric and before
the paint (silver etc)?

Has anyone ever painted fabric with a polyurethane? What are the steps
or where do I find out?

Thanks

YUP. You have to remove the poly in the area of the patch. Wet sanding
(with a block, preferably) is the way to go. Sand it down to the silver,
which is dope. If it is Stits, refer to their manual.

Make sure that you have at least 2" around the hole to attach the patch.
Brush some Super Seam on the newly-sanded area and apply the fabric
patch, using more Super Seam.

After it is dry, you may want to shrink the patch, using a steam iron,
on "wool." Do not try to shrink everything at once. Just a few passes
over the fabric should suffice.

Now, you brush on 2 coats of nitrate and sand the edges smooth. Spray a
coat of silver non-tautening butyrate and sand it almost completely off.
Repaet ontil you have a nice, smooth surface. Spray on at least 3 more
coats of silver, sanding lightly betwween coats. Do not sand the last
coat.

You are now ready for the poly.

You can blend in a poly repair, with 3M FinesseIt and PerfectIt, and
even wet sand poly, starting with about 600 grit, ending with 2000 grit,
then the polishing compound.

You will still be able to see the repair, but it will look good!