mark wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 10:13 am
Hello.. well.. I ordered my fabric from SuperFlite. After way more thought than this deserved, at the end of the day, the huge price gap was just too much to turn away. I ordered the fabric from Plane Fun Aircraft and saved even more. So the final comparison is up through color with SF about $2.7K and Oratex is $11.7K. I'd rather not paint, but $9,000... just sayin! And I kind of like a shinny paint job anyway.
Additional information: Before deciding, I did make test frames and covered one with SuperFlite one with Oratex. I put two coats of automotive polyurethane paint on the SF test sample. I then proceeded to 'abuse' them by hitting them with the ball end of a ball peen hammer. Started out with light blows, and progressing to harder and harder hits to the point of failure. I have to say, BOTH seemed pretty tough and failed about the same time. Both seemed to 'heal' the lighter blows with some heat. The Oratex performed better on 'healing' after the harder blows. But I was expecting the SF to fail miserably, compared to Oratex, but they seemed to me to be very close. Both seemed to puncture with sharp objects and tear about the same. So from this simple test.. durability was a wash. I'm sure that Oratex will be much easier to patch however.
So, there you have it. My SF kit (50 yards by the way) is in shipment now. Billy ordered more as I plan to cover the rear baggage area.
Mark,
Did you get the covering done?
I am curious what the overall cost turned out to be with paint and labor?
How much time did it take?
If you don't go crazy with it, 1 litre (1qt) is plenty. Only dispense what you need each time you cover something so you don't waste it.
I have covered 2 Highlanders with Oratex now, including interiors and other parts. I have always had a little bit left over at the end.
Dan
Thanks Dan. I will be doing the rudder &elevators first . Having never done this before I was wondering should I glue to the cross pieces or just the perimeter & shrink tight?
It's likely a matter of personal preference. The Oratex videos that I saw did not have the cross pieces glued, and I personally like the look better without them glued down. Once the fabric is tightened, it would only be held down by a very, very thin line of glue, not likely worth the effort. The perimeter glue is likely doing all of the work anyway once the fabric is shrunk tight. If you check out the official videos on the Oratex website, there's a good one on covering a rudder, albeit the one shown is a curved one. The Highlander is actually much easier. The only real challenging part of using Oratex that I found was the top curve of the fuselage to vertical stabilizer section.
I used almost 2 bottles of glue by the time I was done with the oversized SuperStol. But - I used 3 coats of glue on both pieces, and was putting it on too thick in the beginning before I knew better.
Make sure to not get the glue until you will need it.
-Dont leave the lid off.
-ALWAYS pour it through a paint strainer.
-If you are going to use alot, pour into a ziplock and squeeze the air out, then you can use a little at a time, with out it making a skin.
- Dont reuse brushes, its not worth the headache, throw them away, buy the cheap ones.
- I dont glue the cross pieces.
If you use the cheap natural hair paint brushes, make sure you tug at the bristles a bit before you try using the brush. You have to remove any loose bristles and hairs from the fabric while the glue is still wet. The cheap brushes tend to shed a lot and the tiny hairs will show through the Oratex as well-defined bumps that look pretty bad.
Thanks for all the help.I plan to use cheap foam brushes.Thinking ahead, I'm wondering about the bottom of the wing.Having a curve in the bottom of the rib. Do I leave enough slack to follow the curve before sticking it to the leading &trailing edge. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Probably will make more sense when I get there.
I did not like the foam brushes because they left bubbles in the glue that dried that way, and left a rough spot under the seam that was visible. I use the cheap home depot synthetic brush with the black bristles.
Yes, slack - or better yet, follow the contour before sticking to the trailing edge - you do not want tension on the glue while it is setting.
Well, got the glue friday.Been playing with testing per baf instructions.Followed their instructions and it pulls off pretty easy.Tacked 212f then iron at 100c .What am I doing wrong?
I didn't bother with backing plates there. I kept the tapes nice and tight around the attach points, plus I used the small gaps near the front attach points to run my brake lines through for the bush wheels and amphib floats as well as some wiring and other stuff. If you aren't worried about weight and aren't switching to amphib floats annually, backing plates would likely make a cleaner looking installation. (...If anyone is looking under your plane)
