How to cover a Spitfire

[ADW 123]

dude. try using some dope on your planes. you wont turn back.

[Phugoid]

What are you using to seal the tissue then? You are sealing the tissue right?

The dope I use us called Banana oil which is a non shrinking dope which is very thin and light, and suprisingly smells of pear drops!

Andrew

[Supercubber95]

Nope. Never sealed the stuff-didn't know I had to. Where can I get banana oil? If it's non-shrinking, do I shrink the tissue with water first, then cover it in banana oil?

[ADW 123]

i have both shrinking and nonshrinking dopes. i use the shrinking for the larger aircraft for static display. if i am building a smaller one to fly, i use bannana oil because it wont shrink and warp my frames.

you dont have to seal. it just looks a lot better. it also will help protect the tissue from moisture that will make the tissue sag. you build you aircraft normally, shrink with water. i usually dope all of my tissue covered frames before asembly, but i have also doped them after asembly. use a quarter inch wide brush. you get the dope and the thinnner. dont use it full strength. dont ask why, because i dont have an answer.

the first coat will seem to seep right into the tisssue. be sure to wait 30 minutes at least before messing with it. do a light sand with fine grade sandpaper. this will help scratch up the surface a little for the next coat and also take off some fuzz leftover.

i use 2 coats of the stuff thinned 50/50 for flying models, and 3 coats for display.

[Phugoid]

I could not have said better myself, but I don't bother with the sanding bit in between....

You always shrink the tissue with water (or alcohol/water mix for a gentle shrink) irrespective of the dope used....

[Supercubber95]

Thanks!

[ADW 123]

Phugoid, i also rarely do the sanding but for my display models i want to make it look as pretty as posible and sanding it just makes me feel im doing it right. well, probably makes no difference but..

[sawingman]

I have seen references to banana oil in other posts. If an LHS is not in the picture, what are other sources? From reading ADW's post I assume banana oil is classified as a non-shrinking dope! Is the banana oil used in lieu of the white glue/water mixture as a sealer?

[Phugoid]

Yes it is a non shrinking dope (as against plain cellulose dope), it is used as a sealer for the tissue.

It's been around since Adam was a lad, so in fact it's the other way around; the white glue and water mix is used in lieu of Banana oil. This is mainly due to the white glue being a lot more friendly to the environment and kinder on the nose! I always use it with the winow wide open!

ADW knows the sources in the USA, I can get it in my LHS in England, but I'm lucky in that respect....

[scigs30]

I used to use Banana oil years ago, but have not been able to find it in recent years except for over in the UK.

[sawingman]

Thanks both for the feedback. Scigs, if Banana oil is basically no longer available on our side of the pond, do you use regular dope, like “Midwest Aero Gloss”. If so, do you have an online supplier?

[scigs30]

Brodak is sold by Dare Hobbies, they have Nitrate and Butyrate. Most people use Nitrate since it does not keep shrinking over time. Personally I use what is accessible at the LHS and that is normally Aerogloss Butyrate Dope.

[Supercubber95]

Can I coat the entire model in 50/50 glue/water mix? Does it coat it sorta like dope? Or is there not any advantages to doing that?