sealing silkspan

[peterc4]

Anyone out there have any hints on how to seal silkspan?

I have never used the stuff before. I covered my P-40 Warhawk (400 series) with silkspan and krylon'd it twice. the covering seems as porous now as it was before I sprayed it.

Is there some trick? Is it even supposed to be sealed?? Painting over it as is would make a nice matte finish, but I'm not sure how decals would work over something that porous.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[cliffm]

I use 50/50 elmers about 3 coats brushed or sprayed usually gets it done. Very light coats as not to sag the fabric too bad, if your brushing it on be careful not to stretch or pull while your applying. The drier you get it between coats the better. You will notice some places fill quicker than others. Some spots require a bit of sanding to get the "fuzz" smoothed out, but slow and easy and you can get a nice finish. I use water base acrylics you can get at any crafts shop and if you want a gloss finish put a coat of spray can clear on it.

[peterc4]

Clifm thanks for the white glue idea.

I looked around on other sites and found a few (daunting) ideas, dope and talc, gelatin/whiteglue/talc.

White glue/water glue sounds more my speed.

The silkspan went on so easily - it was one of those uh-oh moments when I hit it with krylon and nothing much happened.

Learning curve in the road (crash!)

[cliffm]

I have tried everything from house paint to spray cans and have had mixed results. The indoor latex actually looks pretty good, but you need a really good hook in the ceiling to hold it up. After experimenting with different procedures with the white glue I found the technique described to you works about the best and you can do it in the house with no odors or damage to surroundings you may have with aircraft dopes. One nice thing about this way of putting it on is it's easily redone if you mess it up. One of the "secrets" is to let it dry thoroughly between coats.

[peterc4]

I'm feeling a little "buyers remorse" for using the silkspan that comes with the 400 series kits.

I wanted to fly this plane (or at least try), but it looks like its going to be pretty porky by the time I get done.

As an experiment, I tried to take the silkspan off the elevator and rudder. That isnt so easy either. I used permanent glue stick and 2 coats of krylon to get the stuff on. I'm am using alcohol to take the stuff off. The silkspan frays, the glue/krylon turns into jelly and you sortof have to sort of scrape the whole mess off.

Now I know.

[John G Jedinak]

You have just made the case for Elmers white glue. Use it for everything you possibly can when building the model... judicious use of moisture and patience will release most everything you glue. Personally, I use full strenght in all the construction and 50/50 for tissuing and sealing. Acrylic paints are the way to go....for the same reason.

[cliffm]

Amen to Mr. Jedinaks advice.

[peterc4]

I'm becoming a whiteglue convert - did a couple of tests last night - seems great.

I only picked up the Krylon when I ran out of dope. The LHS gave up stocking dope and I didnt want to pay to have the stuff shipped.

Unfortunately my collection of paints is 99% oil based.

So you can use the crafty acrylics (from Micheals etc) over white glue??

More tests tonight.

[cliffm]

Some people are not great wal-mart fans,myself included,but the prices for their craft items are really hard to compete with along with the large array of colors. In the state I live in there might be 2 LHS,and there isn't one within 100 miles. Just saying ,I gotta go with whats available.

[rayd]

Built a lot of U Control long ago. Covered most planes with silkspan then. Hobby shops, glues, dope, thinner, fuel, supplies of all sorts were readily available back then. I used mostly Pactra hot fuel proof for clear and enamel colors over the silk. Two to three light coats, one clear, two color. Looked good, and came out tight as a drum. Gee, times have changed. Often, if you find a shop now, they're limited in what they carry. Guess we're gonna have to get used to less hazardous, less volatile products...likely liability issues, regulations, and shipping concerns involved, others also, including sluggish sales.

Good we've a forum like this to compare notes for replacement materials/supplies and souces. Seems craft stores, big box/hardware stores will be most frequented in the future, along with the types of supplies carried. Guess items like Pactra and "dope" still available in some places, costly maybe but available in smaller sizes. Many items have shipping limitations and S&H could equal, even exceed product cost. We must be resourceful, ask around, try various things and keep our fingers crossed not to ruin that model. Maybe do a bit of testing on small scrap mock-ups first. Many thanks to Guillow's for this forum and the good people operating and participating in it.

[ADW 123]

ive used nitrate dope thinned 50/50. i like the shineyness it gives the tissue. in anycase, i seal domestic tissue and silkspan with the same stuff. unless there is a reason that i shouldnt be using dope on silkspan that i am completely un aware of... i would say you can use whatever you want to seal silk span. i guess its a lot of personal preference.

see... shiney after 3 coats of dope