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Finally starting on an 8 meter Fliegerland H-101 Salto. Before I pick you brains, seems there was another forum for large scale sailplanes that I can't seem to locate now. Is this one in the same, or is this site new?
Anyways, I thought I'd take a shortcut and use high quality vinyl as a finish on the obechi wing panels...but the anal side of me has prevailed. Just can't beat a nice gleaming painted composite finish :^)
I'll be laminating 1.5oz finishing S-glass with West Systems 105. It's been a while since I've bagged stuff, and I'm kinda leaning that way to gain a better starting surface that can then be prepped for paint. Normally I'd cut and wax Mylar to act as the final surface finish, but it has it's own shortcomings, especially at the LE where prep would still be required to come up with a great final surface for paint. Another factor is that the fuselage, although almost perfect...it ain't perfect :^(
So painting it and the wings in a white that matches the absolutely pristine hollow-molded V-tails is the path I find myself on (I have the Pantone PN from the manufacturer - it would be a shame to have to paint them).
So...are there any shortcuts I can take that would be easier / less time consuming than buying / cutting Mylar and bagging? I see interesting bagging materials that might suffice, but they would likely stick. Then there's the idea of peel-ply after wetting out the glass, and not even vacuum bag. So wet out and lay on peel ply and squeegee again. I'm considering hanging the wing panels off makeshift wing rods so that I can lay on a single piece of glass starting on the bottom, rotate the panel and continue around the LE and onto the upper surface. Then follow up with a again a single piece of peel-ply.
Anyone care to comment?
Thanks in advance,
simon
Anyways, I thought I'd take a shortcut and use high quality vinyl as a finish on the obechi wing panels...but the anal side of me has prevailed. Just can't beat a nice gleaming painted composite finish :^)
I'll be laminating 1.5oz finishing S-glass with West Systems 105. It's been a while since I've bagged stuff, and I'm kinda leaning that way to gain a better starting surface that can then be prepped for paint. Normally I'd cut and wax Mylar to act as the final surface finish, but it has it's own shortcomings, especially at the LE where prep would still be required to come up with a great final surface for paint. Another factor is that the fuselage, although almost perfect...it ain't perfect :^(
So painting it and the wings in a white that matches the absolutely pristine hollow-molded V-tails is the path I find myself on (I have the Pantone PN from the manufacturer - it would be a shame to have to paint them).
So...are there any shortcuts I can take that would be easier / less time consuming than buying / cutting Mylar and bagging? I see interesting bagging materials that might suffice, but they would likely stick. Then there's the idea of peel-ply after wetting out the glass, and not even vacuum bag. So wet out and lay on peel ply and squeegee again. I'm considering hanging the wing panels off makeshift wing rods so that I can lay on a single piece of glass starting on the bottom, rotate the panel and continue around the LE and onto the upper surface. Then follow up with a again a single piece of peel-ply.
Anyone care to comment?
Thanks in advance,
simon
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