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Thread: dle's Oz Build

  1. #201

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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Fabric shrinkage affecting the paint surface I have experienced here in mid-florida summer sun. But, it occurred only where tape overlapped the fiberglass tip. On the wing I am now finishing I plan to heat such locations to the point where the pinked edge just recedes slightly.
    I also wonder about the observation that light showed through at the pinked edges of a finally painted wing. Could this be a result of ironing the pinked edges down after the poly spray silver application? I iron the pinked edges before poly spray. After that I only lightly sand pinked edges if they feel slightly rough, avoiding anything more than just smoothing. No sanding after the final poly spray silver coats. The final color coat should after this fill enough to leave a visible but smooth pinked edge. Ironing pinked edges of every tape applied, even those covered by later taping I have found to be the key to a smooth finish. Butyrate on my ceconite used in my last project seemed easier as I suspect it is thicker than poly spray. And, since weight was not a consideration, I was able to lay on many coats of the silver allowing frequent sanding of rough spots. Not an option with the kitfox.
    Bud
    IV Speedster
    912 UL
    IVO ground adjustable

  2. #202
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    I would caution you about heating the edge of an applied tape to cause it to shrink slightly. It will not shrink consistently and you will end up with tape edges that look like snakes. Applying the iron to the very edges to smooth the pinked edges before Poly Spray is recommended, but be careful about getting too far back from the edge.

    I preshrank some large pieces of fabric BEFORE I cut out reinforcing gussets, doillies, etc. That works good. I tried to preshrink some 1" and 2" tapes and that was a disaster because they ended up with snakey edges. What would work is to take some wide (4" or so) tape and preshrink it, then use pinking shears to cut 1 or 2" tapes out of it; kind of laborious. I believe you can buy preshrunk tapes from PolyFiber, which seems like the way to go if you are really worried about this possible problem. I just went with mostly white wings and upper fuse and quit worrying about it.

    I agree with others that this is a mostly overblown issue, especially for those who hangar their airplanes and don't spend much time in Death Valley.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  3. #203
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Quote Originally Posted by jiott View Post
    I would caution you about heating the edge of an applied tape to cause it to shrink slightly. It will not shrink consistently and you will end up with tape edges that look like snakes. Applying the iron to the very edges to smooth the pinked edges before Poly Spray is recommended, but be careful about getting too far back from the edge. .........
    Yep, been there done that. One small tape area on my fuselage looks like a coke bottle. Learned the hard way. Also did the same with the doilies - pre-shrunk them before cutting them.
    David
    SS7 Builder

  4. #204
    Senior Member aviator79's Avatar
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    We're veering off the topic of David's build a bit, but I'll add a couple notes for those learning from this thread.
    -When you're heat smoothing your tapes, you must not let the iron get too hot. I "coke-bottled" a leading edge tape with a too-hot iron, despite it being calibrated. The good news about Poly Fiber is that it's pretty easy to start over.
    -I tried three household irons at various price points, and none of them hold temperature within 20 degrees no matter how much time you spend calibrating. They actually hold temperature better while you're ironing. I assume this is because you're putting heat into the fabric, so the iron heats much slower and does not overshoot the setpoint as badly. You can buy expensive ski waxing irons that hold temp better, but the seasoned covering pros use cheap household irons. The trick I learned at Gary Hillman's covering class it to always have an IR thermometer with you. Check the iron temp frequently, preferably immediately before the iron touches the fabric every time. I also checked it as I removed the iron to make sure I was shrinking the fabric to full temp. If it's a little too hot, you can run the iron over your sweatshirt to dissipate some heat. It will cool some as you move it over the fabric.
    --Brian
    Flying - S7SS

  5. #205
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Agree with Brian. I used an IR to ensure correct temperature with our household iron. Where I came unstuck was in using the small hobby iron I used for some tight places, and didn’t calibrate it. The temperature was obviously higher than 225F, the maximum for tapes. Just proved to me the importance of temperature control.
    David
    SS7 Builder

  6. #206
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Now that we have the posting of pictures up and running again, it;s good to get back to adding some more to my build thread, so here we go ....

    The weather has been real hot here in the southern parts of Aus. this summer. Temperature records are tumbling and work progresses slowly as a result. But I have got in some good days by working in the early mornings and evenings. Most work has concentrated on getting the flaperons built up and attached to the wing hanger fittings. I was worried about how all that would clock up with hanger rib locations, given that the manual allows for up to 1/8" out of position when laying them in (I built my own wings). Fortunately, I took the time and aligned the ribs and therefore the reinforcing plates at ribs #3 through #9 really well so all good. Also, because the summer is a hot one this year (many consecutive days over 100F+), I've had to forget any painting and concentrate on other work. So I'm about to start making highways for all those electrons to travel along and have installed single point ground and power busses onto an avionics shelf ahead of the I/P. The battery will be well down the back because of the heavier engine and because I'm also installing an Airmaster CSP, which is also a heavy unit (23 lb). From previous posts, I need to get the t/w load (weight) up to around 60 lb in order to have a reasonable CG range without ballasting.

    So far I'm up to 880 hours hands on build time, which excludes research and production of the necessary technical data required for the Experimental certificate. I reckon I'll come in around 1100 hours and just on two years build time, which is fairly average from what I gather.

    Finally, something I meant to mention in my last post was spraying with polytone paints. The first coat I put on the fuselage couple of months back was done with the ambient temperature around 28-30C (86F) without adding any blush retarder. Couldn't believe how quickly that spray turned to dust before it hit the surface. So, went back and read the instructions (duh) and did what the instructions said I should have done; i.e. put the paint in the refrigerator over night and don't skimp on the blush retarder. The results were a dramatic change. I now have a sheen to the finished coat - it's best seen on the wings I think because of the lighter colour, but the difference was amazing. It'll never be high gloss like Aerothane, but Im ok with that.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    David
    SS7 Builder

  7. #207
    Senior Member bbs428's Avatar
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Great you got the paint sorted.
    Never heard about cooling paint in the refer before ! lol
    I'll tuck that away for future reference.

    I can empathize with your working in the hot temps.
    Somebody said that carrier pilots were the best in the world, and they must be or there wouldn't be any of them left alive. — Ernie Pyle

    Brett Butler
    Flying: 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul Zipper 110hp, G3x avionics, ss7 upgrades

  8. #208
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Great progress Dave and its looking good! Good for you for persevering in this weather! (Tomorrow is looking like another shocker!)

    Those are some big holes in the panel Dave! What is going in them??

    cheers

    r
    Ross
    Mt Beauty, Vic
    OZ
    Sold to Richard and Scott Taubman in OZ, 2019. Kitfox SS7,Rotax 912is Sport, Airmaster CSP 75" blades.
    Landcruiser and Cub off road camper (doesn't get any kudos on this forum!)

  9. #209

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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Looking great David!
    I can sympathize with you about the heat and it’s probably hotter where you are too. I have a bunch of parts to paint but the heat is just not letting up...
    Regards Ben

    Victoria Australia
    S7 Kitfox 233

  10. #210
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    Default Re: dle's Oz Build

    Quote Originally Posted by rosslr View Post

    Those are some big holes in the panel Dave! What is going in them??

    cheers

    r
    I have an MGL 8.5” Explorer Lite. Big cutout in the middle is for a Garmin Aera 795 GPS and the cutout in the pax side is for a glovebox. Switches and cbs are on a separate switch panel below the I/P. I’ve got the switch panel on the kitchen table directly under an air conditioning vent while I wire it up .... pure heaven !! 45C up here tomorrow ... (groan).
    David
    SS7 Builder

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