I'm not sure you need to remove all of the fabric, but by using a sharp knife or razor blade you can remove the lower surface covering while leaving the upper surface in place. Then if necessary, when you have recovered the lower wing surface you can add another layer of covering over the leading edge in order to overlap the new lower surface covering, and help keep it in place.
Fabric is cheap, so is the glue, and its a fun experience. And after you recover it you will know what you have, no more guesswork. And while your at it rip off that fugly turttle deck and build a proper one.
Haha, yeah. I kind of want to, but at the same time I'm just adding more and more work for myself if I do that. Maybe over the winter?
I suppose it would be better to do the whole wing, but I did test the fabric and it passed, so if there is a way I could rip the paint off without ruining the fabric, it would be a great time saver.
I'm sure there is something that will remove latex paint. The easiest solution would be to rib stitch it but you would still need to remove the paint where the ribs are so you can glue the tapes down. There is a web site somewhere where the guy has done extensive research on using latex paint. May be some good info for you there.
Also, I'm reading through that poly-tak manual, I don't see anything about what I see on my current wing, where it appears that over each rib, a strip of extra fabric was laid, presumably for abrasion resistance? Have you heard of that before? Or am I supposed to just lay the fabric right on top of everything and that's it?
Yes. What you are referring to is called chafe tape. So, someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I have only ever seen it used on metal air frames where the sharp edges of the metal frame work would chafe and wear through the fabric. All of my gussets have rounded edges and I cut the sharp edges off all the edges of the framework to a slight radius with sandpaper before covering so chafe is not an issue. I suppose if you felt an area was going to chafe and wear through you could use some chafe tape on it. I didn't find it necessary with my build.
Other than I don't see why ekobond has to be so ridiculously expensive, no, I haven't used it, so I don't know. He prefers ekobond because it is water based just like the latex paint. But I have read other builders post that used the MEK based systems with latex paint with no problems. One advantage to using ekobond is you could use polyurethane varnish instead of epoxy varnish as the water based glue won't eat the one-part polyurethane varnish. The savings on polyurethane vs epoxy varnish would help offset the ridiculous price of ekobond.
Other than I don't see why ekobond has to be so ridiculously expensive, no, I haven't used it, so I don't know. He prefers ekobond because it is water based just like the latex paint.
It's expensive because it's for an "airplane". You can buy the same stuff much cheaper. Ekobond and 3M Fastbond 30NF contact cement are exactly the same stuff....same color, same smell, same texture, same results. Ekobond is just repackaged 30NF. I used 30NF to cover my Eindecker replica and it worked great.
It's expensive because it's for an "airplane". You can buy the same stuff much cheaper. Ekobond and 3M Fastbond 30NF contact cement are exactly the same stuff....same color, same smell, same texture, same results. Ekobond is just repackaged 30NF. I used 30NF to cover my Eindecker replica and it worked great.
Ehh... $121.44 a gallon is still pretty damn expensive in my book! Be it Ekobond, Fastbond, or Ripoffbond!
Superflight U500 is just $25.50 a quart. And its concentrated, so by the time you thin it 2:1 as directed, you end up with 3/4 of a gallon for about $30.00 with the cost of thinner. Some people just have more money than good sense.
Superflight U500 is just $25.50 a quart. And its concentrated, so by the time you thin it 2:1 as directed, you end up with 3/4 of a gallon for about $30.00 with the cost of thinner. Some people just have more money than good sense.
3M Fastbond is certainly more expensive, but it's nicer to use...no VOCs and easy water clean up.
Basically, yes. You paint it on around the edges, position your fabric, the glue remains tacky enough to hold the fabric in place, once you have it where you want it you iron it in place. Best I can remember that's about it. There are some good videos on youtube for Stewarts and Superflight. In fact there are videos for just about every covering system known to mankind on youtube.
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