JimO

My Feedback: (7)

Looks good, The helper is nice to have.

Like you have not had the time to do much on the Skyraider. Hope to get into the basement this weekend.

Jim

draftman1

I am almost done covering my citabria. do you sand between coats of poly? what kind of primer are you using? do you sand the primer then re-primer? what kind of paint? and will it be fuelproof? just a few questions, I wana get this right. thanks guys Andy

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

I did a light sanding between poly coats just to knock off any dust that stuck..
Then another light sanding before primer..
I used Kilz Latex primer.. 2 coats then wet sanded..
You have to wet sand Kilz or it'll just ball up and clog your paper.

I use a sponge sanding pad and a 99 cent bottle of glass cleaner..

Then your color coat.. latex. rattle can.. your choice.. I've also shot thinned rustolium from the 1/2 quart can using my Airbrush.
I use flat paints for the color coat.. They dry much quicker.

I think I'll try latex this time..

Final 2 coats are clear.. I like Valspar Water Based Exterior Spar Urethane.. After it's dried for a week or two it's fuel resistant..

Be sure to clean the oil off the plane within a few hours of flying or it'll get tacky.. If you forget it will firm up again when it dries out.

You could also try Nelsons Clear coat and add the cross linker.. it's fuel proof.
http://www.nelsonhobby.com/paint.html

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Well my color may be set.. I got a smokin deal on a gallon of Rustolium Yellow... $3.00

Found it on the Lowes Opps paint table.. Someone had dropped it and spilled a bit.. still more than 3/4 left..
I'll only need about 1/8th of that

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Not much progress.. I started with the primer on the control surfaces then had a small setback.. Small being about 2' tall 18 month old toddler terror..
He climbed on the table and somehow opened a sealed can of primer..

The little guy managed to paint himself, the table cloth, the chair and got some drops in the carpet..
It's a mess but I caught him in time to clean most of it up.. So now I'm stuck with only being able to paint in the garage (temp is about 40 deg right now) or at night after the kids go to bed..

On the bright side I get to pick up a new kit today.. 27% Cap 232..

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

More progress...

I got 2 coats of primer on everything but the wing..

Tonight I spent about 2 hours wet sanding everyting I had in primer..

It's looking good so far..

Hopefully tomorrow I'll primer the wing and cover the doors & hatches.. then more pics!

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Just wanted to say this thread isn't dead.. Just on hold..
We are moving to Washington in 2 weeks.
I hope nothing goes missing or gets damaged.

It's all ready for color.. I'm waiting till after the move since repairing any damage will be easier at this stage.

sebo

Good luck with your move.
I rented a U-Haul trailer and moved my planes and building materials in a single trip with it and then returned home for the rest of the stuff.
Nothing broken.

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Well we are going 1,200 miles.. a return trip would take 2-3 days round trip and cost $500 in gas..

warrior2

Where did you get the template for those instruments?

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Oh I just did a google image search for "decathlon instrument panel" and found that image.
I took that and scaled it to fit.

sebo

Here's my Nosen 40 Citabria. Covered with Century 21 Fabric and the cowl painted with Century 21 yellow.....a lousy match. The paint was old but it still should have come closer...then again, maybe the color of the fabric has changed!

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Nice.. I didn't see that before..

What motor did you use?

I'm finally starting to think about the building bench again after a long crazy summer..

Since June we moved from CO to WA, Crashed the kid's Eagle, brought my old Telemaster back from the attic grave so the kid could fly again, Started riding motorcycles, got the kinds into new schools, new job for me.. It's been nuts..

I got a nice bench setup and finally found all the parts for the Citabria last week..
I might have time to work on it again next weekend.. The wing still needs primer and sanding before I can shoot color.

sebo

Tower Hobbies .46. Haven't flown it yet. Need a flight pack.
I like to build and have a dozen aircraft ready for flight except for packs or engines.
I have 6 that are ready for the field.
Ron

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

It's baaaaack!!!




Yes after a 2 year hiatus I'm back to building.. 2 home moves, new job, and many other new things...
Amazing as it sounds the covering is holding up great.. no real signs of hanger rash after hanging on assorted walls for the last 2 years..




I picked up a few supplies.. 3 yards of Walmart's finest $2 pr yard dress liner and a can of PolyC.. Time to get busy


It didn't take long to lay down a coat of poly on the servo hatches, window and door frames.



That is all for tonight.. waiting for paint to dry and all... trim the fabric, iron down the edges and 2nd coat tomorrow..

JimO

My Feedback: (7)

Welcome back, still looks good as you said. Like you in the last two years, 2 moves, 2 houses and a new job here in sunny and warm Tallahassee Florida.

Seems you have not forgotten how to cover a plane.

JimO

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks good to be back..

I have to say I don't really like the dress liner I got from Walmart..
It's not as smooth as the stuff I got from Jo-Anns fabric store and it's not taking the polyC as nicely..

It still works but you have to work at getting the poly soaked into the fabric.. The stuff I used before had a little tighter weave and soaked it right up just laying the brush on..

I think I have a 40% off Jo-Ans coupon kicking around here somewhere I'll put to good use..

We'll see how it looks after the 2nd coat of poly is on.

Ohh one last wrinkle..

I'm thinking of swapping the Saito for a brushless outrunner..

JimO

My Feedback: (7)

An arrow to my heart, electric....... Bud Nosen is spinning in his grave.

Is the Liner 100% polyester, if not it is a bear to work with.

Jim

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

I haven't done it yet.. It's still setup for a Saito for now.

Yes.. the fabric is 100% poly.. Just not as easy to work with as the fabric store stuff..

KenChoo

Congrats on coming back to your project. I just came across this thread and saw your work with the cowl a couple years back. If you do stick with I/C (nitro), you might want to give thought to more opening for the cooling air to exhaust. Seems like it didn't have much - you're targeting about 3X the inlet area.

Cheers,
Ken

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Good point.. It probably wouldn't hut to add a divider to the cowl to divert the inlet air down around the cylinder instead of it just going over the top of the motor mount and out.

On the electric front.. How about this.. I'll keep this one a glow plane and then build the 105" Nosen Citabria as an electric anyone got a PDF of the plans?
It'll have to go in line after the 27% Cap 232 and the Byron P-51 builds.

105" I'll need a 12 yards of dress liner and a gallon of PolyC

JimO

My Feedback: (7)

Having built 2 of these, You really don't need to open the cowl anymore than normal or add diverters to it. I had the engine, Magnum 52, mounted sideways and the opeing for the cylinder head, plus an opening in the bottom of the cowl was more thatn enough to keep it cool. Never got super hot or quit because of heat.

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Had the flu the last few days so I didn't get much done..


Trimmed the parts and put on a 2nd coast of PolyC

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

Finally got 2 coats of primer on..


A quick comment on fabric
I've been to JoAnns and Hobby Lobby.. The dress liner they sell has a much tighter weave and feel compared the Walmart fabric..

I can already tell the Walmart stuff is going to be much harder to fill and didn't lay down to take poly as nicely as the better quality fabric..

Hobby Lobby and JoAnns want $4 a yard for liner vs $2 at WalMart but 40% off coupons are easy to get from either craft store so price isn't much of a factor.

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

3 coats of primer on the wing..

When it's had time to dry I'll break out the Windex and wet sand most of the primer off with 220.