WW1 linen style covering

[Basil]

Hi, I've been away from modeling for quite awhile. I am looking for a covering for the 'Dawn flyer', ww1 plane, that looks the part. Any suggestions.

Regards Barry.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

With the demise of Solartex which would have been most people's choice, there is Oratex but it's quite a bit pricier. Maybe time to consider a return to traditional doped fabric finishes? Nylon produces an amazingly strong covering for example...there are/were? commercially available products such as SIG Koverall, which is heat shrinkable, that might be worth investigating.

[brokenenglish]

If you want something that really looks authentic, for either scale or vintage, then it has to be traditional nylon/silk/dope.

The big problem with all industrially produced iron-ons is their uniformity. Not only is your vintage or WWI biplane exactly the same shade as everyone else's. But your own plane covering is totally uniform.

Now if there's one thing that real vintage models and WWI planes didn't have, it's a uniform finish. With dope, the planes have a naturally non-uniform finish, that can be enhanced by all sorts of little dodges (a drop of wood colouring varnish for example), and it's easy to get something that looks really authentic, wrinkles and all...

[Geoff S]

I have sufficient Solartex for the wings of my Sopwith Pup and I've bought some Oratex for the fuselage - which will be blue as per the trainer aircraft I'm representing - just to be different. So my particular Pup will not be the same shade as everyone else's

For me, using a traditional nylon or silk covering with dope is a problem because of the smell and the fumes. My wife is very tolerant but my workshop is an extension built onto the house and has a door into the living room. She would (understandably) object strongly if I used dope. She complains mildly if I use a paint spray can. So I guess it's Oratex for me in the future. In any case my 'scale' models are definitely sport scale and don't stand close expert scrutiny nor are they intended to.

Geoff

[barryt]

Google lightweight Vilene interfacing. Glue and shrink with dope. Does not shrink much with heat. Compound curves easily covered. Cost effective and worth experimenting with. Available at haberdasheries. Consult wife for further info.

[David Davis]

This guy covered his Cumulus in polyester dress lining and sealed it with dope.

Others have suggested covering the flying surfaces with mylar or doculam first then doping the silk, nylon or other woven material on top of it. That way you'll use far less dope and have an even stronger covering but if it were me I'd use Antique Oratex on a sports model like a Dawn Flyer.

[cymaz]

Covering the Giant Mannock with THIS

[Scott Edwards 2]

Posted by cymaz on 25/11/2019 17:30:28:

Covering the Giant Mannock with THIS

You can get JP Nylon at a fraction of the price on eBay. Search for "40gsm Nylon Ripstop".

[Bryan Lea]

Free flight scale modellers use silk from Harrington Fabric and Lace. Google the website. If you ask they will send a sample of silk number 4202 before you buy. Covering first with tissue or mylar avoids the use of too much dope.

[paul d]

Posted by barryt on 25/11/2019 15:04:25:

Google lightweight Vilene interfacing. Glue and shrink with dope. Does not shrink much with heat. Compound curves easily covered. Cost effective and worth experimenting with. Available at haberdasheries. Consult wife for further info.

Sounds interesting! can it be died with fabric die? or do you add colour with dope etc?

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Guest]

I too have covered some models in doped polyester dress lining. The material does shrink a little bit with a hot iron - before doping. Dope continues the shrink. The lining comes in various weights, the lighter more open weave needing a lot of dope. result is quite heavy. For vintage models,I am now using doped polyester chiffon over mylar/doculam - material is very light and mylar reduces amount of dope needed. Some more info re doped dress lining on RCGroups vintage forum and some photos of my models in my blog on RCgroups here **LINK**

larger photos of my avatar - chiffon/mylar covered scaled up Vagabond are al;so in my blog

 

Edited By John Laird on 26/11/2019 09:02:30

Edited By John Laird on 26/11/2019 09:04:58

[barryt]

Hi paul d. I think polyester is difficult to dye. Polyester is basically a type of plastic which will not absorb dyes meant for natural fibres. There may be specialised dyes available. Once I have sealed the polyester, I used a grey plastic etch primer and finished with a silver / grey top coat, both from rattle cans.

[paul d]

Thank you, I may try some, apologies for spelling 'dye' incorrectly!! I'm frankly awful at spelling....

[Bob Cotsford]

Wouldn't these dyes work ok with the polyester fabrics for the vintage look?

[barryt]

Hi Bob, yes it looks like these products would work, but where I live they would push up the project price considerably. Besides, I can't see my wife allowing me to boil a couple of square meters of polyester in her kitchen.for an hour. I get dirty looks just wandering around the house smelling of dope!

[Guest]

Polyester fabrics come in a variety of colours from fabric shops in the high street/online and there is no need to dye unless trying to match a particular colour.

[PatMc]

Posted by barryt on 26/11/2019 16:50:42:

Hi Bob, yes it looks like these products would work, but where I live they would push up the project price considerably. Besides, I can't see my wife allowing me to boil a couple of square meters of polyester in her kitchen.for an hour. I get dirty looks just wandering around the house smelling of dope!

Steep it in a pot of strong(ish) black coffee overnight then wash it with cold water & let it dry..

[Edgeflyer]

I have found lightweight polyester takes colour well, using fabric paints which are as thin as ink.

[Maurice Dyer]

My two pennies worth. Still using nylon, tissue and dope. Never found anything better.

[brokenenglish]

Posted by Maurice Dyer on 30/11/2019 19:48:56:

My two pennies worth. Still using nylon, tissue and dope. Never found anything better.

+1

[jeff2wings]

Is this the sort of thing you are after ???

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Simon Feather]

Or, is this the sort of thing you are looking for?

This is a model I am recovering, a 60" ME109. I'm trying out lightweight Ceconite, which has been around for years as a lightweight aircraft fabric. I'm using the uncertified grade, which is used in the full size world on microlights and gliders. It's a heat shrink fabric weighing 1.87 oz per sq. yard, and quite strong.

it's just the fabric - so like the other fabrics discussed here, you have to glue it, shrink it, then dope to fill the weave, then a coat of primer then paint as you like. As you can see from the above, it goes round corners a treat. I used Balsaloc then ironed it on just like Solartex, ever so easy (woodworking PVA also works well).

Comes from here:

**LINK**

it's £7.98 a yard - but a yard is 70" wide, and I used just over a yard to recover this 60" bird.

The downside if ordering from above is the postage - they send it rolled on a long tube, so it incurs a hefty courier charge. But if you're happy for them to fold it, postage is a lot cheaper...it shrinks quite aggressively so creases should iron out ok. I'll try that on some scraps next time I'm in the workshop.

I'm a convert!

[Danny Fenton]

Just been around the block twice looking at various silks over tissue on my Fury thread if anyone is interested. Various silks, chiffons and polyester chiffon. I use it over tea bag tissue and dope.

Cheers

Danny