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Lightweight filler from DIY stores seems to have changed!


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To save money and save weight on your plane--don't use filler but to 'fill' any dents in balsa- drip a drop of water into the dent and just leave . Just one drop right into the dent.    Maybe a second try if the first is not sufficient.  It will probably just remove the dent as if by magic!

 

If there is a split or missing bit of balsa then insert a sliver of balsa and a drip of cyano instead of any filler then sand when dry. Lighter, cheaper and probably invisible.

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50 minutes ago, kc said:

If there is a split or missing bit of balsa then insert a sliver of balsa and a drip of cyano instead of any filler then sand when dry. Lighter, cheaper and probably invisible.

While I normally agree with KC, I am afraid this time I am going to disagree.

 

Please do not use cyano with slithers of balsa infill, use PVA or similar. Cyano will make the wood very hard and make sanding it down flat quite difficult.

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i use  the No Nonsense from screwfix cheep and good but for  something harder I use the light body filler from the car world as Big Boy Lightweight Body Filler and as above if you infill with balsa use a aliphatic glue as easer sanding

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7 hours ago, kc said:

To save money and save weight on your plane--don't use filler but to 'fill' any dents in balsa- drip a drop of water into the dent and just leave . Just one drop right into the dent.    Maybe a second try if the first is not sufficient.  It will probably just remove the dent as if by magic!

Try applying a covering iron to the dampened spot - the expansion of the water in the fibres often lifts dents completely.

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Having tried most of the above which does not always stick well to balsa I now always use my copy of some stuff which used to be made in Germaany.

Mix lots of Super Lightweight Fairing Compound from Bucks Composites with a little Halfords polyester resin then mix this a little at a time with hardener; you need to experiment to get it right for the required setting time (about 2mins). It sticks to anything, is very light and easy to sand.

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