I just got my ST Salto that I won from Tower Hobbies tonight ( yay me!) anyways, I decided to protect the finish on the plane and used a good quality light weight packing tape. I have learned after many planes,how to over lap and how to do a pretty good job at covering foam. I wouldnt call it expert by any means but I could see that plane getting pretty dirty. Its really white. I wish Now I had done my Apprentice back when I first got back into flying. I think the tape really adds to the strength and defiantly prevents the dents and scratches. I tryed minwax poly coat thinking that would toughen up the finish on my Waco Biplane but no dice. It seals the paint and prevents the paint from getting dirty and stuff but it still chips. I was thinking of fiberglass especially on a glider and a nitro powered plane. I watched a review yesterday of a glider and the wings moved so much the pilot had to land it before he crashed it. I know that much action would cause the control surfaces to move whatever way the wings wobbled making it a very dangerous plane to fly. a perfect canidate for fiberglass,or the rubbish bin,lol.
The adhesive in packing tape will break down with fuel and the tape will come off. I have also done extensive fiberglass with laminates, lay-ups and molds. They are expensive. It is hard to make a smooth and lightweight surface without a vacuum bagging and Mylar system. It is also very slow. Just because I have become lazy and clear laminate is soooooooo easy. I use the clear laminate on almost everything I build.
+Crashtesthobby yup,thats why I dont fly nitro anyways. I did,years ago. I dont have any of the equipment to get back into it anyways,not that I couldnt. I took what I learned and had my own small engine shop for a long time. I still fix up and sell stuff for extra spending money but dont have my shop now. Most people are buying the weed eaters with lipo batterys instead of two stroke. I can see the daytwo strokes become a thing past. Thats unfortunate for guys like me.Those motors make great engines for scratch built planes,depending onwhat it is. Also swamp buggys and stuff.
I couldnt see if the foam beads were expanding or not. I dont like the reptile look some guys get using the laminating idea. I think using minwax over fiber glass is a good idea. I may try a cast off plane and see how well this works. I put a lot of effort into customizing my foam planes and would hate to screw it up at the end by covering it with something that makes it look cheap. I hate the fact its so easy to damage foam too. I think your idea doing a low temperature would be a better idea. gonna give it a try.....
You don't get the reptile look with EPP foam that you get with EPO bead foam. The surface isn't perfectly smooth with the laminate over EPP but it is good. All of our planes are made from EPP.
Yes there is a glue on one side that melts and attaches with heat. Its like a hot glue on a sheet. No other adhesive has to be applied to this particular laminate but that is not true with other laminates like Ultracoat or Monocoat on foam.
Thanks for the tips,will be lamming my wing soon.
Nice video on how to do it many thanks..
I just got my ST Salto that I won from Tower Hobbies tonight ( yay me!) anyways, I decided to protect the finish on the plane and used a good quality light weight packing tape. I have learned after many planes,how to over lap and how to do a pretty good job at covering foam. I wouldnt call it expert by any means but I could see that plane getting pretty dirty. Its really white. I wish Now I had done my Apprentice back when I first got back into flying. I think the tape really adds to the strength and defiantly prevents the dents and scratches. I tryed minwax poly coat thinking that would toughen up the finish on my Waco Biplane but no dice. It seals the paint and prevents the paint from getting dirty and stuff but it still chips. I was thinking of fiberglass especially on a glider and a nitro powered plane. I watched a review yesterday of a glider and the wings moved so much the pilot had to land it before he crashed it. I know that much action would cause the control surfaces to move whatever way the wings wobbled making it a very dangerous plane to fly. a perfect canidate for fiberglass,or the rubbish bin,lol.
The adhesive in packing tape will break down with fuel and the tape will come off. I have also done extensive fiberglass with laminates, lay-ups and molds. They are expensive. It is hard to make a smooth and lightweight surface without a vacuum bagging and Mylar system. It is also very slow. Just because I have become lazy and clear laminate is soooooooo easy. I use the clear laminate on almost everything I build.
+Crashtesthobby yup,thats why I dont fly nitro anyways. I did,years ago. I dont have any of the equipment to get back into it anyways,not that I couldnt. I took what I learned and had my own small engine shop for a long time. I still fix up and sell stuff for extra spending money but dont have my shop now. Most people are buying the weed eaters with lipo batterys instead of two stroke. I can see the daytwo strokes become a thing past. Thats unfortunate for guys like me.Those motors make great engines for scratch built planes,depending onwhat it is. Also swamp buggys and stuff.
Nice demo--thanks! Could you tell us what thickness laminate you use?
I couldnt see if the foam beads were expanding or not. I dont like the reptile look some guys get using the laminating idea. I think using minwax over fiber glass is a good idea. I may try a cast off plane and see how well this works. I put a lot of effort into customizing my foam planes and would hate to screw it up at the end by covering it with something that makes it look cheap. I hate the fact its so easy to damage foam too. I think your idea doing a low temperature would be a better idea. gonna give it a try.....
You don't get the reptile look with EPP foam that you get with EPO bead foam. The surface isn't perfectly smooth with the laminate over EPP but it is good. All of our planes are made from EPP.
Is the laminate impregnated with glue? Is this a special kind of laminate? What causes the laminate to bond?
Yes there is a glue on one side that melts and attaches with heat. Its like a hot glue on a sheet. No other adhesive has to be applied to this particular laminate but that is not true with other laminates like Ultracoat or Monocoat on foam.
We use 3 mil UV protected
Again, what thickness of laminate are you using?
do your wings come with the EZ connectors for the servo arms?
Yes they do. It has pushrods, motor mount, laminate, horns and EZ connectors
3 mil UV protected laminate.