Fabric Recommendations

[Jerry Carter]

The Stewart Systems web site sells 1.8 oz fabric 72" wide for $7.77 per yard. Aircraft Spruce has fabric 60-62" wide for 4.35 per yard. Are the extra 10" worth the price difference? Am I missing something? Looks like I'll need about 35 yards or so. I appreciate any recommendations.

[Sam Buchanan]

Jerry,
60" is wide enough to cover the wings. I used the Aircraft Spruce fabric.

[Hugh Sistrunk]

Jerry, 
I did not see which airplane you are building. But I agree with Sam B.  the 60" stuff is plenty wide enough for the wings. The only advantage to the 72 inch stuff may come in if you are covering a DE which is has the wider cabin.  I used the 1.8 oz 'Peel Ply' from Spruce and found it to work well with 3M Fastbond.  Hope this helps.  I used around 30 yds for my XL and had some large pieces left over (future patches??):-)

Hugh
NightEagle

[Jerry Carter]

Thanks Hugh and Sam. 60" from Spruce it is.

[Sam Buchanan]

One more thought on covering....plan on rib-stitching the vertical stabilizer. It has some large unsupported spans and propwash will cause the fabric on the stab to buffet if it isn't fastened down.

[Jerry Carter]

Thanks, Sam. I had planned to do that per your previous recommendation. Concerning Fastbond, is this the stuff you use, Hugh?

[Hugh Sistrunk]

Hi Jerry,
Yes, that is what I used.. I used the Green 30-NF, Green.. It also comes in Neutral.  I got mine from zorotools.com for $29.15 a quart -I bought two quarts and had just a little left for patches, dollies etc.   I think the Neutral would allow you to get away with less primmer.  I found the green took a bit of work to cover.  After getting the process steps down in my head, the Fastbond (Stewart) seemed to work well.  I understand it has been used for several years now on many different 'builds', so I have no reason to believe mine will not last a while also.  The green does allow you to see where you are getting good adhesion... So, If this is your first cover job, the green might make you feel better about good over all contact.  The Neutral would probably save you 1 coat of primmer and 1 of base paint, I think anyway.  I ended up using 2 cross coats of primmer and 2 cross coats of base paint, all white.  Just be aware that I think we are getting into an area where there could be a 'pissin' match start on the forum.  Glues always seem to get folks cranked up on here.  Some folks on other sites have researched and compared the Fastbond "MSDS?" specifications to the Stewart system extensively and found they matched.  I have used the Poly Fibre stuff on past projects with good results also, so just wanted to try something different on this one.
As always, in experimental class, the choice is yours as the builder and yours alone, it's your butt in the seat.  There is a lot of knowledge on this site and lots MORE advice :-) Heck, some of it is good stuff too.  Just continue to do your research and you will be fine.

[Jerry Carter]

Thanks for all the info. All good stuff. 

[rfeenstra]

Hugh is right about the glue color.  The green takes a lot more to hide.  If I were doing it again I'd use the neutral color throughout.  I used the neutral on the fuse and green on the wings.  The fuse covered much easier.