[ChuckAuger]

That should be fine...if you're going for the stucco effect

(I sure hope you're joking)

 

[PaulSwany]

I'm thinking you're going to need some serious primer if you're going to paint over that....

 

[3d-aholic]

Well the picture you see is before sanding...but it really looks much worse than it feels. That picture is like 2 inches away...so its almost like a microscope view.

But, I'm figuring 3-4 thick coats of primer, sanding between coats.

Stucco...huh.

Also...

I did use Bondo in some places to cover defects and I didn't have any trouble with it setting up on top of the resin...its not that easy to work with though. Crap sets in 3 minutes and tends to spread like clay.

 

[Wind Junkie]

I think I'd just go for the Evercoat Glaze now:

http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=184

It will save a LOT of primer. This stuff spreads like runny cake frosting and sands much better than bondo, but it's not quite as strong. I use it for easy 1 finger fillets on PSS slope models. It feathers great.

 

[3d-aholic]

I think I'd just go for the Evercoat Glaze now:

Any idea where you get this....they don't see to have this at PepBoys or the other auto/car parts stores? Do you have to order it online somewhere?

 

[Balsa Steel]

Stop by a body shop in your area. They will know what it is and where to get it.

 

[3d-aholic]

I found it....Car Quest if anyone ever needs this stuff.

 

[3d-aholic]

Thanks everyone.

Balsa, you need to glass in a strengthen spot in the center of the cowl. My cowl is now 100% stronger...I can't believe the difference. Night and Day and the fiberglass is not even dry yet nor is it on both sides of the ring joint. It does not really flex anymore at all anymore. I think thats 90% of the problem with these cowls...and the weight penalty is maybe 1-2 ounces worse case not counting the reduction in paint which I hope evens things out completely if it doesn't bring me ahead. I'll post pictures in the other thread when I'm done.

 

[PaulSwany]

I think I'd just go for the Evercoat Glaze now:

Any idea where you get this....they don't see to have this at PepBoys or the other auto/car parts stores? Do you have to order it online somewhere?

You can thin bondo.... You also probably put in too much hardener.... You can also heat it with a heat gun to get it to flow a little better... My dad used to be a pro with that stuff... Could fix anything!

 

[moter]

Just run without a cowl...by the time you get that cowl finished flying season wil be over!! Plus with the added weight you wil have to sell the motor you have and buy a Da-100 :roll: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[3d-aholic]

Plus with the added weight you wil have to sell the motor you have and buy a Da-100 :roll: :rofl: :rofl:

:roll:
It took 2 ounces of fiberglass resin to reinforce this....so its going to probably be right at 2 ounces of weight after curing. Most of the plastic reinforcing baffle will be cut away so it will add negligible weight and will add an engine baffle to channel the air which in the Texas heat is a good thing.

My cowl is going to weigh less than yours...you have 50+ coats of epoxy pool paint on yours just like mine did to try and hide the fact the thing isn't built right. My cowl now has "0" flex...zilch The weight of my cowl was cut in half after removing all that crap. The paint is literally 1/8+ inch plus...and Epoxy paint is heavy.

Those cracks you have on yours are going to be all over your cowl before you know it. If I were you, after spending $700 on a plane, I would send my cowl back even with the smallest crack and tell them send another cowl. In fact, keeping sending cowls until there is not even the tinyest of cracks in them.

Since your going to have to mail away for a couple of new cowls....mine will probably be done before your new one arrives. :twisted:

 

[3d-aholic]

You can thin bondo.... You also probably put in too much hardener.... You can also heat it with a heat gun to get it to flow a little better... My dad used to be a pro with that stuff... Could fix anything!

Yeh, the bondo is definetly a skill. I already sprung for some of this glaze and its virtually pourable...so it will be easier I think. I have to give them an ounce of gold for it though. BTW, how do you make bondo "thinner" what solvent?

 

[PaulSwany]

That's the thing.... My dad just ad this silver can of clear liquid he poured into the bondo to thin it a little.... Don't remember what it was or where he got it...

 

[ChuckAuger]

I think Bondo is polyester based, you can thin polyester with phenol. Of course phenol is probably some sort of controlled substance or something..

We had to thin some glass filled polyester tank coating years ago and phenol is what we got off the fiberglass tank plant up the road.

I bet Rumple could tell ya..

 

[moter]

Plus with the added weight you wil have to sell the motor you have and buy a Da-100 :roll: :rofl: :rofl:

:roll:
It took 2 ounces of fiberglass resin to reinforce this....so its going to probably be right at 2 ounces of weight after curing. Most of the plastic reinforcing baffle will be cut away so it will add negligible weight and will add an engine baffle to channel the air which in the Texas heat is a good thing.

My cowl is going to weigh less than yours...you have 50+ coats of epoxy pool paint on yours just like mine did to try and hide the fact the thing isn't built right. My cowl now has "0" flex...zilch The weight of my cowl was cut in half after removing all that crap. The paint is literally 1/8+ inch plus...and Epoxy paint is heavy.

Those cracks you have on yours are going to be all over your cowl before you know it. If I were you, after spending $700 on a plane, I would send my cowl back even with the smallest crack and tell them send another cowl. In fact, keeping sending cowls until there is not even the tinyest of cracks in them.

Since your going to have to mail away for a couple of new cowls....mine will probably be done before your new one arrives. :twisted:

What is your "Time" worth? I mean spending countless hours on repairing..rebuilding something that maybe some day will look good...i said maybe I dont doubt your skills but think about the amount of effort you have JUST in the cowl. You havent even mounted the motor, or tryed to setup the rear stab.....or lets say Recover this bird, like you said you wanted to.

You get what you pay for when you purchase a plane like this.

 

[3d-aholic]

Its worth it to me to have a one of a kind looking bird.....
Sometimes you just don't want a clone and for the investment in a 50cc class plane I just don't want to have a cookiecutter.

There are very few 50cc cover yourself planes, and when I priced it, only found one vendor and they only knocked $50 off of the cover yourself model...

Its me...just the way I am. I have an independent streak in me.

I don't really like to build...but I hate ARF's...if that makes any sense. :?

BTW, it hasn't been that much effort really...I probably have an hour or two into it....between doing other things. I'll spend a lot more time pulling covering and recovering than I ever will on this cowl.

 

[Scat-r-d]

I don't use "Bondo" anymore since I found out about Evercoat Rage Extreme body filler. It has a slower curing time during which it flows out and most of the air bubbles excape. You end up with a nice filler that is lighter than "Bondo" but just as durable and much much easier to sand!!

That's what I've been using on the sheet metal for the new scooter and it's a great product. Once it's filled and sanded and just about perfect I put a coat of Evercoat Metal Glaze over it for final sanding and it's ready for primer and paint. If you use the metal glaze be very careful with how thick you put it on. It's a bitch to sand if you leave it too thick, but makes an awesome smooth surface when put on thin and sanded.

Rage Extreme

Metal Glaze

 

[Wind Junkie]

That's the thing.... My dad just ad this silver can of clear liquid he poured into the bondo to thin it a little.... Don't remember what it was or where he got it...

I wonder if it was "styrene monomer?" That's what Fiber Glast recommends for thinning polyester resins.

Evercoat is tits. If it didn't have a shelf life, everyone should have a bottle in their shop. As it is, I buy a new one every year it seems and the old one is only half empty when it gets too hard to squirt.

 

[ChuckAuger]

That's the thing.... My dad just ad this silver can of clear liquid he poured into the bondo to thin it a little.... Don't remember what it was or where he got it...

I wonder if it was "styrene monomer?" That's what Fiber Glast recommends for thinning polyester resins.

.

Yeah, major brain fart here. I don't know how I made the jump to "phenol", but it was definitely styrene. I asked the guys yesterday about phenol and they looked at me like I had 2 heads. Asked them about styrene this morning and it's like, "yeah, we use the stuff all the time".

 

[3d-aholic]

Thats why you can't use it on Styrofoam....it melts it.

All I know is that Styrene is some nasty crap....might throat hurts from "indirect" inhalation....it makes Acetone look like a fragrance.