Hey spent a chunk of last night sheeting lib. Happy with most of the sheeting execpt for the very end of the ship. I keep getting pull away. Im not sure what is the problem. The contact cement is working i think. its bonding to it self but will is not stay attached to the boat. for each succesful piece ive gotten on the ship there is two or three failed attempts. not my greatest work lol
I had a some minor difficulty using the contact cement also. Best advice I can give is to make sure you allow ample time for it dry before applying the balsa, and make sure both surfaces that contact one another are completely covered with as even of a coat as possible. I did spend about an hour pressing my balsa down to the ribs and other mating surfaces.... Over and over and over again...
Hello It's me again. Just uploading some pic of the sheeting. Front Back Now here is the problem area My solution is to cut to the next rib, clean that area as best as i can. Without damaging the balsa wood. And try reattaching new siding. I hope it works. Side note what is the best way to stop minor leaks?
It looks real good aside from the problem area you pointed out, which isn't terrible... I would try to find a way to get the current sheeting to stick and only cut away and reapply as a very last resort. You may have a bit of a difficult time getting the sheeting on nice if you only have one rib and the stern to adhere to. Did you seal the inside of the balsa and water proof the ribs and hull before you applied the contact cement? Mine looked very similar to yours while I was trying to sheet it. I spent around 2 hours applying pressure and re sticking it down until the contact cement had cured enough to hold it. Maybe I didn't quite do it right myself. I'm wondering if you could just brush some more cement between the 2 pieces as it sits, let it dry good and then try to re stick it down?
I got it fixed last night, had to remove the sheet two ribs back as Cannnonman suggested, as a last resort. Was possible tired because my first attempted, I set the pieces upside down. Yea I was pissed after being happy how everything was going. That being said, I did a quick leak test and failed it. My question is what the best/easy way to fix these leaks. The glues i have are contact cement, E6000, varnish, and west system epoxy for fibreglassing. Looking forward to seeing her float soon. One More Thing. I want to know if anyone has use spray paint, instead of regular paint to paint your ships?
Apply contact cement to both surfaces. Wait minimum 5 minutes. 10 is better. Carefully position balsa, (without touching) then press together. There should be no need to hold the balsa in position if you wait for the contact cement to dry. Keith
I have gotten most of the leaks fixed. I have a few very slow leaks still. Im hoping to spray paint the first coat tomorrow. Question is there anywhere that shows how to water proof the ESC? I believe I know how to water proof servo and receiver.
Usually the ESC is waterproofed by applying scotchkote. Some use a waterproof box or container. Some have tried another form of a conformal coating, but the general consensus is that Scotchkote is best. I spray painted Uritski... See near the end of my build thread for results. Worked real good. I had put my silkspan on the outside of the balsa, so it was sealed well and would not soak up the paint. Then a few coats of primer, sand smooth, then paint. I'm not sure, but some clubs may specify what is acceptable to use for a coating.
I would think that if you are allowed by rules to apply an exterior coat of tissue that it would seal any leaks around the balsa if you use a good coat or two of dope to it... Not sure how best to control leaks other than that, I was lucky and didn't have any.
Well this weekend built session can be summarized as take one step forward and two step backwards. Painted the hull but miss mesaured the sten on one side, so going to have to sand it then reapply the paint. Got most of the electronics in, still need to figure out how to setup the ecs card with the card i got. Tried to test the servo and rudder reliazed the servo is to high, and the connector i build for rudder can not be installed do to lack of room to tighten the screws.
Hey I got lib in the water and got her moving about. Lib first few moments in the water. She is way to light so i add some wieght. She truly is a transport ship. but she close to her water line messed up the water line on stern on one side. And of course her maiden dip.
