I've always used ca glue to attach balsa to fiberglass hulls but it's a pain to remove - I've spent 4 hours gradually removing it from HMS Cumberland's hull with acetone and it's only 3/4 done. I've see both Weldwood and E6000 mentioned as alternatives. Which do you prefer and which is easier to remove for resheeting?
I apply the silk-span to the balsa with a 60/40 mix, weldwood/mek, then attach it to the hull with a 80/20 mix. When the boat is wet after the last battle, remove the balsa then, peals right off, Marty taught us that trick. Takes about 20 minutes to de-sheet the whole boat.
Small amount, but it acts as the prep layer for the next sheeting. Just use a quick coat of thinned Wildwood. IE, agree with DJR and Marty. If it builds up too much, a scraping or use of an oscillating sander makes quick work of it.
Oscillating sander! Sounds like there's as much work involved in removing weldwood as ca glue. I paint acetone on the ca (outdoors) and scrape it off when it has softened. Tedious but the hull needed only a bit of sanding with wet 180 grit and did minimal damage to the gelcoat. I've heard that E6000 is hard to pull off a hull though it remains flexible to some degree. I don't know how messy it is to apply or how well it works on complex curves like a Kent/Canarias bulged hull.
E6000 peels of with a finger. It can be time consuming but no power tools or chemicals are required. As far as going on, nothing simpler. Spread a bead (right from the tube, no mixing with MEK required). Press the panel on and pull back off. Spread the glue around on both pieces, let tack a bit, and press back on. More curvy areas might require tape or clamping till the glue sets. Next day, run a small bead along the edge of the balsa for ultimate bonding and water proofness. For a cruiser that won't see a re-sheet job for years, E6000, why not? Scroll down to see my Mogador skinned with E6000: https://rcwarshipcombat.com/threads/mogador-build-fastgun.441895/page-5 ...
I have used the oscillating sander to remove super glue. Done in minutes if you control the contact patch. A key component for me is priming the hull before applying, that way as I remove material I can see when I am close to the gel coat. Weldwood is by far the easiest for me, put coats on the hull and the balsa - let dry and then stick together.
