Recovering a T

[usav8or]

Anyone out there who is restoring, or has recently restored a T-craft, able to let me know the cost of recovering it? Material, paint, etc.

thanks
Jerry
'46 BC12D
96434

[jgerard]

Re: Recovering a T

AFS in montana has been quoteing about 2K for materials and paint. (2-tone) Don't forget to add extra for all those little things you will want to replace like pullys, cables, hardware, stringers, ect

Jason
N43643

[alwaysoar]

Re: Recovering a T

The local Ceconite expert here says 3K for dope and fabric.

[Wayne]

Re: Recovering a T

I paid almost 3k for my kit from Aircraft Technical Support not counting paint. Thats just all the covering materials and silver.

Wayne

[usav8or]

Re: Recovering a T

Thanks for the responses. It looks like I will probably recover and paint this coming fall/winter. For the cracking and popping paint I have with the existing polyurethane, can I fix these areas and then paint them again? If so, how?

thanks
Jerry
'46 BC12D
96434

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Recovering a T

Mask off the area and MEK the old finish off then re-finish the affected area in accordance with finishing system instructions. Do not breathe MEK. Do not touch MEK with bare skin.

OR:

A temporary patch can be made using "fast calc" or clear monokote. These are hobbyshop items used on model aircraft. You are essentially putting a clear decal over the cracked/ring-wormed area. This will keep moisture out and hold the old finish in place until you are ready to do a proper re-cover.

Next time around consider using dope or polytone and avoid the cracking that nearly always accompanies urethane finishes. -- just my opinion now that I have used urethane twice and have it crack - twice.

[Jim Herpst]

Re: Recovering a T

Mark You are giving me some usefull bovine dung there ol boy . SOO ole Dope or Polytone ARE the products to use ? I need this info badly as I was about to make the same mistake and use some kind of urethane (like a brand of Aerothane. ) Cracks in the wrong places are bad !! If your experience with Urethane are bad .......well heads up. One question though (actually two) what type of Urethane did ya use and what did you put it over? (Ie was it a process from scratch or was it a urethane over something else?) I do know for a fact that a huge difference in the end result can be made there.

Want the answers to my question but back to the thread question... You best plan on spending $4500 doing it yourself. This should give you enough to squirt the metal stuff too with your finish .

[crispy critter]

Re: Recovering a T

Jim,
Before you buy,check out the Super Flight process.They offer both dope and urethane finishes but they claim thier urethane will never crack,peel,or flake.It also has the same repair process as dope and it is completely self leveling(if you get a run it will disappear as it dries....unless it is a very bad run,then you just let it dry,sand it out and simply respray the area).Thier dope finishes are about half the cost of the anyone else and their urethane is about the same cost as the others dope finish.

[Jim Herpst]

Re: Recovering a T

Kevin , Thanks I am all ears here as I really do not have a clue. Is Superflight Hmmm I have seen their ads I believe. Anyone have a contact? Also Kevin I take it you have or are using? If so how long have you seen it last (yours or another plane) Sounds like it is fairly easy to work with (forgiving). Doesen't it have a really nice high luster (almost plastic I call it wet look?)
Jim

[mulwyk]

Re: Recovering a T

Try www.Superflite.com

My objection to the urethane paint is the poisonous nature of the stuff. I don't want to get sick from restoring my T.

Bob Gustafson

[flyguy]

Re: Recovering a T

When it comes to final finish, you can have a SHOW plane, or you can have a GO plane; I've never seen a paint-type final finish, of any kind, that didn't crack. Don't let'em B.S. you, THERE AIN'T NO FLEXIBLE PAINT!
All three of my BC12's have had paint on them, but I didn't put it there, and it always cracked.
One way that works to fix cracks is to peel off the loose part, sand the edges and get some silver of your choice on it. Keep the Sun off the dacron and it will last longer than the parts under it. That is realy all that counts. Everything after the silver coat is your choice, some stuff will stick and some will not. Oh, yeah, sand the plastic stuff off the paint edges before you final coat or it will peel right off, taking the top coat with it.
As far as a new final finish what I am saying is that if you use only a finish that is the same as the bottom coats, that is a flexible plastic coating,it is a lot less likely to crack and if it does you can just sand it, slap some more of the same stuff on, and go flying. It won't peel off and it will protect the dacron, it just may not be glassy shiny perfect, that's all.
You can always paint the cowling and other metal parts with candy-apple metal-flake-automotive-whatever until they sparkle like some kids pocket-rocket Honda, if that is your pleasure.
Please excuse the essay, painted fabric, from 25 years of painful experince, is one of my real pet peeves.
Darryl

[crispy critter]

Re: Recovering a T

Darryl,
I don't mean to disagree but have you used the new superflight system or seen it used?I have also used stits,polyfiber,and ceconite(I always liked ceconite dope process...still do)but the superflight system is completely different from anything I have ever used before.I made several test pieces and tested their glue,primer,dope,and urathane on metal and fabric.After hanging from the west side(where the sun is always the hottest)of my hanger beneath a leaking gutter the .020 piece of leading edge skin will bend in a break and not crack the metal primer,the 2 pieces of fabric that I glued together are unsepratable,both the dope and urathane finishes will still fold like a piece of notebook paper and did not crack or peal.
Bob,
All the processes are poisnous when applying if you breath them and some are just to the touch.Agreed some are worse than others,MEK for example,is about the worst and that is the only down fall I have to the superflight system because they thin everthing with MEK.However,none of them are harmful once they dry.
I'm NOT putting down any other process because I like some of them as well.I just want to let you all know how impressed I am with superflight.Don't knock it until you've tried it.

[flyguy]

Re: Recovering a T

Things are always improving. It is just that I have heard so much B.S. about additives to automotive paints and urethane and zylothane and whateverthane to make them flexible and people use them and then they crack. Maybe a few years in the sun and anything will crack. Maybe even the plastic based stuff, like polytone will crack. My feelings are, as I have said, at least the plastic stuff is easier to repair if it is damaged for what ever reason. If there is something new and better I'm perfectly happy to let someone else spend 3 or 4 thousand to check it out

Kevin, glad to hear someone is testing the new stuff. I would like to know more about at least the cement. I'm always looking for better ways to stick things together.
I would like to run some tests on whether polytone black could be used in place of silver as a UV block underneath a light color. My visual experience is that "carbon" black paint stops everything. I doubt UV would be an exception. Might not be much of a sander-sealer, but aluminum powder tends to drop out, thin, or spread at the slightest provacation.
Just a thought.
Darryl

[jgerard]

Re: Recovering a T

http://www.aircraftfinishing.com/fabric-aircraft.htm

Worth looking into if you are going to test stuff out. I can send you a sample of fabric that I did my self. I sent a sample piece through the washing machine and it came out fine. Then I put it in the dishwasher and it showed no deterioration either. I have some pieces glued to the side of the hangar, and in the freezer also. I have worked with all sorts of different covering systems in the past and after trying AFS it's now my favorite. I will continue to use AFS from now on. Fast, clean, and simple to use. Best part is... NO STINKY FUMES!!!

Jason
N43643

[flyguy]

Re: Recovering a T

I looked at the AFS site a while back and since I wasn't doing a project I just forgot about them. I'll have to check them out again, as not having to inhale fumes sounds like a great idea.
Just now I'm limited to patching what I have with "poly stuff" and paint.
It's amazing how much combined experience and knowledge there is in this group.
Darryl