Hi I am putting a ARF super clown together for my nephew. He is a beginner, (and in the event that the plane does last a while), I was wondering about sealing the fuse/wing joint to try and keep out any fuel or oil. This is my first ARF and I am not used to working with pre-covered componets. Any ideas or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Dave R.

Dave,

When you remove the strip of covering at the center of the wing, remove ONLY that which is necessary for the fuse to have wood-to-wood contact with the wing.  Apply a couple of strips of masking tape to the wing center section, leaving the bare wood + about 1/16 inch of the remaining covering on each side of the bare wood exposed.

Use 600 grit paper or fine scotchbrite to lightly scuff the two 1/16 inch strips of covering so that the epoxy will stick a bit better.  Then, jig up the wing/fuse assembly so that everything is lined up and tack glue with a a few small drops of thick or medium CA. 

After the CA cures (it may take a few minutes), carefully turn the assembly over and tack a few places on the bottom side.  You can then apply 30 min. epoxy with the assembly positioned so that the epoxy will seep down into the joint.  Don't pour the epoxy on--use a little so that you can make it go where you want it.  I use a narrow strip of plastic electrical tape stuck to one side of the fuse/wing joint to keep the epoxy from running through the joint--just seal the joint with the strip of tape.

After the epoxy cures, remove the tape and apply epoxy to the side where the tape had been.  With care, you can make small radius fillets with the epoxy and the covering will be seen through the clear epoxy.

Sounds complicated but really isn't........hope this helps a bit.

Cheers,
Jim

Mike,

I use as little epoxy as I can to get a small natural fillet--no sanding, maybe just a little smoothing with an alcohol wet finger before the epoxy cures.

Cheers,
Jim