Randy ,

I just bought some medium weight from Brodak and covered my Imitation with it.  It worked but it is nowhere near the quality we used to get.  It has a rough side and a smooth side and I did not know it until I covered one side of the wing with the wrong side up.

Mike

 I'm not sure who actually made it, but my favorite has always been Sig medium silkspan. I hear it's no longer available though? Was it actually K&S product? I still have some, but not a whole bunch. Just for the heck of it I tried some Brodak medium a few years ago and didn't like it at all. It had a lot of pinhole type things in it, was inconsistent in weave(?) and thickness, and was no where near as strong as the Sig stuff. I think I gave away what I had left.
 
 FWIW, I've been using polyspan for quite a while now and very much prefer it for open bay work these days. Once you get the hang of using it it's great stuff, and WAY more durable once finished.

Polyspan is better.

  I have been in some public rest rooms in department stores lately, and the paper towel dispensers had what looks and feel to me like heavy weight silk span. Anybody else notice this? Sometimes it's perforated like regular paper towels, but the Target store I was in yesterday, it was a continuous roll. I'll have to go back and get a sample and see which way the grain runs and play with it some.
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

  I have been in some public rest rooms in department stores lately, and the paper towel dispensers had what looks and feel to me like heavy weight silk span.  I'll have to go back and get a sample and see which way the grain runs and play with it some.
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

 Whoah.

My father wa sover several weeks ago while I was putting the topsoil in a raised bed. He thought the weed barrier I was using was heavier version of silkspan. Has anyone ever attempted using this fabric on a airframe?
Steve

I don't have a label on what I have left. I'm sure it was from Menards or Lowes. I have to run some errands tomorrow, will see if they still carry the same. Can someone tell me the dimension and weight of a piece of silkspan, I'll weigh this barrier and see if it is close.

Steve

I have been silkspanning the fuselage and tail feathers on my last two profiles. If I can determine a grain direction, I run it long ways and have been applying it with water based polycrilic before painting and fuelproofing. I like how it makes for a nice smooth finish and looks naked before painting, but does the silkspan add any strength to the fuselage?

I'm about to finish a Skyray with Minwax polyurethane for the bare wood look and no paint. I'd like the added strength if the silkspan really helps, but if not, I'll skip the silk on this one.  Besides, someone told me I would not get the bare wood look I want with span and urethane like I do with P'crilic anyway. Is that true? What are y'all's thoughts on that? Strength and wood grain look with Urethane are my top concerns.
Rusty

Hi Rusty,

Just do a test panel with a scrap piece of wood!  The silkspan does add some strength and by doing these test panels you can see different effects the different materials create.

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

Definitely will do a test piece. Thanks for the replies.
Rusty

Randy, Polyspan is the same as far as dyed paint goes.  HOK candy concentrate, just like Pete uses on his Polyspan.  My Chizler was the same.  True enough, it doesn't take dye or stains either for that matter.  Also, it is nearly bat-proof.   

A friend told me he got some heavy silkspan form a taxidermy supply. I don't know what they use it for but he said it seemed to be like regular silkspan.

Did they call it "silkspan"?

Oh- forgot to mention that it used as a covering for fish fins.