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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Randy Powell on April 28, 2014, 12:32:51 PM
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So, I still have quite a bit, but is there any news on where to acquire silkspan these days? I may have to cave in and go polyspan or silk. EeeK!
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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
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Hello Randy
I know how it feel,I ran out of silkspan and the kit of the jetco Dolphin that I`m building came without silkspan. I went to a hobby shop 75 miles from where I live and I lucked out they had K&S SMG and 00. I have seen K&S silkspan on ebay but it always go for big bucks. Now I have all the silkspan that I need for my scratchbuilding.
Juan
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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. y1
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Wayne,
I suspect that's the way I'll have to go ... after I go through the 80 or so sheets of SGM an GM I have.
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Polyspan is better.
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I think that once you get used to using Polyspan Randy you'll wonder why you didn't start using it a long time ago. For open bay work, I simply won't use anything but anymore. I say bite the bullet next time around and start using it, save the silkspan you have for covering the solid areas. y1
I'm very confident that if the Avenger I've gotten ahold of had originally been covered with Polyspan I wouldn't have had to spend the last two months patching the silkspan damage it had. I for sure wouldn't have the hole I that just put in it myself last Sunday either. HB~>
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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
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Make sure the paper hasn't been used before trying it on an airplane.
F.C.
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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. :##
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I suspect that all my open bay areas will be getting Polyspan (a few Classic and OTS with silk), and the solid areas covered with Jap tissue.
BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM
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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
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What brand do you use? The weed barrier I've seen and the daughter used would not work on even a full scale plane.
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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
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John
the weed barrier was Menards "economy" weight. 3'x50' roll is $5.99 here in Indy. I have an open bay partial wing I am going to try and cover, will probably use SLC and polycrilic.
Steve
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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
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Almost any type of material put over a wood surface will add strength. Even Jap tissue. We used Jap tissue on our F2C racing planes as it was the lightest material of all that was available. We could even pick up the planes by the stab with out worry.
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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
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Rusty, silkspan definitely adds strength. You may or may not like the effect -- the wood grain will certainly show, but so will the silkspan. I have a couple of tissue-covered 1/2-A planes that I think look just dandy.
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Definitely will do a test piece. Thanks for the replies.
Rusty
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And you can dye the silkspan or shoot transparent paint over it to both show the wood grain and tint it.
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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. ;D
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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.
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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"?
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I checked on McKenzie Taxidermy Supply
http://www.mckenziesp.com/Search.aspx?k=silk+span
They do sell it ... dunno weight or dims ... for $1.75 I will buy it and report back.
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Oh- forgot to mention that it used as a covering for fish fins.
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Received the silk span (2 words in taxidermy) from McKenzie's. It is medium weight silkspan. Same as we used back in the day. It was only described as "span" on the website. I bought 4 units as it was $1.75 each- total $7.00. It came as a single piece folded measuring 2'wide x 12' long. So I assume if you buy just one it would be 2' x 3' I will cover a wing later to ensure that it shrinks. Grain runs lengthwise. My wife looked at it and said it called interfacing in sewing, seamstress deal. May be more sources than we thought.