Just started covering with silk..

[Pat]

I just started covering my Collosus with silk. MAN I love this. I may never go back to silk span!

Pat

[Randy Ryan]

I just started covering my Collosus with silk. MAN I love this. I may never go back to silk span!

Pat

Ahhhhh, a convert!

[Jim Thomerson]

I have about decided the same thing, even on 1/2A airplanes.

[Bill Little]

Silk has a few positives over silkspan, not the least of which is durability.  Much harder to poke a hole in it!  About on par with polyspan. 

Bill

[dennis lipsett]

Silk has a few positives over silkspan, not the least of which is durability.  Much harder to poke a hole in it!  About on par with polyspan. 

Bill

But can cost 2X as much per package.

Dennis

[Paul Wescott]

Is anybody here buying silk in bulk to avoid the high price of silk repackaged for model airplane use?

Can someone who HAS done so provide details of what to buy and maybe a link?

Paul W.

[Howard Rush]

www.thaisilks.com/‎ , www.dharmatrading.com/‎

[Randy Ryan]

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

[david beazley]

Both sites show different silks. Which is best for models?

[Rick Bollinger]

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3374-AA.shtml

[Howard Rush]

Dharma has nice dye, too.

[Andrew Tinsley]

Howard is correct!
The colours are vibrant and so far it has proved to be UV fast. Mind you we don't get your hot sun in the UK! I always cover with the very thin mylar that the free flight guys use. It takes a bit of practice but worthwhile as you don't need much dope to seal the silk. It produces a very light and strong covering and looks good with the Dharma dye. Not concourse, but very old time authentic looking!

Andrew.

[Gene O'Keefe]

Yep, silk is my "preferred" covering for strength and long lasting - still flying a Super Chipmunk I covered with silk back in 1979 !

[pipemakermike]

The colours are vibrant and so far it has proved to be UV fast. I always cover with the very thin mylar that the free flight guys use. It takes a bit of practice
Andrew.

Hi Andrew
Could you talk me through the covering process as I am just about to use silk for the first time.  What do you use to fix the mylar?  Is silk best put on wet like nylon?  Where do you source your silk in the UK?

[EddyR]

Mike   Silk can be done just like paper or you can pre wet the silk and lay it on the frame. I did that many years ago but now I just I lay the dry silk on the  bottom of the the wing and use a old hair spray bottle and get the silk very wet and dope it around the edge. Use a razor blade and trim the edges and do the top. All the methods that you have used for tissue will work. I wrap the leading edge around to the bottom but cut the trailing edge off even. The silk should be tight when dry. When I was a kid I mixed glue with dope to adhere the silk when doing complex ribs like the Ringmaster which has a concave airfoil at the back.On free flight models I always used the old method to stick the silk to the under cambered airfoil. I remember the old I beam models from the late 1950's used the glue dope mixture on each rib and I believe this added a lot of strength to the wing. I have no Idea when to get silk in Europe. Find a silk importer on line.
http://www.tradeforum.org/Silk-in-World-Markets/
Ed

[ericrule]

Hi Pat:

You may find this article helpful.

Regards
Eric Rule