Author Topic: removing oil from balsa (Read 4087 times)

Bootlegger · « **on:** August 30, 2018, 08:43:11 AM »

I tried the search function, but could not find this formula. Does anyone have the formula?

Ara Dedekian · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2018, 08:59:51 AM »

To quote a shale oil executive from an old documentary, "Just heat it up and it comes flowing out.". I use a Monocote heat gun. On decades old, oil soaked planes (There's a lot of those up here in Maine.) it really does come flowing out. Just before the wood wants to ignite. Don't know the 'search' prompt.

Ara

Tom Luciano · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2018, 09:20:24 AM »

A useful trick in using all search functions is to quote your exact search. It weeds out all the other items that may come up and give you exactly what your looking for.

Such as "oil soaked" in search function. It will only pull that combination of words.

Best,
Tom

Jim Carter · « **Reply #3 on:** August 30, 2018, 10:47:45 AM »

Greetings! Sir, allow me to recommend a product called K2R. When I was stationed at Minot AFB in ND, I was very active in Q-500 racing and one of the fellows who raced with me introduced it to me. All I can tell you is I "LOVE" that stuff!! The way I was told to use it and haven't felt the need to change it is; spray on a nice full coating, allow it to sit for a couple of hours, brush the residue off, repeat as necessary. Clean the surface a best you can then make your repair using epoxy, finishing resin or CA.

Dane Martin · « **Reply #4 on:** August 30, 2018, 12:13:49 PM »

K2R is really neat. I do something similar to Ty. But I mix corn starch and isopropyl alcohol. The 97%. I've done several planes like this. Usually repairs for club members. Turns out neat.

L0U CRANE · « **Reply #5 on:** August 30, 2018, 02:13:07 PM »

I agree with Dane. Cornstarch seems to absorb more than the pulverized rock that is talcum powder. Wonder how the heating technique would do after the cornstarch/iso paste has dried a bit...

Target · « **Reply #6 on:** August 30, 2018, 02:49:43 PM »

Lou-
How about heating THEN adding the "Dane paste"?

Dave Hull · « **Reply #7 on:** August 30, 2018, 02:56:20 PM »

Or use the MonoKote iron with a paper towel over the affected area. Get most of it, then try all the other methods to get out that last bit that will make gluing and refinishing a challenge....

Or, just get aggressive with the heat gun and the problem should solve itself, right?

McDivot

Dane Martin · « **Reply #8 on:** August 30, 2018, 02:59:26 PM »

Quote from: Target on August 30, 2018, 02:49:43 PM

Lou-
How about heating THEN adding the "Dane paste"?

Lol. I'm gonna patent and market that.

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2018, 06:22:29 PM »

There have been extensive discussions on this subject, including what I will add here. I had about a bazillion flights on my SIG P-Force ARF and the covering was delaminating and coming off. So the obvious route was t strip it and recover. The fuselage and outboard wheel pant along with the tail feathers were severely oil soaked. I though this would be a good time to try all the various methods posted here. K2R, acetone, various chemical and corn starch concoction that were and are ALL on the forums here. Hands down, the best and fasted method was using a monokote heat gun. You just watch the oil boil out to the surface, then wipe off with a paper towel. No waiting for stuff to dry, no real smell, and when you didn't see any oil, move on to the next place. I never scorched any wood, I think I removed a couple of ounces from the over all weight of the airplane. The outboard wheel pant is right in line with the OS.32 exhaust and it weight a ton, and I got it almost down to the same weight as the inboard. Try them all yourself and you'll find the heat gun is the best method.
Since recovering the P-Force I've put in about another half bazillion flights on it.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee

Dave Hull · « **Reply #10 on:** August 31, 2018, 12:06:24 AM »

Based on the rankings here, I went out to the shop tonight and took a Noblarf off the wall. It had previously been stripped of covering for repairs after a truck accident. The wing, flaps and fuse were pretty oil soaked when the covering came off. I spent hours trying to clean this up before I just hung it on the wall to get it out of the way. But, never say die, tonight I tried the MonoKote heat gun on a section of wing planking after reading all the inputs here today. The heat gun didn't really drive any more oil out of the wood. No visible residue on the towel after wiping. The wood is still slick enough that I doubt new MonoKote will stick--or stay stuck--to it. I have had to resort to paint-on adhesives in the past which is ok for a local repair, but I don't want to do the whole plane that way. I suppose tomorrow I will try a scrap of covering on the planking to see what happens...but the Noblarf will probably go back on the wall until I need that space too.

Too bad, because that plane flew pretty good when it was in its prime.

Dave

Joe Ed Pederson · « **Reply #11 on:** September 01, 2018, 08:27:34 PM »

With some of the methods above, I've removed about as much oil as I can from the nose of a used model given to me . I don't have a Monokote heat gun, so I haven't tried that. But I've got nearly all of the oil out.

I'm not going to recover with monokote. Monokote is the reason the model's nose was oil soaked. I want to use dope to seal the wood, but I'm doubtful dope or epoxy will stick to the small areas that still have some oil in them. Am I correct in that assessment? So, I was wondering if I covered the whole nose with silkspan, will the oil that remains in small areas seep up through the silkspan when I dope the silkspan?

I went to the website that Brett Buc suggested (different thread) to buy two-part epoxy paint, and I think it was $45.00 a pint (or maybe a quart). That might be the BEST solution (maybe not), but I don't want to spend that much on this model.

Joe Ed Pederson

Cuba, Missouri

Dane Martin · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2018, 08:35:57 PM »

Joe Ed, need to borrow a heat gun? Or, I might have an extra anyway. It's good to have no matter what.

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2018, 08:43:59 PM »

Quote from: Dave Hull on August 31, 2018, 12:06:24 AM

Based on the rankings here, I went out to the shop tonight and took a Noblarf off the wall. It had previously been stripped of covering for repairs after a truck accident. The wing, flaps and fuse were pretty oil soaked when the covering came off. I spent hours trying to clean this up before I just hung it on the wall to get it out of the way. But, never say die, tonight I tried the MonoKote heat gun on a section of wing planking after reading all the inputs here today. The heat gun didn't really drive any more oil out of the wood. No visible residue on the towel after wiping. The wood is still slick enough that I doubt new MonoKote will stick--or stay stuck--to it. I have had to resort to paint-on adhesives in the past which is ok for a local repair, but I don't want to do the whole plane that way. I suppose tomorrow I will try a scrap of covering on the planking to see what happens...but the Noblarf will probably go back on the wall until I need that space too.

Too bad, because that plane flew pretty good when it was in its prime.

Dave

You didn't heat it enough or maybe hot enough. Oil will boil out until there is no more and all that is left is what remains as you try to blot it off with paper towels. A final towel with acetone or thinner gets that. I still use SIG Stix-It when recovering, but have had no problems getting covering to stick and stay stuck. . That has been my experience.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2018, 08:49:23 PM »

Quote from: Joe Ed Pederson on September 01, 2018, 08:27:34 PM

With some of the methods above, I've removed about as much oil as I can from the nose of a used model given to me . I don't have a Monokote heat gun, so I haven't tried that. But I've got nearly all of the oil out.

I'm not going to recover with monokote. Monokote is the reason the model's nose was oil soaked. I want to use dope to seal the wood, but I'm doubtful dope or epoxy will stick to the small areas that still have some oil in them. Am I correct in that assessment? So, I was wondering if I covered the whole nose with silkspan, will the oil that remains in small areas seep up through the silkspan when I dope the silkspan?

I went to the website that Brett Buc suggested (different thread) to buy two-part epoxy paint, and I think it was $45.00 a pint (or maybe a quart). That might be the BEST solution (maybe not), but I don't want to spend that much on this model.

Joe Ed Pederson

Cuba, Missouri

If the wood seems dry, soak it some more in lacquer thinner and blot dry. Let it gas off and brush on a couple of coats of clear and see how it sets. If it looks good, keep going with tissue or silk span. If it's a learning model, it may have a short life span anyway! Another method is to thin epoxy with acetone to a watery consistency and brush a coat on and let cure. Sand that smooth and add another. When it sands up nice and dull, you can spray any of the straight Rustoleum or Exo-Rust paints on it for a good enough finish for a training plane. That is the basis for a method Allen Brickhaus used almost all the time.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee

Joe Ed Pederson · « **Reply #15 on:** September 01, 2018, 09:02:43 PM »

Thanks, Dan.

Joe Ed

Dave Hull · « **Reply #16 on:** September 01, 2018, 09:37:55 PM »

Dan,

Hmmm. Well, I suppose I'll say what all engineers say in situations like this: "Keptain, I'm giv’en you all she's got!"

No more oil is seeping, bubbling or boiling out after prior cleanup and revisiting with the heat gun. Enough heat to begin turning the wood brown. But it is still pretty slick even after multiple very wet wipes with acetone and paper towels. The MonoKote sticks, but doesn’t have much adhesion. Not enough for the edges to stay down. Added adhesive would help, but for the amount of work and the likely limited life….my particular model just isn’t worth it.

Glad you had success with your model(s).

Dave

Larry Renger · « **Reply #17 on:** September 02, 2018, 09:38:46 AM »

I advocate cornstarch and denatured alcohol slurry. Let dry then heat gun. Repeat until the wood is clean. It takes a lot of repeats over some time to get it all, but it can be done.

Joe Ed Pederson · « **Reply #18 on:** September 02, 2018, 12:28:43 PM »

Dane,

I appreciate the offer of a heat gun. I'll probably get one from Tower Hobbies, because you know how things go. If you were to give me your spare heat gun, the one you have left will go out on you the day after you send me the spare one.

Thanks for offering, though.

Joe Ed

Joe Ed Pederson · « **Reply #19 on:** September 02, 2018, 02:06:38 PM »

Quote from: Dan McEntee on September 01, 2018, 08:49:23 PM

If the wood seems dry, soak it some more in lacquer thinner and blot dry. Let it gas off and brush on a couple of coats of clear and see how it sets. Dan McEntee

Dan, I did a search of "gas off" and learned a lot, but I couldn't find anything about the amount of time it takes for lacquer thinner to gas off. Would 24 hours be enough? This is just a practice plane we're talking about.

Joe Ed

john e. holliday · « **Reply #20 on:** September 02, 2018, 05:39:11 PM »

As the instructions say, it depends on the local weather, temp, humidity and your patience.

Phil Spillman · « **Reply #21 on:** September 02, 2018, 07:12:43 PM »

Jo ED if you apply Balsa Rite to affected area you should be able to paint over it with regular dope! This stuff allows film to stick to previously oiled sub strata and should enable you to finish on as you desire! This method has worked for me on previously oil soaked planes!

Norm Faith Jr. · « **Reply #22 on:** September 02, 2018, 09:38:10 PM »

Quote from: Jim Carter on August 30, 2018, 10:47:45 AM

Greetings! Sir, allow me to recommend a product called K2R. When I was stationed at Minot AFB in ND, I was very active in Q-500 racing and one of the fellows who raced with me introduced it to me. All I can tell you is I "LOVE" that stuff!! The way I was told to use it and haven't felt the need to change it is; spray on a nice full coating, allow it to sit for a couple of hours, brush the residue off, repeat as necessary. Clean the surface a best you can then make your repair using epoxy, finishing resin or CA.

Where can you by K2R? I've tried...I was informed that it had been banned in most places. They used to sell it in Walmart and the likes, but not anymore. Used What I had many moons ago.
Norm

Joe Ed Pederson · « **Reply #23 on:** September 03, 2018, 06:36:36 AM »

Jim,

I bought a can of K2R a couple of days ago at my local community grocery store (Cuba's population is 3,500) for $6.99 + tax. It was the 5 ounce spray can. I'll drop by this morning and see if they have any more and ask if they can still order it.

I dropped by the grocery store and they had two cans of K2R on the shelf. I asked and the lady told me they can still get it. If they order on Tuesday it gets there by Thursday. Whene they order it, it comes in three can lots.

Joe Ed Pederson
Cuba, Missouri

Ara Dedekian · « **Reply #24 on:** September 03, 2018, 07:13:44 AM »

Quote from: Phil Spillman on September 02, 2018, 07:12:43 PM

Jo ED if you apply Balsa Rite to affected area you should be able to paint over it with regular dope! This stuff allows film to stick to previously oiled sub strata and should enable you to finish on as you desire! This method has worked for me on previously oil soaked planes!

I'll 'second' this suggestion as I've seen the technique work very well by myself and others. Balsarite is still available from Tower Hobbies but Sig's Stix-It, which I believe is Poly-Tak, a full scale product, can also be used.

Ara