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Building Tips and technical articles. => Paint and finishing => Topic started by: Tim Wescott on May 27, 2010, 04:16:35 PM
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Well, I'm off to the kitchen to get some baking soda to try to soak some old fuel out of a patch of wood that I need to stick some film covering to. Other than that (and perhaps an urge to point and laugh), do you have any suggestions for how I might get the oil out of the wood, or otherwise achieve a surface that film covering will stick to?
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Tim, i just finished a Vector arf fuselage that was entirely drenched. I used thin ca smeared on with my fingers,rubbed into the balsa, then lightly sanded and painted mostly but some is covered with mono, worked great so far. Try it on a small piece , i think you will be suprised at how well it works.
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I was thinking that whatever else I did I'd go over the thing with a light coating of either dope or CA.
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Wash it with brake cleaner. It comes in a spray can from the auto parts store. Be sure to get the red can not the green can. The green is flammable. The red can be used as a fire extinguisher but leave the area when the fire is out. Brake cleaner is totally oil less. Great solvent to remove oil.
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Wash it with brake cleaner. It comes in a spray can from the auto parts store. Be sure to get the red can not the green can. The green is flammable. The red can be used as a fire extinguisher but leave the area when the fire is out. Brake cleaner is totally oil less. Great solvent to remove oil.
Hmmm. Must be a different brand than I have used. I always used the CRC Brake Cleaner in the red can, and it's incredibly flammable. In fact, it was the hot ticket for spud gun propellant, or so am told. About 25% more bang than hair spray, I am led to beleive. Only problem was that it tended to melt the close-out plug in place, according to reports.
It works pretty good for surface oil removal, but if it's significantly soaked it takes many, many repeated applications.
Brett
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The worst of it is that I just discovered why there's oil soaking the left side fuselage at the back of the wing -- because Econocoat adhesive appears to be soluble in fuel!! I don't know if it yields to just the oil, or if it's 'cause it's a rich-running Fox, but the adhesive appears to have let go right where the engine slobbers oil all over everything.
dang dang dang. I suppose this means I need to strip that whole wing root. And then figure out how to fuel proof it (clear coat?)
Aaagh.
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Back in the '60's my dad had a barrel of stuff that looked like porridge oats and he used to stuff the fuselage in it and it came out almost oil free!
I think it was used for soaking up oil from factory floors. Cement dust does the same thing! I have used a solafilm iron with kitchen towel between it and the wood, that soaks up a lot of oil.
Cheers Neville
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After trying to remove the oil in the soaked areas, get some Balsarite and paint it onto the area. If it is an area not seem, the Balsarite will fuel proof it also. H^^
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More than one of you has suggested Balsarite under the film. This is a cool suggestion, but for two things: One, I'm a tightwad and I don't have any Balsarite. The thought of actually sp-sp-sp-spending money gives me chills. Two, I eventually want to strip the thing down to bare wood and refinish it in the old traditional dope and silkspan (I kinda regret not doing it that way from the start).
So:
Is dope compatible with Balsarite?
Or can I just use dope instead, and will my film adhere to it?
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K2r Spot remover, the best thing ever for this purpose....it is essentially dry cleaninig fluid...spray on, dries to a white powder, brush/vac off...repeat until oil is gone.
Generally available at Ace hardware stores.
http://www.k2rbrands.com/products/original.htm
I've also heard that you can use Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) that is used in pool filters, etc...mix with a solvent, alcohol, acetone, etc...to dissolve the oil and the DE will latch onto it and you can brush/vac it off....I have not tried this one, but the theory seems sound...
Richard Lewis
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K2r Spot remover, the best thing ever for this purpose....it is essentially dry cleaninig fluid...spray on, dries to a white powder, brush/vac off.................I've also heard that you can use Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) that is used in pool filters, etc...mix with a solvent, alcohol, acetone, etc...
Richard Lewis
That is exactly what K2$R is, but packed in a more convenient form. You can use almost any soft, fine powder- cornstarch, flour, ground up kitty litter, the diatomaceous earth is the most absorbent though.
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Use a film iron over a piece of paper towel. the heat will bring the oil to the surface and be absorbed by the towel. It will not get it all but you then can use some of the other techniques to get the rest.
Paul
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I use K2R, but after it "dries" I hit the area with my heat gun, and more oil gets pulled to the surface! Just about doubles the effectiveness of each coating of K2R. I like the paper towel and iron concept. Maybe next time.....
PS My baby Nobler took several MONTHS and probably 20 applications of K2R to get it oil free. Worked great, and the refinish was good enough for 1st Place at the 2010 AMA Convention for Sport Models.
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Way to go Larry and congradulations on the win. H^^