What I'd really like to do is remove the old silkspan from the open bays only and recover with an adhesive type covering (Polyspan,monokote). Can this be done and how? Any and all suggestions welcome. .

Hi Louis,

Yes it can.  I go to "Wally World" and get a can of Dad's Stripper.  It comes in a quart can with a squirt bottle to apply with.  Tape off the areas that you don't want to strip and go to town.  It will remove everything down to bare wood.  Clean up the surfaces with acetone, lacquer thinner,  Kryl-Clean, or some such style cleaner.

We actually just strip the entire model and start over from scratch.  The longer you leave it on (before it dries) the "deeper" it goes.  It will craze plastic canopies so be careful with those.  Don't leave it on long and it will just take off the paint.  Leave it on longer and it will loosen the paper.  Sometimes a couple of "spot" coats to get everything done, but it goes real fast.  So far I have tried it on every imaginable (and I have ever heard of) type of model airplane "paint" and it takes them all off.

I gave this info out a few years ago, and Randy Ryan backed it up when he tried it.  It is the easiest stripper I have ever used, including aircraft stripper, furniture stripper, etc., and beats the heck out of a gallon can and three rolls of paper towels (or more! LOL!!)

Big Bear

I agree!

I'd looked for a while without finding "Dad's" and settled at first for acetone. That was about hopeless; 'took about two hours to strip a panel with collateral damage. When I finally found the "Dad's" stripper, I finished the entire wing in much less than that time. Much of the silkspan just lifted off, leaving only a bit of color stains  to remove. Great stuff!

Pictures below are of my P-Force, whose fuselage broke in three places. Since I felt that nose vibration was a cause of run-away problems on my FP-.35 and LA-.40, I opted to save the wing, with added stub ribs, and build a new fuselage. Since I knew I could build and finish considerably lighter than the 40+ oz original, I elected to remove all coverings and start fresh, with lighter finish and an LA-.25. Here are pictures during and after usie of the Dad's stripper. I have forgotten which pictures I loaded below, but on at least one, you can see light areas where I applied the stripper with the spray bottle and a brush to spread it better. If you let it set too long, it will re-harden, but with enough applied, it will usually release the covering. If not, just scrape off the finish that has been curdled and reapply to the adhering areas. I never had to apply more than twice. In the final picture, you can see that the color was removed enough to apply a lighter clear finish that will look "OK" on this utility stunter.

Of course, I've gotten distracted...BUT I'll finish it for next season.

SK

I would it depends on how much finish is on the plane.   Do a little experimenting.

You will see the paint starting to crinkle/wrinkle up pretty quickly.  It doesn't take long at all to develop a feel as to how long to leave it before removal.  It will harden (solvent evaporation) but a new application will get to it.

Do not get it on the clear plastic canopy!

Big Bear