Hi guys,

I just covered my zero with the Sig koverall material and I love it. Some says its to heavy, I couldn't tell much difference between heavy silkspan and the koverall. The koverall goes on very easy and makes a very nice looking cover. The only draw back is ya have to be careful cutting the koverall, it frays easy. If I only have to shoot her with a couple of coats of dope, it'll be lighter than silkspan. With silkspan I end up with several coats of clear before I start any color. The cost of the koverall is cheap and if I end up with less dope, I can have more play money, Ha Ha. If ya haven't tried it, believe me it worth it. Mr Mike Pratt told me its great stuff and he's correct. I installed the koverall the same way I do silkspan and it was easier than silkspan. If it holds the tension, I'll have a winner. Thank you Sig for the great material, Koverall, Gary

Hi Clint,

I'm sorry to hear it didn't work for you. Just curious, did you brush dope on or did you spray dope?? So far the covering is tight, looks good, ironed out very well. Maybe I don't tighten up my covering enough? I didn't play a drum roll on it but its close!!!! When I drop a coin it bounces so I guess its tight!!!! I hope it stays when I apply dope to the covering. I was thinking maybe dusting coats with my spray gun?? Did you use any sanding sealer, thicken dope with talc powder?? Did you try sanding the edges, I'm afraid if not careful it could fray. I'm sorry for all the questions, just curious, Gary  (Also wondering about the life of the material, being material will it rot after awhile??? I've read where some say the material soaks up dope like a sponge and some say it doesn't take as much dope? I guess I'll find out when I start doping her??)

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the information, I brushed on a heavy coat of clear dope. Seems to have covered very well. I know on silkspan I usually end up with many coats of sanding sealer, sanded down and recoated. Does Koverall act the same way as silk material, having to have many coats to fill? Many have stated they wouldn't use Koverall, cause its to heavy. Question, why does it end up heavier than using silkspan or silk??? Does it take much more dope than the other materials? According to Mr. Mike Pratt it doesn't take as much dope as the others?? If ya go into search on both forum, they don't have much good to say about Koverall. If you're not careful you can make a silk job very heavy, so do ya think its the process or does it always come out heavy?? I've had the Koverall material for a few years and I've been afraid to use it. The Brodak Zero is a small plane, not much wing area, so I thought this would be a good project to try it on. I was happy with the installation of the material, hope if careful may not gain to much weight. Clint stated he couldn't get the material tight enough for him, I was happy with the tightness. Thank you for your help, I appreciate any input, want to be sure this is a bad process before I move on, Gary

Gary,

You are correct that Koverall should not weigh much more, if any, than silkspan.  The weight problem is that C/L builders are not comfortable leaving the weave showing in the final stages of the finish.  So, the weight comes from applying primer to completely fill the weave.  That's going to add a lot of weight.  Koverall is widely used in R/C because the weave is actually desired in the scale airplanes.  I personally don't think the visible weave is an issue for back yard flyers like me.  The easy application process and strength out weigh the fact that the weave is visible.  One other thing I forgot to mention, if you are going to apply trim colors, you will need to seal the edges of the masking tape with the base color or clear.  Otherwise the trim color will bleed under the tape due to the weave.  I love this product and would not hesitate to use it on a C/L. I'm completing a Profile Oriental right now and will probably use Koverall on the wings.  The visible weave just doesn't bother me.  Hope this helps.

Paul

That sounds like a good idea.  I might just try that on my Oriemtal.  I would think you use the light weight silkspan, correct?  You've got me thinking now.  Let me know if you try it and how it works out.

Paul

Gary...Why not just use Polyspan? If that's to spendy, go to the fabric store and buy the dress liner version. Take a micrometer and buy the thinnest grade you can get. Take the Mrs. with you to distract the sales chix.    Steve

        I chose to use Koverall on my Oriental. I used nitrate as the base coats as recommended. Apparently butyrate doesn't adhere to synthetics as well and can shed. I used as much dope to finish as I would've used doing a silkspan wing. I found that sandpaper didn't work too well during the sanding process as it would cut through and cause fraying. I used scotch brite pads to sand up to the color. This was a bit more labor intensive but it left a beautiful finish on the wings that polished up real nice. I have no visible weave and as mentioned above no sagging even after 3 years. I used the Stix-it to apply, but I feel the dope method would be equally as well. I think the adhesive adds more weight than the dope would've. I've even used the left over pieces on 1/2 a combat wings. I just used Nelson clear on those and they surely aren't suffering from weight penalties. Nelson Hobby paints can be applied directly over the weave without any base coats. This indeed will show the weave but I use this method when beauty isn't desired. Ken

Gary,  if you mean by the same material, yes it is the same poly ester stuff.  Ony Polyspan is like silkspan in which the threads are random and not continuous.  Koverall is a woven polyester fabric.  The weave is what people have trouble filling.

Hi John,

Have you tried to install silkspan over the koverall? I'm going to try it on a different plane, is I hadn't already dope this plane I would have tried it on this one. Not sure but I believe the silkspan would cover up the weave and with the koverall as a backing, I believe it could make a nice finish. I like silkspan but it damages to easy, so thinking with the koverall backing could make a strong set up?? Adding lite silkspan would be like adding a coat of dope and maybe with the backing the silkspan may not take as much dope?? I would appreciate any input, Gary