Hello All,
I usually cover with thin Mylar, then silk and just spray with dope which has been tinted with printer ink combinations. This gives a reasonably strong and very light finish.
Someone mentioned dying the silk with colours from Dharma trading. I looked up the appropriate part of Dharma's website. The dyes have good depth of colour and are quite dense in application. They also claim very good resistance to UV colour fade. Sounds very good so far. You need to dip the silk in an aqueous solution of the dye, can't remember the recommended temperature.
My query is this, the silk must shrink quite a bit due to the dying. Is there enough shrink left in the material when doped? Probably worrying too much here. However I have a system that works for me, trying something else can be a bit of a gamble. The promise of dense, fade free colours is very attractive. Anyone got any experience of covering this way? I shall still use my Mylar base, because it makes the covering so much less prone to finger damage and hangar rash.

Regards,

Andrew

Paul Smith posted on the forum about using the Dharma silk and their dye. I tried to find it, but haven't as yet.

Every time I applied silk it was wet.

When you die it, it's gets wet. Why not just apply the silk when you take it out of the pan you died it in.

From the pan, to the wing!

I'd sponge it a bit first.

Charles

Thanks guys!
I will give it a try. If the silk does relax after drying then I should be ok with doping the stuff after I have applied it over the mylar. I will even dampen it before I do!

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Andrew.