Oracover

[Elliot Howells]

Hi!

Anyone had success covering solid veneered wings?

I’m pretty adept with open structures but I’d love to know the knack with solid before I waste £50 worth of oracover…

Cheers, Ell.

[Jolly Roger]

Hey Ell!
I’ve found Oracover really easy to apply to solid surfaces. It’s a little thicker and stronger than Solarfilm which makes it easier to pull around corners and the pigment doesn’t come off if you have to lift and reapply. But yes it is pricey!
Have you tried/considered vinyl? Lots of folk have tried Oracal vinyl as a cheaper option which some say is even easier to apply and gives a smoother finish.
Rog

[Trevor]

Yes, Oracover (or the cheaper alternatives), go well on solid surfaces. Make sure the surface is really dust-free and that the iron temp is enough to activate the adhesive but not hot enough to shrink the film prematurely. Lay the film on the wing, iron along the spar (ideally from mid span outwards). Then work forwards to the leading edge and rearwards to the trailing edge, taking care to exclude any air bubbles and ensure the film is fully adhered. When you come to trim it around the aileron aperture, you’ll realise that it would have been a good idea to stick a bit of film in the rib faces first!

[AdamChambers]

Several retailers sell a cheaper version of oracover that is excellent. Ive used it and cant find fault. No fading and tough.

4MAX dont give it a brand name but RCWORLD refers to it as Macgregor film.

5M rolls for about £18.

[Elliot Howells]

Hey fellas!

gosh, thanks so much for the info, I'll try to respond to each point in turn - I have covered a lot of models in the past with film with varying degrees of success, I'm a perfectionist so if it isn't perfect I end up really sad These wings are 3m each so a right palaver. I've got one naked (some of the oracover adhesive did not want to come with the film layer, man it's sticky and a pig to remove) I'll use a cover on the iron and watch the temp like a hawk - tip to root down the middle then and then forward and aft. I've used oracal vinyl with great success, but it's that much thinner the grain shows through. I do have a stock of the MacGregor stuff (I believe it's the same as HK - and a bargain too, it looks great but I didn't want to scrimp on the ASH as she's a firm favourite model and well due a quality re-covering - the model must be north of 20 years old, so she's not done badly.

I started on this journey with my vagenecht Discus and bottled it, glassing her in the end, and wishing I hadn't - getting a paint finish I'm happy with is something I hope to achieve before I die... Also that has coupled ailerons (with a sliding wire pin) which makes re-assembling a reall challenge as the wing kicks up at the break.

Anyway, armed with this info, I may get the bottom of wing 1 covered tonight, thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Ell.

[Jolly Roger]

Good luck with the covering Ell.

an Try not too be sush a pufecshonist

[Trevor]

I liken it to wall papering (although it’s decades since I did any of that!). By the time you’ve finished the job, all you can see are your mistakes and patches. Then someone else walks into the room and says”Wow! Fantastic job.”

[Elliot Howells]

quite a successful start, although after sanding and cleaning, there are still a few tiny bumps under the covering... grrr.

I must say, Oracover is a world apart from Solarfilm - which was not that great.

Pics to follow