Cruisair Wing Cover Problems-Practical Advice ??

blimpy

blimpy

New member
My '47 cruisair has sound wings. But... we believe it has the original cotton covering, which was unfortunately sprayed with "synthetic enamel" ( read ducolux car paint) when the fuselage was recovered with ceconite in the late 60's. The ceconite is still in amazing shape- always hangered in the relatively benign climate of SF Bay Area and later Sacramento Valley.
Anyway, there are numerous visible cracks in the paint ( and who knows maybe in the fabric too ? ).
Previous owner has patched a couple of places including the ususal area over the right tank/wing walk, that separated.
I'm not sure what the original mfg. cover process was. I assume it was dope and cotton. I've read the entire wings were either " varnished" or " moisture proofed" before cover - take your pick of technology/mythology. I am left with both a lack of solid knowledge of orginal cover materials and a mix of wierd chemistries to deal with making repairs now.
What I need to do is "Keep Her Flying". A wing pull and stripping to bare wood and recover currently being out of the financial / time question ( no nice dacron wing envelopes available anymore that I can find) . Und zo...what I NEED to do is : A) find a safe way to remove the "synthetic enamel" (car paint) in small patches so I can: B) get to the underlying cotton and dope layer - if that is what's there- to inspect that so I can: C) rejuvenate or re-dope, or fill, or patch the dope/fabric so I can : D) have a tight smooth, reasonably decent surface so I can : E) re-spray the wings so they aint but half ugly and don't scare the passengers and the usual gawkers but most importantly so I am not afraid to wipe down the wings with a damp rag, or of every little bit dirt and moisture life brings along.
Clearly I am not talking high standard restoration here...just keeping her flying by doing what I can in my down time this winter 2012-13. Maybe this is too complexan approach since what I am doing only has to last a few more years and might only warrent spot painting. Think consevation rather than restoration. Out of my depth! Capt Larry
 
Capt Larry, my 2cent opine. You would be wasting your time and money putting lipstick on a pig. You are better off and much safer if you pull the cover only to discover. It has been a long time since anybody has looked. When I did the crate I found small stuff that would never ever been discovered without removing the covering. All quite fixable and I fixed it all. When covering you use the blanket method and what ever system you want STC. It is not hard but time consuming. The PolyFiber manual has a special section on covering plywood wings. If you can follow directions you can have your wings done as a winter project and make them look beautiful. After I had epoxy varnished my wings, it hurt to cover up such a beautiful piece of wood. The fabric is the protection against the elements. Its time to look under the cover, to see what is to be discovered. Lynn the crate :|
 
Thanks lynn , I bought what I could afford plus a hanger for it to live in, and I am priveleged to have it, warts and all.
I need solid experience with fabric before I begin a major project like the wings. Patched is better than Botched ! (also just removing the old fabric requires knowledge and skill ! ) We are all just temporary curators of these things ( Larry Shapiro excepted - he's had his 50 years !) so I just aim to fly it and leave it better than I found it- not dead in a hanger like so many are, due to misguided attempts to restore.
I'm lucky to be a good mechanic and a great electrician, and an old wooden boat guy, but I know didly about fabric. So forgive me if I don't take your advice this winter.

So, as I stated it my problem At This Moment.. is to safely remove the auto enamel in small affected areas - without doing any Damage ! to get a gander at the fabric and dope underneath, and when I learn what I've got that will in turn lead me to a better understanding of the wood beneath and the fabric I have now so I can make an intelligent repair. Remeber this ship is part of the Amish
Air Corps Reserve, and might be called to active duty at any time.

I WILL heed your advice to strip, inspect and recover the wings... but it's not at the top of the priority list for this year, since the wings are safe now. Nobody is trying to fool anybody about the condition of anything by putting lipstick on a pig. I just need to keep it flying, and not attempt something I don't have the skills for yet.

"Tearing out is easy, putting it back right is the hard part." -
- First law of remodeling and repairs -


"If you have to ask what it costs you can't afford it."

-Cornelius Vanderbuilt - robber baron in the guilded age :wink: :D when ask what the Racing Yacht America cost. -
 
Ok get yourself a PolyFiber manual and go to the repair section. If MEK does not harm your auto finish you will be sanding down into the fabric. Now if you sand into it to much your screwed so try to get to the silver and then finish what you want. Worst case cut the fabric out like the repair section says and apply a patch. It is all muscle. The fabric will peal off exposing the wood. Get the manual it isn't rocket science. Keep it simple and keep it flying. You are ssssso right about all the hangar queens. I'm glad you are not in that catagory! Press on we got you covered. Lynn the crate :)
 
Thanks so much Lynn... I will order up a polyfiber manual... and do my homework .
Does anybody make wing cover envelopes anymore ?

That would shure help tone down the pucker factor on the eventual wing recover.

Capt Larry :) :D
 
I am not sure about envelopes for the Cruisair but with a good bit of past experience I can say that most envelopes I have worked with ended up being more trouble than they were worth. I find it much easier to cover the wing using individual sheets of fabric, one top and one bottom. There have been too many times of using an envelope that I end up cutting the stitching at the tip to make it fit just right. Just my personal experience though, so perhaps others enjoy them.

RT
 
I agree RT, do the blanket as the envelope is more trouble than it is worth. Lynn the crate :idea:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top