Fabric & Paint Problem – What to Do?

Rob58

Rob58

Moderator
Like most 56 year old gals, my "new" 14-19-3 has some challenging cosmetic issues which I didn’t notice on our first date. The various layers of enamel paint are cracking, especially around the door. After reading through the log books a few times and decrypting the chicken-scratch entries, it looks like the only recover job on the fuselage was in 1974 (Ceconite). But I didn’t buy this plane expecting to do a recover job anytime soon. As the picture below illustrates the paint is separating all the way down to the fabric. In fact the piece of paint I pulled off took the tape with it. What are some possible solutions? How do I remove the enamel paint? Any suggestions from my forum friends are really appreciated… Rob
 
Thanks Larry... I really appreciate the detail explanation on the process. I have just ordered the Ceconite book as you suggested. --Rob
 
Larry you have provided some very helpful feedback - I really appreciate all of the time you took in your replies. Actually I am trying to prepare my plane for the ferry flight to Santa Paula for Dan to perform a thorough annual. Just trying to learn a little more about fabric work. My understanding is that nitrate dope is the initial bonding agent to the Ceconite fabric and that not much else will stick to it. I will follow your suggestion and put the MEK to work. Do I need to let the MEK soak into the fabric? Will the MEK hurt the fabric in any way?
 
Too much MEK will hurt most things. But unless you pour it on, you won't hurt the fabric. You can get in trouble if there's something not standard and over soak (ask me how I know), but it takes a lot of work...

I see some hints of pink in that picture, which might suggest mixing the two processes. Can you see what color the back side of the fabric is from the interior (pull the seat or luggage floor or something easy)? That will help confirm the process used on your bird...
 
Great observation Brian... I will check the back side for further clues. Also I will use the MEK sparingly!
 
I have done a little bit of patching and I was warned by wiser men than me to be very careful of over soaking with MEK if it is near anything that is glue bonded. That could include tapes, glued joints on plywood surfaces, can un-bond fabric to metal, such as control surfaces, or where fabric goes over longerons, etc. Do some reading in the Randolph books on fabric repair before you start too much soaking with MEK. This is just what I was warned about, so take it for what it is worth. ______Grant.
 
I promise I won't get carried away using any solvent! Just trying to approach this in a logical, step-by-step manner. As mentioned I am trying to get the plane ready for a ferry flight to KSZP. Part of my problem is that the plane is 300 miles away from my home base. I need to plan each trip in advance to make as much progress as possible - one reason for all of my posts. Thanks for all of the help!
 
Larry, your feedback is tremendously helpful. I wish I didn't have a day job that slows down my progress on getting my bird in shape. I will probably give you a call and hopefully we can talk more, maybe get together. Thanks again, Rob
 
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