Stripping fabric from wings

Bernie Ferrie

Bernie Ferrie

New member
Guys,
Any secrets for stripping Fabric from the wings. The top of my wings have been painted in enamel so I have had to use paint stripper to get through it. I have at least 4 coates of dope under the enamel. Interested in how other people have removed the fabric without damaging the timber underneath. Bugger of a job!!!

regards
Bernie
 
Soak rags with MEK and let them lay on the wing and it will melt the dope so the fabric will come off. Make sure and keep well ventilated and wear protective clothing....Greg
 
If you have anything that get's stuck, grab a paint brush and a can of MEK and paint it on underneath the fabric as you slowly pull it off. Don't force it or you may pull up wood too!
 
Guys,
One wing now fully stripped and washed down, boy what a job! The old cotton was very well stuck down. The top of the wings was enamel so I had to paint strip it, underneath was 4 or 5 different coloured dopes before I hit silver. The cotton removal was very slow as it come off in fairly small strips. Washing out the wheel well with MEK was just dandy!!! As much fun as you can have with your pants on!!! The R/H wing look pretty good with a small repair required on the top outboard wing ( hanger rash I'd say) and a crack under the wing walk area. Spars look good, have not removed the spar straps/ attachments yet to check them out. But I am getting somewhere now.

Thanks for the tips - hopefully the L/H wing is a little easier.

Bernie
 
Hi Bernie, I took paper towel, two layers and about 2 sq ft, lay it on the wing, cut a piece of 3 or 4 mil plastic a little larger than the towel, wet the towel rill good with acetone, tape the edges of the plastic. This keeps the acetone from evaporating. In about 10 mins or so the dope/paint will wrinkle up, when it is all wrinkled up remove the plastic and scrape the paint off with a plastic or metel putty knife.

Kent

Hey Dan, how much slop can we allow in the main wheels. My sissors are a disaster. I rebushed them but still pretty sloppy. Any ideas anyone?
 
Thanks Guys,
Good idea Kent, I have one wing fully stripped and washed down, have now found a few areas of concern. Their is a crack from the rear undercart spar attachment running inboard about 12 inches in the plywood beside the rear spar. Couldn't see it with the fabric on. Also two cracks in the wing walk area, one in the rear wing area where you step up and the other in the fuel tank lid. Open to suggestions ofhow to repair.
 
Well, Two problems at once..... The landing gear was a locally fabricated unit and does not live by close tolerances. That's the way it is. Bush it and shim it to "reasonable tolerances" and live with it. Bernie, I need more info. on cracks..BTW Dale has signed up for your next 'fire season.' He loves you guys.' Dan
 
Dan,
I will take some photos and post them, see what you think. Hey good news about Dale please give him my phone number (97493416 in Melbourne or MOB 0409796527) As I would love to catch up with him again, and the Citabria is available for them to fly if they want. Fortunately he didn't have to work too hard this year we had a mild summer and a fair bit of rain, but who knows next year. That is one big copper those boys fly! It is much loved by Aussie's as it has saved our bacon many times.

regards
Bernie
 
Hi Dan,
Yea, I see what you mean. GMB did a lot of match drilling and the like. I found that on my Cruisemaster, long time ago, that you could not exchange the rudder pedals left to right. They must have hand drilled each one in place.
And OK on the parts you sent.
Kent
 
I just got a msg from Ozzie Levi. Augie Bellanca died last month. Send me a msg and I will forward the letter to you.
Kent2@cccomm.net
 
Honestly, removing fabric from wings is so difficult that I don't recommend it unless you have some compelling reason to inspect all the wood under it. With a dope finish, cracks in the wood will show up as a series of small cracks in the fabric, running along in the same direction as the crack underneath them. A line of "hashmarks" is a good way to describe them. With enamel finishes these may not show up and for this and other reasons an enamel finish is best avoided. Since the wing fabric bears no aerodynamic load it's only purpose is that of a weather seal. It can remain in service as long as it is still firmly adhered to the wood. I advise closely inspecting the entire exterior of the wing and marking all areas of loose fabric, soft areas, or areas where a wood crack is suspected("hashmarks"). Then remove the fabric from just those areas, make repairs as necessary, and recover the repaired areas. Then rejuvinate the existing dope and repaint the entire wing with fresh dope. This will result in a very good looking finish with much less labor. Unless the fabric is peeling away in big hunks or there are significant numbers of suspect areas I really think there is no need to arbitrarily remove all the fabric from the wing when renovating the airplane. Unless you want to.
 
Bernie, when I stripped my plane one wing was much more difficult than the other. I don't know why but I was glad I pulled the wing fabric. I found on the not difficult wing that the sheeting needed reglued on the out board tip aft. An easy fix but I would of never know unless the fabric was off. In my case the wood around the baggage door was total rot and all was replaced. Again I would never known until the fabric was off. Back to the wings, after removing the fabric I used an orbital sander and smoothed it all out. That wood was beautiful and then I brushed on two coats of wood epoxy. This was a mistake never brush always spray as every little imperfection will show thru your new light weight fabric! PolyFiber latest manual says spray or brush. This is a very very big job for one man but it can be done. The hardest part fabric wise for me was the bottom of the wing as it is concave. The guys are right the fabric serves as protection on the wing but to do the right thing cover it with the light weight Dacron and spray everything. Use the brush for glue only. Press on I did mine in 33 wks and it now has 140 hrs flying on it and it is going again to OSH. Lynn the crate
 
Hi Bernie,
After trying to patch the areas over the fuel tanks, I decided to strip both wings and do it right. I have stripped one wing and it took about an hour and 45 minutes. :D I'm busy trying to fix the imperfections with bondo but maybe the spray-on epoxie is a better idea. I haven't started stripping the second wing yet. It may be a beast.
Gary
 
Gary,
I take my hat off to you, my first wing took at least 5 days!!! Unfortunately some person spray enamel on the top of the wings which is very hard to strip with MEK. Once I got down to the dope it wasn't too bad. I think I stripped 6 coats of color before I hit silver. The Fabric, which was cotton, was pretty rotten in parts and come off in small pieces. I still have another wing to do!! It has been a very cold winter and my tin shed is very cold which = not much work, hopefully it warms up soon. I think the Citabria has slowed me down as it is lots of fun to fly, I have been putting many hours into her. Just flew her up the East Coast of Australia to 'Noosa' for a weeks holiday - great fun. As we are down under the further North we go the warmer it gets. Noosa is about 1000 miles North of Melbourne, and a very nice spot.
I am missing my shiftwork for getting work done on the Cruisair working Monday to Friday doesn't give me much 'Bernie Time'. My shift work is 4 days on 6 days off, its a good roster.
I noticed the imperfections on my wings are filled with a white material - not sure what it is but it holds on well. I have a few timber repairs to do with cracks in the walk way and some small dings. Still got lots to do!!

Good Luck keep us informed of your progress.

regards
Bernie
 
Gary, I stripped a wing that had been faired up with automotive bondo, and much of it had come loose under the fabric. Maybe it was just a bad job, but I wouldnt use it. I have used (West System) epoxy with very good results. It sands easily and sticks like it is welded to the wing.____my 2 cents worth_____Grant.
 
Yes, definately do not use Bondo. I use West System to apply fiberglass on the Aeromtic prop blades.
Kent
 
Thanks for the information on bondo. I'll check into the West System epoxy. That sounds like a better deal
to me. Is it a spray on or brush on system? :?:
Gary
 
OK, guys, now that I have checked out West System epoxy, I have more questions. You have to use the 105 resin
but what do you recommend for the hardener? Number 209 sounds like it may be the best because of the pot time but what do you use/recommend?
Gary
 
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