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Old 07-04-2011, 12:57 PM
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Default Nose Cone Reinforcement

I want to protect the front inch or so of a long nose cone. I'm going to attempt the "coat the first bit of the point with CA" trick.

I searched thru the forum, but couldn't find the post I was looking for, so I'll ask here:

1. What thickness of CA? I'm assuming thin, but want to be sure...
2. How many "coats" should I apply?
3. I typically use sanding sealer on my balsa. Does anyone know if there is a chemical reaction between the sealant & CA I should worry about?

Thanks in advance for any insight from y'all. It's much appreciated!
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Old 07-04-2011, 01:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeanHFox
I want to protect the front inch or so of a long nose cone. I'm going to attempt the "coat the first bit of the point with CA" trick.

I searched thru the forum, but couldn't find the post I was looking for, so I'll ask here:

1. What thickness of CA? I'm assuming thin, but want to be sure...
2. How many "coats" should I apply?
3. I typically use sanding sealer on my balsa. Does anyone know if there is a chemical reaction between the sealant & CA I should worry about?

Thanks in advance for any insight from y'all. It's much appreciated!


Use thin CA. It will soak down into the balsa, so you only do one application. Once the CA is cured, it won't hurt to put sanding sealer over it.
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Old 07-04-2011, 03:43 PM
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Default Elmers Shell

I always liked to use thinned elmers to create a polymer shell over soft balsa. Shoot a primer, sand and seal with elmers shell. Negligible weight considerations, can be washed up if uneven, easier to sand than CA, no fumes and balsa cone still mostly disintegrates upon impact if deployment failure. Takes paint like trooper with smooth finish. CA will "petrify" raised grain - tough to sand just the affected part without grinding down the untreated portion, I would think.
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Old 07-04-2011, 04:27 PM
stefanj stefanj is offline
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MixWax wood hardener is another alternative to CA. It swells the wood a little, and requires some effort and care to sand, but it makes for a nice hard shell.
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Old 07-04-2011, 05:11 PM
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Thin epoxy might also work, as could polyester resin (the latter is best used outdoors!). The polyurethane casting resins (Alumilite, Ciba-Geigy, PolyTek, Por-A-Kast, etc.) might also work well (like epoxy, they can be painted with enamel and lacquer paints, although lacquer may not adhere to them very strongly), and unlike polyester resin they aren't offensively aromatic. In any case, I'd try them first on long BT-5 balsa nose cones or scrap balsa before committing to using any of these on a large nose cone.
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Old 07-04-2011, 10:33 PM
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Thin CA works great. To avoid having to do too much sanding, use a piece of paper towel to absorb the excess if you get too carried away. Also, be prepared for a blast of CA fumes, so don't hover over the nose cone too closely. I've used thin CA to coat super sharp leading edges edges on fins, such as the Estes Phoenix.

I do a lot of pen turning on a lathe, and CA is used by many for toughening up "punky" wood. The lathe tools cut thru it very well. CA is used quite a lot to give wooden pens a rock-hard shiny coating. Turning at 1000-2000 rpm, it polishes quite nicely, giving a super smooth glossy finish.

I just turned a nose cone for a Super Alpha, since the kit has a plastic cone that is not the proper profile. Since the nose cone I turned is pretty pointy, I used CA to toughen it. Applying it on the lathe made it easy to saturate and wick up the excess. And of course, sanding becomes really simple if it is still on the lathe.
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