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Old 12-02-2015, 02:29 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Way North of Detroit
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luke strawwalker
"Not Very" and "heat" are the answers you're looking for...

I've heard of fins attached with white glue "falling over" or "leaning" from being enclosed in a hot car in the summer... I use white glue FOR CERTAIN JOBS in building, but attaching fins isn't one of them.

Also, it doesn't sand worth a darn... yellow glue isn't much better on that score. That's why I don't use it for "hardening" balsa cones or transitions or fins-- plus the stuff just flat-out never gets particularly "hard"...

Papering fins with regular printer paper wrapped over the leading edge using a THIN application of white glue to bond the paper to the balsa results in 100% sealing of the balsa fin surface and results in a final appearance as good as plastic in most cases, and results in strengthening the fin by probably 3-5X the plain balsa wood strength for VERY little weight gain... about a gram for most fins, at most, from the "bare vs. final finished weight" tests I've done in the past... Well worth a little bit of time to gain that much strength, eliminating the additional steps of hardening, sanding, filling, etc. Too bad papering doesn't work well for the compound curves of a nosecone or transition (though I have applied paper cone skins over wood transitions-- it's a common building practice for "capsule" nosecones in Dr. Zooch kits, and I've used it in scratchbuilds...

IMHO, "water thin" CA applications to nosecones followed by thinned-to-consistency-of-hot-dog-mustard Elmer's Wood Filler, followed by sanding, priming, sanding, damp sanding, and painting results in the hardest and most durable, as well as the most "plastic like" finish one can get on balsa cones and transitions... At least from everything I've tried...

YMMV and best of luck. OL JR


Well, I don't agree. CA makes the surface brittle.
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