For Fiberglass Parts: How to: Make a Mold
FOR THE MODELER who wants to rise to the challenge, or just save a few bucks, here is the story on how to mold a fiberglass part. Though it takes a lot of work and some careful planning to do it right, it's definitely economical. If all goes well, you'll save a little under two-thirds of the cost of having an average part professionally made. The procedure outlined is for making a mold that can be used to produce more than one part. Though not a production mold, it will give you three or four parts if you're careful. Begin with an accurate drawing. The drawing must represent exactly what is needed unless you are carving it on the model. Two-piece parts such as cheek cowls or wheel pants must be planned for at the beginning. Also, if the configuration of the desired part is such that a one-piece mold won't work, a two-piece plug will be necessary. This can be made up with two pieces of 1/4-in. plywood cut to the shape of the centerline of your part and fitted with waxed dowels for alignment and separation. The plug material can then be glued to the ply bases and carved to shape.
For Fiberglass Parts: How to Repair A Broken Part
WE ALL HAVE a bad day now and then when we're out flying. Whether it's radio or engine, battery or wind, we're going to bang up the airplane once in a while-some of us more than others. We had a flier in our club in New York who had a five-year-old Kadet. Every Sunday when he came out to the field the airplane looked like he had just finished painting it the night before. He would put in five or six flights, and after each flight he would wash down the aircraft so it was clean for the next flight. I would clean mine after I got home.
Painting Fiberglass Parts
Everybody develops his/her own way of doing things, and this goes for painting, too. But how do you prepare a part for paint? You sand wood to shape, fill the pores with a wood filler, let dry, and sand again. You can either dope and paint the part, or you can cover it with fabric. Now, say you have a fiberglass part-all you need to do is fit it, paint it, and it's ready to go, right?-wrong.
