Oratex Fabric Covering Revisited

[efwd]

Yes John, you should have written something....
I bet I will be ordering an entire wing panel since I didn't follow the guidance given here. It seems everywhere I referred to with regard to Poly Fiber and Oratex they recommend starting with a small part like the elevator or rudder before moving on to wings and fuselage. I could not have used scrap left over from the wing by following those suggestions. And regarding flawless fabric within the 71".. maybe not. I have located what appears a dab of paint over a small spot where the color coat has come off. Not even a big deal. As I have damaged that color coat myself elsewhere and dabbed a small spot of yellow paint over my damage as well. I found such a perfect match paint that showing a pic of it, you would not find the spot.
I just finished the fabric along the razor back last night and am so relieved that it looks great. I think the fact that I took it on by splitting the panel down the middle helped me out a lot. Fuselage is now covered but now need to tackle the tapes. Not looking forward to the transition of the razorback and the vertical fin.

[Cherrybark]

Just to keep the collection of Oratex wisdom on one thread.

I think the gentle curves of the stabilizer made it easiest to cover. The sharper curves of the elevator makes the perimeter finishing tape more of a challenge. The rudder presents the interesting problems of how to cover around the three "pipes" at the bottom, blend in the flat area in front of the cable horns and, finally, do a neat job with finishing tapes. That is the order I would recommend.

[Cherrybark]

When rib stitching the wings, what reinforcing tape are people using with the Oratex system?

[efwd]

Same stuff that came with your Poly Fiber. You can't use the waxed string though.

[Cherrybark]

For those exploring Oratex techniques, here is a link to a thread discussing rib lacing with waxed and non-waxed threads.

http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/sho...6025#post66025

[bumsteer]

Has anyone ordered the Grade 2 Oratex 6000 fabric? I ask because I just got a quote for some more fabric and the 6000 is now $174.95/yd up from $153.75/yd when I bought some last August. It is supposed to just have minor imperfections which you could probably work around ( if you could even see them). The Grade 2 is 38% cheaper or about $108.50/yd. Out of curiosity I also asked about the degreaser. $16.95/500ml. Not bad but the Hazmat fee of $500 is a bit of a turnoff!!. Guess I'll stick with denatured alcohol or acetone. Thanks in advance.

Rick

[JMH]

I bought the grade 2 Oratex. I've only covered one wing so far, but I honestly haven't spotted a noticeable defect in the two panels I've used. I did see a little defect in a 2" tape, but it's Grade 1. I fly off a turf runway, and there are always bugs on my airplane. I don't wash it too often,(we seem to have bugs all year in Texas) so I'm not worried about my Kitfox when I get it flyable.

John

[bumsteer]

Thanks John. Think I'll give it a try.

Rick

[bumsteer]

Attempted my first try at covering the HS. Didn't like the way the curved tips turned out so off came the fabric. If anyone doubts the holding power of Oratex glue, try getting the fabric off. Anyhow I sent Lars an email but no response yet. So if any of the guys using Oratex have redone something, what did you use to remove the cured glue? Tried acetone and MEK. Both seemed to work but slowly. I'm under the impression that the Oratex glue remover is for uncured glue. Tried a search but a little time consuming and didn't find anything. Thanks in advance for any help.

Rick

[efwd]

Okay, I seem to recall that the recommendation is in the documents that Lars puts on his Web Site. I believe it was wrapping with a cloth and then saturating it with Vinegar to soak for awhile. Honestly, I don't recall, possibly it was for uncured glue.