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Thread: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

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  1. #1
    Senior Member GWright6970's Avatar
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    Default Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    I got a couple of Highwing LLC's teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes "without the mess." They work!

    The sheets are thin, and allow the transfer of heat quite easily through them into the Poly Brush and tape edges.

    When NOT using the teflon sheets, I had to clean my irons like everyone else a few times, as at 225* it is just enough to melt the Poly Brush and stick to the iron. While R65-75 reducer removed the accumulated Poly Brush easily, it was still another step. That does not happen when using the sheets.

    The sheets also do a pretty nice job of keeping the Poly Brush in place, and not allowing the iron to create those micro depressions in it. The sheets allow for better smoothing without the creation of these "iron tracks"
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    Grover Wright
    Flying a KF IV-1200
    ROTAX 912UL

  2. #2
    Senior Member War Eagle's Avatar
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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    Hello GW,
    saw your post and thought I would let you know about a little trick we used with the teflon sheets.

    Rather than move the flat sheet around to each location you are trying to iron, we made a sock configuration to attach the sheet to the iron.

    Made it very easy to iron where you needed to without the hazzle of moving the teflon sheet along the tape etc.

    Hope the pic shows enough detail to visualize what we did.

    The sheet would wear out gradually so we would just replace it with a new one and be on our way again. Did 14 planes this way.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member GWright6970's Avatar
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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    Making the iron "teflon socks" is a great idea!

    (BTW: Cleaning Poly Brush out of the large iron's 'steam holes' with a Q-Tip was not my idea of quality building time! So I finished my ironing of the tapes with the hobby iron... which is actually teflon coated... but the sheets still out-performed that teflon coated iron by it self.)
    Grover Wright
    Flying a KF IV-1200
    ROTAX 912UL

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    You can try this also if you'd like. Wax paper!! It transfers heat great without the polyspray mess on your iron. It worked great for me, hope this helps another builder!

  5. #5
    Senior Member SkyPirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    Ive done the wax paper too works pretty good

  6. #6
    Senior Member kmach's Avatar
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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    Has anyone every tried using parchment paper that is used for baking ?

    I have not tried it , but I think it should work.
    Kevin,

    Kitfox Outback
    912 ULS
    Airmaster AP332CTFH-WWR70W
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  7. #7

    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    Great, very detailed and understandable manual - also with illustrations

  8. #8
    taff's Avatar
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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    I suggest you click on the manual and go to chapter 8, for more info on PolySpray

    https://4dc8cf9a-0bab-40d5-bd6e-ca9b...2c97c69571.pdf
    Completed my Classic 4, May 2003. It had std wings. speedster tail.
    912 UL Rotax. Sold to a person in Spain.

    Completed a Skybolt December 2018

  9. #9

    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    Thanks so much for the clarification and the link!

  10. #10
    taff's Avatar
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    Default Re: Teflon sheets for smoothing finishing tapes

    "TO FIX: Use a 225° iron with a pieceof plastic oven cooking bag or parchmentpaper as an ironing shield. If you irondirectly on Poly-Spray, it melts thevinyl and gets silver on the iron.Worse, it leaves iron track marks in thePoly-Spray. Messy. Better yet, get a thinpiece of sheet Teflon from a local plasticssupply store to use as an ironing shield.That keeps the Poly-Spray pretty much"

    The info above is from the Polyfiber manual.
    I used parchment for smoothing down the pinked edges of tapes and any little hiccup with PolySpray. It worked great.

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