Question about ordering Kitfox Series 7 STi Firewall Back Kit. Planing to Use Oratex

[jrevens]

…

I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY TAPES PEEL OFF OR COME LOOSE, MAYB I CAN HELP FIGURE OUT WHY ITS HAPPENING.

In over 3 years I haven’t had any signs of tapes peeling or lifting either. I also used flat, waxed lacing cord, merely running it through tightly held rough-textured cloth, followed with a run through alcohol-soaked cloth. I know there was a period of time when a fellow builder was told that applying glue to the surface of the cloth underneath the finish tapes (in addition to the glue already factory-applied to the tape) was optional. Recommendations have changed with experience. I carefully masked, and applied glue under the tapes, FWIW.

[alexM]

Eric

Not sure if you've already seen this or are looking for another test but page 86 of the factory manual or pages 24-25 of BAF's Tips and Tricks show the Trial Attachment and Bonding Check to test the glue's ability to withstand peel. I've tested year and a half old glue (kept in a cool dark place) and it passed the test.

Rick

Exactly what I needed to see, thanks Rick.

[Cherrybark]

I also masked off the wing fabric and pre-glued before applying finishing tapes. While heating the finishing tape, you can use a thumbnail neatly pressed along the flat lacing lines. Sounds picky but this part of the project is very satisfying and the little extra time would have been spent standing back and admiring the covered wing. I used red Oratex and short white threads along the edges of the finishing tape were very noticeable. After a couple of flights the threads were gone.

Enjoy this part of the project.

[alexM]

I also masked off the wing fabric and pre-glued before applying finishing tapes. While heating the finishing tape, you can use a thumbnail neatly pressed along the flat lacing lines. Sounds picky but this part of the project is very satisfying and the little extra time would have been spent standing back and admiring the covered wing. I used red Oratex and short white threads along the edges of the finishing tape were very noticeable. After a couple of flights the threads were gone.

Enjoy this part of the project.

Carl, did you put the adhesive only on the fabric (to supplement) or did you also put it on the tape?

[Cherrybark]

Adhesive only on the surface of the fabric where the tape will lay. Made it a thin layer, trying not to have any streaks of heavier glue, and watching for glue building up on the finishing tape when the brush drags over. The masked area was a little narrower than the finishing tapes. Start with the finishing tape a little long and neatly cut the end to length when finishing the gluing. One possible downside of the Oratex system is the lack of weighty primer and finishing paint to cover and blend finishing tape and fabric overlaps.

Way back in my youth I helped recover a couple of planes in a glider club. Three or four of us worked in a garage shop with occasional instruction from a friendly A&P. It was winter so we kept the garage door closed while working. Being in our mid 20's we'd never heard of respirators much less owned one, and were well into some gluing stage before someone realized we were all having far too much fun and open the door for ventilation. The A&P shot the primer and color at the airport. His skill had a lot to do with the final outcome. It was an enjoyable project. But the Kitfox was built in a residential garage and I didn't have the equipment, much less the technique to spray.

I wish I had faith in the Stewart Systems waterborne product and really wanted to use it. But there have been too many stories of heartbreak on the finish of the final coat. Part of the problem is, stories on the internet last for ever and there are seldom ways to see if the problem was before any change in formulations. That said, an area father and son, with the experience of several projects behind them, just finished their first Stewart System on a beautiful frame up restoration of a Decathlon. The finish coat is a mess even to my untrained eye. It's the A&P son's plane and he plans to keep it for many years. Not intended to be a show plane but he does have an interest in aerobatic competition. If money was no object, it would already be stripped and covered with traditional paints. Doesn't help that dad's, drop dead gorgeous Stearman shares the hanger.