Oratex Fabric Covering Revisited

[jrevens]

As I explained in a private message to Carl as well as the post on 2/9/17, it should be relatively easy for anyone to cut out the wing panels and leave enough width of material to do all of the tail surfaces except the vertical fin with the remaining strip of fabric. Of course accurate cuts have to be made. Don't waste extra material on the wing panels... it isn't necessary. Take a little time and accurately determine the layout for how you'll cut out the various pieces. The stuff is too expensive to waste. I should have written a book.

[Cherrybark]

Get started on that book John! I would be happy to receive a rough draft in the next two or three weeks!

[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