Oratex is like Yoga Pants

[BDA]

I used 420* like usual to tack it down
But for the shrinking I used 460* to get the distortions to shrink out.

If you look close to the finished picture you can see the old glue line where it was glued to the other stab. I did not have time to run the iron over it - I think that line might iron out. It is smooth to the touch but in the right light it is visible. But if you are putting the fabric back on what it came off of that wont be an issue.

I did have trouble with the edge lifting with that much heat - but that is because I did not use 2 layers of glue on each piece and I did not fully wrap the tube and let it set up for 24 hrs before shrinking. Gotta follow the rules!

The one thing I did not test was wrapping the used fabric back onto itself where the coating had seperated at removal.
Although I have glued other fabric together that was missing the coating with no issues.(dont ask, still a sore subject)

Maybe we should test a helium “capsule” next??

[BDA]

I have a couple corrections to make:

Early on I mentioned that pencil marks are worthless for marking the backside of the silver fabric because it just blends in - but I have found that a heavy line with a carpenters pencil works well

When uncovering my stabilizers I found that where I used the Iron AFTER the heat gun the fabric was nearly impossible to remove without ALOT OF HEAT - but where I did not come back with the iron, for watever reason, those parts I was able to pull the fabric off with a moderate amount of force WITHOUT heat.
Use the iron after the heat gun EVERY TIME.

[BDA]

Well, I changed my mind on wraping the interior w Oratex.

So now I have to do it standing on my head with one arm held ind the most awkward position possible.
I highly recomend doing the bagage area FIRST!

So cutting and fitting around the joints and other stuff is extremely difficult upside down.
When was the last time you used scissors w your left hand?

Had to be EXTRA CAREFUL w that razor blade too!

Looks really good tho- gotta DO IT!

[Tralika]

Shawn,
I don't know how many times I ended up doing something on my plane in the wrong order that made the task unnecessarily difficult. I'm glad you were able to get the interior fabric installed. I noticed your header tank installation and wanted to bring something up that I think is a problem. I have the same header tank from Just in my plane. When I got the tank I was not happy with the location of the hard points for mounting the sight gauge. The sight gauge ends up exposed to the baggage compartment and increases the risk of it being pulled loose by things shifting around in flight. Even if it was knocked off on the ground while loading or unloading it would be a mess. In flight it could be a disaster.

I took my tank to a welder and had a couple of hard points added on the other side of the tank so the sight gauge is located between the tank and the side right side of the fuselage. It's protected there by the upright frame tubing that the tank attaches to. The other advantage of having the sight gauge on that side is making it easier to see in flight. If your sitting in the left seat you don't have to twist your head around quite so far to see it on that side. You may be a bit more flexible than me but I don't twist as well as I used to. The photo I attached is not great but you can see the new location of the sight gauge.

If you don't want to move the sight gauge you might consider fabricating some kind of protective guard for it. Another problem I had was try as I might, I was not able to remove all the little aluminum shavings created from drilling and tapping the holes in the tank. The shavings are so small you can hardly see them but they go down the drain hose and get caught in the sump drain valve, keeping it from closing all the way and causing a leak. It's just a little drip but the only way to fix it is to drain the tank, remove and clean out the valve. I'm going to put a little piece of fine wire mesh, the kind you see in kitchen faucet nozzles, in the hose above the valve to try to catch those shavings.

Good to see you making progress. If I get down to Kenai this summer I'll try to look you up.
John N.

[BDA]

Thanks John
Good to know!!

I must have snagged that sight gauge clamp with a fat roll a dozen times! It really is exposed.

On another note, anyone camp IN their plane yet?
I was totally layed out flat in there while doing that fabric, good spot for a nap in bad weather. Cut a couple pieces of ply to bridge the truss behind the seats and the seat rails.
I will be making something permanent along those lines.

[BDA]

One problem I ran into while doing the interior fabric was one I already should have learned before.

When you make a penetration - you MUST have something behind it to glue ALL the edges to - in this case I thought I could make a slit then glue to the tube underneath - this does NOT WORK.

As I said before, just make a small aluminum backer plate to start with.
It will save you MUCH frustration, anger and cursing.

Thank goodness the Oratex tape is so good!!!

Also:
While shrinking fabric it got VERY warm in there, I was sweatin like a hog in a sweater!
It may not be as cold a ride as I was anticipating. That interior fabric sure makes a good second layer.

It was alot of extra work to pull the control rod and floor boards and cables and fairlead bushings but very much worth it. Really looks nice, and I dont have to worry about stray bagage poking a hole in exterior fabric now.

[BDA]

Wow!!
Cant believe this thread has almost 30,000 views

Please post YES OR NO - if you are planning to use Oratex

AND WHY

I am curious with this many views

- i have enough scrap left over that I may do some experimentation
Post your ideas please

Fairings for speed?
Canoe?
Airship?
Weather balloon?
Wind turbine?

[BDA]

Anyone??

Yes OR no?

[Sierrakilo]

Have made a bit of progress with mine..... ( Oratex 600)

[BucF16]

Where did my post GO???? I had a whole page, and poof it's gone
This a abbreviated:
Answer: YES. I love this stuff. Reason: Time! Also no paint both, no MEK, No Vinyl smell. once I got used to the process, I'm flying through the process. If you want to build and fly ASAP, this is the system.

Shawn thank you for your timely and thorough Post!

I know Steve Henry and Chris Wallen both like using Oratex. It's about time.

Cheers,
Bruce

[SheepdogRD]

Where did my post GO???? I had a whole page, and poof it's gone

Dangit! Just had the same experience. I forgot to Copy the text to the clipboard before I hit Preview... and then it was gone. Mutter mutter mutter... Here's another shot at it:

N570L already has Oratex. There are two last projects to do: attach the modified leading edge and wrap it with Oratex, and cover the (not-yet-built) 6" wing extensions that will take the place of the standard wingtips.

After she's flying, I expect I'll cover the gear legs. I'll probably go for a simple Oratex wrap, rather than making airfoil shaped ribs, unless I can see that the extra work and extra weight will yield significant speed improvement.

Why Oratex?
(1) Unbelievable toughness, which I accidentally tested. The wounded and badly stretched Oratex self-repaired, and I went from very sad to incredulous and happy in 24 hours.
(2) Ease of repair, which I haven't had to do, yet.
(3) No noxious or poisonous chemicals and their odors; I'm building in garage space under the house, and that helps keep peace with the family.
(4) No painting of fabric-covered parts.

Thanks for all your tips and commentary and pictures, Shawn. Well done.

[TD1]

Not building yet, but very much plan on Oratex. Only thing I hate worse than painting is sanding..... And from incident to accident.... it does seem to be a good deal tougher than any other fabric covering out there.

WRT views..... I look at the Just Aircraft forum nearly every day and read all the new posts. Your thread in particular has been a wealth of info.

More of us "lurking " out there than you think. =D

[moving2time]

BucF16, How is your project coming along? You getting close to flying? How are you going to use the Oratex? Trim? Vinyl sheets? Straight Oratex? I would really like to do something more exciting than a single color application but I'm thinking that it would be better to have some experience with the Oratex before contemplating something more creative. Joe B

[BucF16]

Joe I sent you a PM!

[BDA]

Thought I would show how I fixed a penetration that opened up when I stretched the fabric because I didnt use a backing plate.
This is if you cant glue a patch on from the back.
When the fabric puckers it can be very difficult to patch.

Here I had one large wrinkle so I cut it down the center so the fabric could lay almost flat, then slide a flat stick through the hole so I could support the fabric whle ironing the tape over the hole.

If you dont support the fabric behind the tape it will curl away and you will be able to see the hole through the tape.