| Another point to be aware of is warping, Poly C is water based after all, and the instructions suggest that structures liable to warp should be pinned down whilst the Polc C dries.
I was so impressed with the results I'd got on the fuselage and wings that I decided to “glass the lot” and for some unknown reason one elevator warped. I didn’t pin it down as I covered both sides at the same time, wrapping the glass cloth around the LE, so thought it had no chance of warping!
It wasn’t until I came to assemble the tail unit that I realised that there was any warping. As I thought the situation was hopeless (as it would have been using epoxy/glass) and I’d have to make a new elevator I experimented to see if the warp could be removed. Nothing ventured anything gained!
I clamped the joined elevators to a length of aluminium angle to ensure they were straight and aligned then applied heat to both sides of the warped elevator using a heat shrink gun. When the clamps were removed the warp was gone!
By the way, this stuff really does go a long way; I’ve still got a small quantity left from a 500ml bottle after completely glassing an Acrowot and applying 10 coats of Poly C. |