Papering conical nose cone and transitions... anyone tried?

After looking at the results of my first two builds, I've decided that my balsa finishing technique with CWF sucks. I'm following the hcmbanjo general approach: CWF, sand, filler/primer, sand. It generally looks and feels good but after painting I see lots of imperfection. I am also not crazy about the dust from sanding the CWF.

So for my soon-to-be-started Diamond Cutter build I think I'm gonna go crazy with papering, which I've never tried before but it sounds very appealing. I'm gonna try with the self-stick label paper.

Rocket looks like this:


For this build, in addition to the fins, the nose cone and two transition pieces will also be balsa. I was thinking of papering the whole lot.

For all these parts, I can use a shroud pattern generator. For the NC I'll back slightly off the point, just use CA there. For the transitions, I can use two pieces, one for each side. This should be straightforward for the rear transition (I'll just fillet the joint between the two sides), but for the front transition, which will have canard fins mounted to it, I'll have to try to cut small cut pieces to insert between the fin mounting locations. Then, hopefully, the fin fillets (Titebond M&T) would do a satisfactory job of sealing down the edges of the paper near the fins, because I don't want to be throwing down any CA where the fins will be glued. Sequencing that front piece will be "interesting".

Anyone ever tried papering stuff other than fins? Any pitfalls I should look out for?

Can't say I have. However, I have a technique for making balsa look like plastic that you may or may not have seen... https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...rial-Making-Balsa-Nosecones-Look-Like-Plastic

Actually I've read it multiple times. I think I'd rather try an approach that requires less massive use of CA. For non-conical parts papering wouldn't be an option, but since all my parts are indeed conical, I thought this approach might work. And it actually might be really easy, unless I'm overlooking something.

Even after papering, I still wet with thin CA. It helps the surface get hard and allows for better sanding.

The fumes off CA - especially the thin stuff - is really nasty. If you don't have a hood, do it outside and don't hold the work piece under your face.

Kevin

you want the breeze (either natural or created) to be from your side while using CA. dry fit everything and index the pieces (you probably don't need circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each piece...) but you will want to know which piece fits where. good luck
Rex

I haven't used SSLP (self stick label paper) on cones and transitions; however I have regularly used it on fins with really good results, have used it on the ACME Spitfire body tubes, and I often recommend it to others.

Here are my opinions on caveats/watch-outs:
-I would say is that while the label paper can strengthen a balsa fin by keeping the grain together (splits/breaks along the grain are less likely), the advantage may be lost if you have a papered fin glued to a papered tube/transition since a fin's strongest glue point (and likely biggest stress point) is the glue joint on the root...if the root is glued to a papered surface, the weak point then is that little bit of adhesive at the root. For such instances where I have the body tube papered and want a stronger joint, I've cut away label paper from around the area I will be gluing on the fin.
-CA and label paper doesn't seem to be that great of a match. I tried papering some balsa fins which were CA'd and the paper didn't stick well. I have used CA on the papered fin edges and it seemed fine, but wood glue seemed to work better.
-I don't know if I'd reco papering the nose cone...one hard hit and it may make a mess that is harder to repair than if it was just a dent/ding/scuff/break. Usually nose cones are fairly simple to give a nice finish. Yes, I hate sanding, but nose cones are usually the easiest of the stuff to make look good. Also if you paper the cone, you end up with a seam which would need filling anyway.

Good luck and let us know how things go!

SSLP fan,
Ken

KenECoyote said:

For such instances where I have the body tube papered and want a stronger joint, I've cut away label paper from around the area I will be gluing on the fin.

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Yup, I would plan to do this. I think that if I mark the fin attachment points on the transition, I can pretty easily cut wedges out of the paper and affix them in between. That would probably be the easiest part of job, since there resulting pieces of SSLP would be relatively small.

-CA and label paper doesn't seem to be that great of a match. I tried papering some balsa fins which were CA'd and the paper didn't stick well. I have used CA on the papered fin edges and it seemed fine, but wood glue seemed to work better.

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Good to know! I certainly wouldn't be CAing underneath the paper anyway, but I'd always prefer to avoid the CA if there's a solid alternative. So you just spread wood glue along the edge?

-I don't know if I'd reco papering the nose cone...one hard hit and it may make a mess that is harder to repair than if it was just a dent/ding/scuff/break.

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Hmm. I've just been having not-so-great luck with CWF and really don't want to go the CA route. Maybe if I just commit to a an extra CWF/sand/prime/sand cycle or two I'll do better. Of course, it wouldn't be any stronger than before....

neil_w said:

Yup, I would plan to do this. I think that if I mark the fin attachment points on the transition, I can pretty easily cut wedges out of the paper and affix them in between. That would probably be the easiest part of job, since there resulting pieces of SSLP would be relatively small.

Good to know! I certainly wouldn't be CAing underneath the paper anyway, but I'd always prefer to avoid the CA if there's a solid alternative. So you just spread wood glue along the edge?

Hmm. I've just been having not-so-great luck with CWF and really don't want to go the CA route. Maybe if I just commit to a an extra CWF/sand/prime/sand cycle or two I'll do better. Of course, it wouldn't be any stronger than before....

Click to expand...

I found that wood glue along the edge worked best for me...CA seemed okay, but was messy and can leave a hard and rough edge. Regarding the nose, I say go for it! Why not see how things are with the paper...if it doesn't work well, you can always remove and start back with the sanding/CWF cycle.

As a side note, I found getting a medium sized round trash can lined with a kitchen garbage bag is great for sanding over...catches most of the dusty crud (just slap the sandpaper/sanding block/sanding sponge on the side every once in a while to unclog). Grab a small chair, a few sanding sponges (I use Medium and then Fine), turn on the TV and you're set! You can also use surgical gloves if you really hate dealing with dust on your hands. :grin:

I did a quick papering experiment with a piece of scrap this evening and found that (a) it's *really* easy, (b) I need a new bottle of wood glue, and (c) I'm really not quite sure of the proper sequence. Could you put these in order?

1) apply paper to fin
2) apply wood glue to edges of paper
3) apply would glue to edges of fun
4) sand down edge of paper
5) sand down wood glue on edge of paper
6) shape edges of fins
7) apply primer
8) sand primer

Maybe some are omitted or combined.