Nylons??

In the latest issue of Sport Rocketry, there's a report on a presentation given at NARCON this year about using pantyhose and Minwax acrylic to strengthen tubes instead of glass, or even as a finishing layer over glass (no seams!). The article hinted that while it's not quite as strong as glassing, it's pretty close.
This sounds almost too easy to be true. Anyone done this? Thoughts? Ideas?

I saw it too. I tried glassing with nylons once but I just made a mess. I was using Bob Smith epoxy.

I doubt if the nylon/acrylic is anywhere near as strong as glassing, but it sounds like it might be good enough for strenghening thinner modroc tubes. That MinWax acrylic is on my list of stuff to buy!

A guy in our club glasses all his L1 birds with Nylon and West Systems...they come out pretty sweet! It's not as strong as glass cloth, but for mid range and low HPR birds, it seems to work great.

Carl

My problem was the Bob Smith...too thick

I guess the reason I'm asking is that I've got this Binder Sentinel sitting here calling my name. I don't have any extra BT's and I can't really afford to experiment and screw up something. The nylon thing seems relatively Kermieproof.

This will probably eventually end up being my L2 bird down the road, so I was wondering if it would handle L2 stresses. Mike from Binder seems to think that the kraft tubes will hold up on their own, but they seem kinda thin for me.

Would you wet the tube first or just pull the nylon over it and then lay the epoxy?

I would pull the nylon(s) over and then apply the epoxy (decided on epoxy vs. acrylic?). I don't see any reason to put it on first and the nylons would prolly 'squeegee' the epoxy off as you pulled. When I used the Giant Leap Kevlar sock, you pulled and then applied epoxy.

One good thing about the epoxy over nylons is that, if it doesn't seem strong enough for you, you can glass it afterwards. I don't know how the glassing would do over the acrylic.

You could always but a cheap mailing tube to test the nylon method.

Hehe...I can just see one of you guys trying to buy some pantyhose then go on and explain to the checkout lady what you will be using it for!

The "hose" method sounds pretty Eugene-proof too! I think I will pass on buying the hose though. Maybe my girlfriend would be better suited.

Originally posted by KermieD
The nylon thing seems relatively Kermieproof.

Click to expand...

Fear not the fiberglass! It's really not nearly as hard as one would imagine. Check out any of the online tutorial stuff, and go to it. Once you get into the mess, its actually relatively easy to do.

If "me and my ten thumbs" can do compound curves on a fiberglass boat, I guaruntee that you can do a tube!

Good luck!

-Nathan

Originally posted by KermieD
I don't have any extra BT's and I can't really afford to experiment and screw up something. The nylon thing seems relatively Kermieproof.

Would you wet the tube first or just pull the nylon over it and then lay the epoxy?

Click to expand...

Kermie,
Make sure you sand off any glassine coating on the tube before you stretch the nylon over the tube. This will make sure that when you squeegee on the epoxy, it will soak into the tube and bond the nylon to the tube. If you don't sand the glassine coating off of the tube, you won't get the epoxy to soak in very well.

Thanks Mark. I read a suggestion somewhere (ROL?) that said it's easier to just peel the glassine layer off. Yes? No? Also, I think I saw Carl somewhere saying something about tacking the glass with CA. How is this done? Just run a line of CA down the edge you're starting with?

FYI, I have a copy of the Narcon paper if anyone is interested. Just email me and I'll send a copy.

Kermie,

Yes, you can peel the very thin layer of glassine off the body tube and I highly recomend it if you glass the tube. The epoxy will reall soak into the BT and make it strong like cement. Be sure to sand with 220-400 grit after you peel it iff, as the BT will seem a bit fuzzy. The sanding will remove andy loose areas.

As far as glassing goes, here is my excerpt from my L3 website and a link to some pics...note that there are pics at the beginning AND end of the page:


I cut the tube to 19" in length, then sanded the entire tube including the edges and sealed the edges with CyA. Once the ends were taped, the tube was mounted on a holder and 6oz glass cloth was tacked down with CyA. Next, I used West 207 finishing hardener to mix up a batch of epoxy and the cloth was glassed to the tube. A squegee was used to spread the resin, then to remove excess resin. Toilet paper on a roller was used afterwards to sop up any additional resin.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/amraam/research/bpics/fore.htm

Dick,

I would thoroughly enjoy that paper. I have the Sport Rocketry article, but it didn't go into much detail. If it's a more detailed treatment of the topic, I'd love to see it.

Turns out, my girlfriend has a drawer full of nylons she no longer uses (no, I didn't make that assumption. I asked. Trust me...I know better), so I said what the heck? I started on the first layer tonight. I figure I'll put 3 layers of nylons on each tube and see how that comes out. Yes, I'm taking pictures, and no, I won't post them until we get to see 6 foot Barbie washing the car.

Kermie,

I didn't see how to attach something to an email from TRF. Please email me at [email protected] directly, and I'll respond with the PDF file.