What I do is pretty time consuming compared to other people's methods, but I like mine. I use Titebond III wood glue, and you can find it at most any hardware shop like Lowes or Home Depot. I prepare the surface where the fin will be attached by sanding off the shiny glassine off the tube so the glue will have a stronger bite onto the body tube. I spread a thin layer of the glue on the fin root and then smooth it out with my finger to have a nice even coat of glue on the root. The glue, in the end, should be thin enough to see the wood through the fin. Then I quickly put it in place and hold it in place after making sure it's aligned properly and perpendicular to the body tube. After it's dried, there shouldn't be too much glue, if any at all, that should have come out from under the fin after pressing it in place. This is why I use a little bit of glue, to prevent that, since the glue that comes out from under the root can interfere with the fillets. So then, I squeeze out a relatively thin line of glue along the fin and body tube joint and then smooth it out with my finger by applying a consistent force and running it down along the joint. If my finger picks up a lot of glue, I stop and wipe it off to prevent it from flowing out and around my finger. After that, the glue should be nice and smooth. The glue will shrink, and so I repeat the fillet process typically three to four times to create a layered fillet. The end product should be very smooth, requiring minimal sanding or filling and very strong. The layered fillet will ensure that all the glue is dried as opposed to one thick fillet laid down all at once. A thick fillet could take as much as two weeks to completely dry on the inside.
Is this detailed enough? Haha.
The paper wrapped fins give me fits also.
