Using dyed silkspan-questions

I'm seriously considering trying dyed silkspan when finishing my Oriental. I love the "old time/classic" look. But of course, I have a pile of questions...

1. Would using regular old RIT dye do the trick?
2. If I make trim sheets in a different color, will the colors bleed into the layer below? That would stink...
3. Other cautions or tips?

My thought is that I'll get that "classic" look, and plus only need to use clear dope which I can brush on. No air compressor here...

Thoughts?

1. yes on the RIT, although it can fade in sunlight.
2. Possibly, you might want to do a test piece first. I usually use colored Jap tissue.

J

Tom: I have done this many times, and just recently finished a Ringmaster in this fashion.

Rit is fine. You can use either the powder or the liquid.

I use one of those tubs kids use as sleds up here in wintry (I saw a flake today!) Michigan. Pour hot water into your tub, then some of your dye, stir, and let sit for a while.

Precut your silkspan. Then put it in the water. I find that about 90 minutes is a good time, but it depends on how translucent you want your 'span to appear. I have actually left the paper in for two days, and you get an almost opaque color!

When you lift your sheet out, hold it over the tub (or whatever container you are using) and let it drip for a couple of minutes. Yes, you are going to put it on wet.

Do it on the undersides first. You will get better with experience, and you want the top looking better. Also, you can wrap the top span slightly past the LE point.

OK: put it on wet, pulling and tugging the wrinkles out. Take a cloth, and work the excess water out of the LE, TE, tips, and area around the fuselage.

Now, use very thinned dope over the these very same surfaces. Do no dope the open area, because, usually, dope and excess water sometimes will leave a stain later. Pin the paper around the tips down, and dab a little extra dope there; use a little thicker stuff here, if you can.

Everything is going to dry really fast. Also, if you precut slits in the span around the excess perimeter, it won't fold up much when it dries and shrinks.

That's about it. Trim excess when dry.

I wish I knew how to post pics here. Then I could show you the Ring. I did it in fuschia, and it came out pretty well.

By the way, I think I am going to bring the Ringmaster in at 20 ounces, or very close. And this technique was a big help here, in that it adds minimal finish weight. Yes, Brett, it has an FP 15 on it; that was the only way I could get the wt around 20 ounces.

Oh yes, wash your hands afterwards!

I was thinking of drying the silkspan, after coloring, then cutting my shapes, numbers, etc first. I know they have to be damp when putting them on, but would once wet silkspan shrink and then be unusable?

They don't have to be damp- it just helps on compound curves. You can put dry tissue on with dope thinner (on the already doped base tissue).

J

LAST EDITED ON May-02-04 AT 12:00 PM (CDT)
 
I also love the look of dyed silkspan. My baby N was done this way with Rit dye. I just cut out the letters and doped then on. I didn't experience any bleeding between the colors.

I am quite dissapointed in the amount of fading that occurs when exposed to sunlight.

LAST EDITED ON May-02-04 AT 12:43 PM (CDT)
 
Tom,

Drying the span and rewetting it for application is fine. The Chief pictured was done like that, I dyed a batch of span, dried it and the went about covering without all the fussing with the dye etc. I use RIT and I also rinse to keep the free pigment to a minimum, that way you don't get color bleeding from one color to another. Actually colored Jap Tissue looks nicer as trim over silkspan than silkspan does. Just remember the you will get the color blends and they will become more prevalent as you apply more dope. For instance the model is red and you trim with blue, your final trim color will be some shade purple. When I do this I acually cut the trim pattern out an apply it so I don't have color over color.

That is EXACTLY the type of look I hope to achieve! Thanks!

I've used colored tissue a few times. After 2 months in the sun the planes faded so much they started to look gray. The bottoms still look like new on all 3. Looks great at first. Light also.

If it has time to fade badly, I will be thrilled

As a flyer in Beginner, a plane that survives a season or two is one lucky ship

Pat is speaking of tissue, not silkspan. Colored Jap tissue fades rapidly without a UV blocker added to the dope. Dyed silkspan fades slower but even paint fades without UV protection. The Chief has seen 4 seasons with very little fading from the original color, but then again, yellow being pale means the fading is less noticeable. Darker colors will show the fading much more quickly. Many of my tissue covered rubber models have faded while on their storage racks just from the sun shining into the basement windows. Florescent lights will fade it as well, don't know about incandescent light.

You might try putting dye in the clear dope. There was a thread that
recommended a brand name for the dye, but several craft stores carry
dyes other than RIT.(Ain't computer searches wonderful. If you don't get the exact right words, you find nothing!)

Dissolve the dye in some thinner and use it to tint the clear(over plain silkspan). Looks great and makes a nice, deep finish.

Ken's plane was done this way with regular color dope on the fuse and tail.

I always like the Randolph non tautening tinted nitrate. Unfortunately, my local source can no longer supply it.
I bought a bottle of blue ink at Staples (their store brand I believe)that is used on ink pads, and started adding it to my Sig Nitrate. So far it has worked like a charm. I can tell the build up of coats and where more is needed by the tint of the wood.
Might be worth an experiment in clear butyrate as a top coat. Could be hairy, though, since I believe getting a constant application would be harder than using candy colors!
Bill <><

Starflite, the people who make polyspan sell a dye for use in clear dope. It comes in several different colors for about $5,00 a bottle. I believe this is an anyaline dye.
I've used both the red and the blue on some small models. they have held up remarkably well in a 2 year lifespan. They don't get flown much but they are exposed to direct sunlight daily. This might be what you need for your finish, Dennis

Dennis!
Thank you! I had a Senior moment there. The analine dye is what Bob Hunt used on his Frisky Pete. That worked really well. And Tom Morris (maybe Aircraft Spruce, too) has "polyspan" that's real inexpensive.
Bill <><