Covering a model airplane in Tissue

After doing my Instructable on making a model building board I could not help whipping out one of my kits and putting it together. In this case it is the Guillows Lancer. Being that this is a small rubber band powered model that needs to be light to fly correctly there are only a few options for covering the model. One you could cover it with a plastic film like Nelson Lite film or even colored plastic wrap, or you can cover it with good old fashioned tissue. I decided to cover mine in tissue as it is cheap and does not require any special tools or materials. This type of model is often referred to as a stick and tissue model, so it fits.

Back in the day one would attach tissue to a model with model dope and then shrink it with water. I have used dope in the past and it is nasty stuff, it smells bad and I'm sure the correlation with the drug is quite fitting. So instead I am going to show you how to attach the tissue using glue sticks and use alcohol to shrink it. This method is not only less toxic then using dope it is also cheaper then dope and it is quicker in my opinion.

Step 1 Materials

To cover your model you well need:

---

- A model, this should be self evident.
-Tissue, I use ordinary craft tissue, also called "Domestic Tissue" because a lot of people swear by Japanese Tissue, just make sure it is the none bleeding kind and also that one side is shinny and the other is dull in appearance for some reason it seems to make it work better.
-UHU Purple glue stick, some people use Elmers or Scotch purple glue sticks but the UHU is the tried and true one to use.
-Rubbing alcohol, used to shrink the tissue after it is attached to the frame.
-Spray bottle, used to spray the alcohol on to the tissue with.
-Razor blade for trimming the tissue.
-Sand paper to sand the model before covering and to trim the tissue with.
-Krylon "Crystal Clear" spray paint to seal the tissue.

Comments

[biged]

We are covering a WWII Waco CG-4A Glider with fabric. *3'=8" wing (900sq feet) ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS? I will send pics latter.

[dwgcon12]

Hi, Im new to this blog. Two questions. First, you cover wings and stabilizers with equal amounts of tissue simeltaneously for upper and lower surfaces and shrink them at the the same time to prevent wrapping correct? Second, Im looking to get about a square yard each of high quality tissue in red and blue to finish a fairchild d 24 that I'm building. Any idea where I and get those colors and quantities online? Thanks for your help

[stabian]

I also noticed that when you use glue instead of dope to put the tissue on it doesn't stretch as well but this mostly would happen on a fighter plane or other with a round fuselage.

[planebuilder123]

what exactly is dope?

[the gizmoman]

im building a guillows p-40 warhawk

[planebuilder123]

i've been building a greatplanes trainer 60, we covered it with monokote instead but tissue works well also

[Ohm]

Yeah you wouldn't want to use tissue on a plane that large, it is mainly used on small models because it is very light.

[planebuilder123]

I have heard that people also use silk

[pappa g]

I've Built two sizes. What scale are you building? If you are building the giant scale,1000,.2000 series, it looks great covered with 1/32nd balsa! not so good with tissue. Self adhesive monocoat works good too. I too am building yet anoyher guillows 20" wingspan P-40. hope it comes out great. GOD bless you and yours

[the gizmoman]

It's a 20" and I never got it completely built I'm at the covering stage and manage to lose one of tail surfaces plus I've been working on a rc L-19 birddog parkflyer which builds suprisingly like an oversize rb powered model (even came with tissue for covering )

[asolorio01]

Where do you get the plans to build this models?

[the gizmoman]

Local hobby shop or online like towerhobbies.com

[planebuilder123]

I'm building a guillows rubber band powered piper super cub

[vtstruct]

While it seems like a good idea to try something else to avoid traditional model airplane "dope" (lacquer) fumes by using a different adhesive, like a glue stick, the fumes from Krylon Crystal Clear spray which you used to finish the tissue are even worse! ...................................................................................................................................................... I tried it outside, and brought the model inside ten minutes later, and that stuff has a really choking odor, even after it has flashed off and dried to the touch. I'd rather use dope than that stuff, but would especially like it if something less toxic than either could be used for a finish. Especially since I have a family including a 4 year old who would have to put up with the fumes of anything I paint. Can't open windows in the winter, but that's the best time for an indoor hobby like model building. So, what to do? ......................................................................................................................................................... I've heard that water based acrylic "no-wax" floor finishes have been used for painting model coverings by some people, but not sure of what brand to use, or how to apply it. Anybody tried it? ......................................................................................................................................................... Also a note about UHU glue-stick. It is apparently water based (washable) and if it seems a little dry (old) you can wet the end with a little water I found and it goes on easier. But if you try to shrink the tissue with water mist, I found a few places where the glue let go on the model, since it got wet again and the tissue shrank. Same thing for steaming over a teapot (which shrinks less drastically than water spray). ..................................................................................................................................................... There are "permanent" glue sticks available (Borden makes one). I might try that. Wouldn't be surprised if it works better for water, but still can be removed if needed with alcohol. ............................................................................................................................................ Thanks for a generally helpful Instructable, and I think a little experimentation will solve the odor and glue sticking problems.

[joshrocks98]

hey do they make colored srpay? i want a cup yellow and my tissue is white

[scud1333]

In the past what i used for glue was plain white glue mixed it with some water then took a small paintbrush and brushed some onto the balsa wood. I then laid the tissue on top and applied more water glue mix on top waited for it to dry, then sprayed some water on it and dried it with a hair dryer. It worked very well for me.

[Ohm]

That works good too, especially in tight places, I like the glue stick though for doing larger panels, both are good options.

[knex luver234]

ive building a guillowsspit fire mk-1, almost ready for the tissue paper, thanks for the post man!!

[pappa g]

hey, this christmas, save all the color tissue wrap, It DOES work as a covering for airplanes and it shrinks well! Just dont get the stuff that has a stencil or painted scene on it, hard if not impossible to get the 50/50 mix to flow thru and moisten it. Lots of free tissue and colors. GOD bless happy flying.

[annoyingfeatures]

 did you get the red and yellow tissue with your kit? because mine came with gray and white tissue

[Ohm]

No I bought it seperately, I actually used craft tissue, not ideal but it works, the gray and white tissue that comes with the kit is a bit unflattering. If you do use craft tissue make sure it is the kind that has color fast ink.

[annoyingfeatures]

 i dont need to buy any, i was just wondering. but im covered because my dad has a collection of modle airplane tissue

[stabian]

when i put patches on, I put the piece of tissue and cover it with dope so its nice and smooth because with glue it CAN make lumps.
The first model I made was a messeschmitt BF 109.

[U2rocks!]

what if your paper isn't the right color? do you apply the clear and then the color or just the color coat?

[Ohm]

If you can't go and just swap to another color between frames, like if you want to paint on scallops or other trim, you can as mentioned do a coat of clear, probably a mat clear so the paint sticks better then use acrylic paint as it tends to go on in lighter coats to save weight. This pretty much how they would do it back in the day, they would use dope to apply and seal white silk and then paint over that and then do a final clear coat to seal it all in, you don't need to seal it twice as you are probably not using a glow fuel engine.

[U2rocks!]

thanks.

[Ohm]

You can see in the photo of the blue and yellow plane in the first step what I mean by swapping to another color, on the wings there is the blue bands where I cut the yellow covering out from between two ribs and cut a small strip to cover the space. Also for small bits of decoration you can simply cut out pieces of tissue and glue them to the base tissue, you just want to not do a whole lot like this as it adds weight to the plane and on these it makes a difference. Have fun and good luck, post a pic when you are done.

[Frohmer]

I used the dope method for applying tissue for years, but the smell was getting unbearable. I tried the glue stick method and I found it to be much easier, quicker, and have better adhesion. Some notes on this: 1. I don't put dope on the frame to "seal" the wood as I've heard that it affects the adherence of the tissue to glue. 2. I put the glue stick on the frame first and then "activate" it with the rubbing alcohol. However, the tissue becomes fragile when activated, so be careful when pulling it. 3. The U-Hu glue stick is washable, so when spraying the water/alcohol mixture, the area that had the glue stick applied tends to bleed or fade some, so I cover these parts with Saran wrap when spraying.

[Ohm]

I find that it is easier to cut a piece of tissue to the right size and shape to cover the panel and quickly apply the glue stick and lay the tissue down. If the glue dries up a bit be because the panel is large you can fold the tissue back and use a little water/alcohol to re-wet the glue.

[Lord_Master]

this is a good kit

[Lord_Master]

Excellent!

[aainventor94]

How would you apply decals to the model. This is my first plane and I don't want to risk ruining it.

[Ohm]

I would say, I haven't done it much myself but, after putting two light coats of clear on, soak your decal like normal and after you slide it off gently shake the majority of the water off. Place the decal on the model and gently use a folded paper towel to push it down and soak up the excess water. After it is dry put a couple light coats of clear over the decal to permanently seal it on the model. To be absolutely sure make a small frame of balsa and apply tissue to it, shrinking and clearing it as if it were on a model and try applying an extra decal to it.

[aainventor94]

thanks for the advice :)

[the gizmoman]

i never got those glue sticks to work peases start to pop off after awhile so ill just stick with elmers glue all (good for paper models too)

[kanamin]

I had that exact same plane as a child! I kind of messed it up though, I was pretty young.

[KentsOkay]

Nice ible. However, I find using Elmer's glue that's been thinned down works better than other glues, and when used to tighten the skin it makes it stiffer than alcohol.

[Ohm]

Yes I have heard the Elmer's works good and you can brush it on. Did you use the thinned glue as well to shrink the covering? I'm not sure how well that would work, on mine I shrunk it with alcohol and water in a 50/50 mix, you can change it up to change how much it shrinks. After it was shrunk the way I wanted it I then sprayed it with Krylon Crystal clear to seal it afterwards, this is the same idea as using clear dope or thinned glue to seal the tissue.

[KentsOkay]

Yup. I shrunk it with 1/4 glue 3/4 water.

[Ohm]

I might have to give that a try and see how it works, as dboyfly told me there are about a million ways of covering with tissue and they all work.