Ironwing

Jay To thin Weld Wood I tried toluene,acetone,lacquer thinner, and mineral spirits. In each case, these solvents turned the weld wood into a gelatinous goo, formed a precipitate or just didn't react. Weld Wood is a Xylol base. I Found that thinning with Xylol to the consistency of milk allowed me to get a nice smooth layer without lumps using a 3/4 inch brush. The Weld Wood dries very quickly so you can't eat a sandwich while your applying it. Avoid going back over an area you've already applied the adhesive to. Going over an area already done cause the insitu adhesive to soften and becomes lumpy from the brush running over it. I got mine at Home Depot in a pint can for a few bucks. HTH Sorry for going off topic G

Xylene/Xylol is the only substance that will thin Weld Wood. I've tried other solvents but none worked. HTH

Beautiful...

Happy New Year All. To begin, I must say..OW..that's going to leave a mark. But, I'm still here..sorta. My modeling days might be over. This said, I'll see how things progress. Ill be back. Be safe

See you folks in a while..Be safe Geoff

Derek Im glad your still looking in and I welcome any suggestions you might have. ll be down for a bit but Ill be back. Be well... Best Geoff

Jay Glad you looked in. Another Mustang..hell yes dude!! Now you have a reason to start working with litho. You have the skills for it. Takes a bit of learning but you have the chops for it and Im more than happy to help anway I can. Thank you for the well wishes. Talk soon I hope... Best Geoff

Thanks Zac More to come ASAP Best Geoff

Thanks Brian..I hope youll stay tuned Best Geoff

Thank you Kev..Ill be back Cheers Geoff

Greetings All Its been a while since last post.. but its not dead. I ended up stripping the litho from the cowling. Its a messy job, somewhat scary and time consuming trying to get the contact adhesive off. I did run into some problems as a result of my activities. The cowling exhibited small linear cracks running front to back, especially on the back edge. They were covered with epoxy to stableize them. The big problem came when I pushed on the nose cap unknowingly and cracked it pretty bad (the litho cap wasnt in place) so much so that I had to remove it. Fortunately I had a spare... COWLING 2.0 This one came out better. But Im still deficient is getting down a smooth thin layer of contact adhesive. That said..here is number two.. It can use a bit more hammer treatment to smooth it further before committing to sanding. I tried somethinga bit different, in that, I didnt rub the litho down. What you see here is hammered only. I have to say, This was hard to do..at least for me. Working around the constant tapering curve was a challenge and ensuring all five pieces mated properly in the front required really accurately aligned panels. The cowl cap isnt permanrntly attached. Its taped on from the inside. There is still a boat load to do on the cowling. I just wanted to prove it wasnt dead I have a date with a surgeon and a scalpel on 17 November. Ill be down for a while but Ill be back... Be safe Regards Geoff

Chuck Ive just caught up with what youre doing. As always, pristine and exacting work with an excellent tutorial. I dont know how you do what you do but you sure are good at it, Best Geoff

Peter Another work of art in the making. I cant imagine how youll surprise everyone next but please keep doing it. Best Geoff

Dude, Worth it or not. Youre giving a master class in how it gets done and your workmanship has entered that rarified place only a few exist in. Im so happy this is working out well for you. This is an iconic work of art. Stay with it... Best Geoff

Pete You just keep pushing up. Master class skill young fella. I bumped into a couple T-38's a bunch of yeras back at Langely. They were all black, white tail markings. Wish I could remember what the markings were but they just look so cool sitting there with the canopies up. Its a really nice looking ship and everything youre doing is giving it its full due moment. Makes me smile... Best Geoff

VERY nice work..subtle, precise, not overdone,clean. Lovely Geoff

Peter, You never let us down. Your work can't really be commented on... seriously. Best Geoff

Hi Craig, Lessons learned hard are the best to learn from It will be a bunch of work to get back to where I was but Im unwilling to compromise. Im glad yo stopped in. Regards Geoff

OBG, Glad you looked in.Aluminum does indeed stretch. However, in this case, Im of the opinion that its more an issue of the edges deforming, kind of "mushing" over from being worked. Hopefully, not fitting the edges too tightly will eliminate the problem. Got any suggestions? Glad yu looked in... Regards Geoff

Hello All, Hope everyone is well. Back from a little R&R kiuhgfrtopklhyu7u7hu..that was a brief visit from my grand son..Anyway, once the cowling was skinned and given a real hard look at, after being sanded, I wasnt really happy with the panel separations. None got bigger but in some spots they closed. Note to me: dont make the panels fit so tightly. IMHO, scribing the lines in where they closed would work in theory. But the scribed panel line would look different and it would be obvious. Other than that, Im not disappointed. It was a great learning experience. Hence, with new found knowledge, Ive removed the litho from the top and two sides. The bottom pan was left in place for reference points. A new one will be done once the top and sides are back on. The nose cap remains intact safely put away on its buck. Starting again, with the litho off. Theres a mess of clean up to do. Xylene..outside..gloves..repirator..weapons free. Be safe All.. Regards Geoff

YAY..Chucks back. Good to see you back to work.Show us some more magic... Geoff