Papering fins

The Thrifty Rocketeer continues...

 A short entry today.

 Some rocketeers swear by filling spirals.  Others insist that you seal your fins and wood. Still others  speak highly of papering your fins.
Say what?

 The term "papering your fins" refers to gluing down paper over the surface of a wooden fin, to create a smooth, even surface, suitable for painting.  It's for those people who value appearance more than expediency... not that there's anything wrong with that...

 For years, I have ignored the topic, preferring to use diluted wood glue as a sealant for my balsa fins. I've already described this technique before, and I still prefer it.

 But about a month ago I bought an Estes kit on impulse, just because it had big fins. They were prominent, and easily accessible. In short, perfect candidates for trying my hand at papering.

 I read up on people's techniques, and most said "Just use a sheet of typing or copy paper, and slather it on with glue."  (Slather? Really?)  While others recommended using wood putty or wood filler, spread with a credit card and then sanding vigorously until the perfect surface was achieved.

 I don't know about you, but I NEVER can achieve a blemish-free surface when using wood filler.  But it has it's uses and times.

 Half of those recommending glue suggested wood glue, and half suggested white school glue.  I decided since the rocket had three large fins, I would try a different technique on each fin.

 I started with white school glue, spreading it over both sides of the first fin in a smooth, even coat... one side at a time. Then I pressed a folded tent of copy paper (traced and trimmed down to approximate the size of the fin) with a credit card as a squeegee.   This worked fairly well, but the white glue quickly penetrated the paper, and it began to wrinkle. A little smoothing work with the credit card squeezed the last of the glue out, but I was afraid I would tear the paper.

 The second fin was similar to the first, except I used yellow Elmer's glue full strength, and again, spread it out over the fin to an even coat before applying the paper "tent". The paper laid down well, and I quickly smoothed the surface with the credit card. It laid down well.

 In fact, I was so pleased with this, that I abandoned the third technique and just stuck with the yellow glue instead of the school glue.

 Now two or three foot notes here:

  1. The school glue had been recommended due to its water content, and easy of sliding and repositioning before it grabbed and dried.  That was the appeal.  I didn't see it.
  2. The yellow glue grabbed pretty quickly, but I didn't have any need to slide it around.
  3. If you try this technique, choose a credit card you don't care about. This didn't impact mine, but if you're about to pay for a pizza delivery with that card, you probably don't want to be using it as a glue squeegee.
  4. Want a great card?  Try a subway gift card... or similar store credit card. They worked well.  You can pick some of these style cards at many fast food stores, free...they have no cash value on them until after you spend some cash on them, or load them up. If you don't, you can palm one  ask for one, and just walk away with it take it with you.
Well, that's the tip for today. Use a store credit card as your squeegee.

Oh, you want to know how the fins tuned out?
Unremarkable.  Each of the three fins is pretty much identical to the others. The surface isn't spectacular, but it is smooth and paintable.  But then, they were before I started as well.

So the jury is still out.
Comments? Let me know.

Until then, keep your glue capped, and save your balsa scraps cause you never know when you will be needing them.

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