After two years of listening to other people extol the virtues of Ceconite for covering giant models, I finally got around to actually trying some of it on a bird of my own. My Champ needed some minor repairs, (DON'T ask-), and recovering of its surfaces. I had used Ceconite some before, but had heard that I had gone about it the hard way, applying it very similarly to applying wet silk of old. I had heard that you could just iron it on like Monocote.

For a little background, Ceconite is a trade name for dacron polyester fabric that is most often used nowadays in recovering full-sized airplanes. It is a lifetime fabric, supposedly good forever, and it seems to be living up to that reputation. It is available in three different weights, but the weight we are most interested in is the 1 1/2 oz weight that is used to cover over solid wood surfaces.

As I said, Ceconite is a trade name. It is also known by several other names, but the most common other one is Stits Poly-Fiber. Stits also makes all of the finishing materials for it, so I guess I should call it Poly-Fiber; old habits die hard.

Anyway, the other guys were right. Ceconite can be ironed on, just exactly like Monocote, and when finished, it gives a super-strong surface covering that I don't think can be beat. The secret is Stits Poly-Tak, a Ceconite glue. This material acts just like thick dope of old, but it is a plastic material that becomes a thermoplastic when dry and heated. That means a heat iron wi11 soften it so that it will then glue down Ceconite.

The procedure is as follows: Finish up your wood structure, and sand it all nice and smooth. Paint on two coats of Poly-Tak, allowing it to dry between coats. After the second coat has dried thoroughly, you will have a bare wood frame covered by a soft, glassy surface, Now just cut a piece of Ceconite to fit the part to be covered, and using your Top Flite Sealing Iron, or standard household iron set hot, just iron on the Ceconite like you would Monocote. ONE CAUTION -- don't allow the iron to touch the Ceconite anywhere except the edges to be sealed. If you do, you will have one puckered mess.

After sealing the Ceconite thoroughly all around the edges, make one slow pass across the open areas with the iron. The Ceconite will pull up nice and tight like a bass drum. Right now you will be very glad that you replaced all those balsa stringers with hardwood, You did do that, didn't you? If not, then remove the Ceconite, and replace all the ones you just crushed! Ceconite is that strong. Go carefully, and shrink it only until it draws up tight, Don't try to shrink it beyond that point. It is fully capable of crushing a weak structure, as was demonstrated here locally on a balsa-stringered Stinson.

You might have a little bit of trouble getting overlapping Ceconite edges to stick thoroughly, caused by not enough glue being present to go through two thickness of the cloth. If this happens, just apply a coat of Poly-Tak over the first layer, let dry, then iron down the second layer.

After you have the entire surface completely covered, the next step is to get the whole mess painted. ("PAINTED?" you scream, "What's that?" Some of youse guys have never had the heady pleasure of smelling a freshly painted model). Therein lies the second secret. Dacron fabric is a plastic material, and as such, not very much of anything will stick to it well. Painted with normal techniques, your beautiful glossy paint has a tendency to lift off of the Ceconite in a nice, even sheet without too much problem; Since we would usually like the paint to continue to decorate the model, rather than form pretty decorations on the grass, a second step is needed after the covering. This takes the form of a special primer coat which will bond heavily to the Ceconite, and form a base to which any paint will stick.

My own method for this primer coat is to thin down the Poly-Tak very thin, and brush on a coat of this mixture over the entire cover. This allows the Poly-Tak. to penetrate the fibers thoroughly, giving a very good bond. You can then top-coat this prepared surface with just about any kind of paint you please.

Stits also makes a special first-coat paint that accomplishes the same job. It is called Poly-Brush. Stits does have a complete line of paints for their process, of course, and if you want to be totally authentic with a plane that was actually covered in this process, then you could use the entire line of products totally.

The materials all mentioned in this article should be available from any major supplier of aircraft parts and supplies. If you don't have a shop locally that can supply you, I would then suggest that you contact one of the suppliers listed below:

	Poly-Fiber Aircraft Coatings 	   Aircraft Spruce &  
	(formerly Stits) 	           Specialty Co. 
	P.O. Box 3084S 	                   P. 0. Box 424
	Riverside" Ca. 92519 	           Fullerton, Ca. 92632
	714/684-4280                       714/870-7551 
	Phone/write for free 
	catalog 6 data 

	Cooper Aviation Supply (Ceconite)  Sport Aviation Corp 
	2149 E. Pratt Blvd. Dept, S 	   E2651 No. 3 Road 
	Elk Grove Village, Ill. 	   Richmond, B,C. CANADA 	
	60007 	                           V6X 2B2 
	312/364-2600 	                   604/273-8501

Two final notes: Poly-Tak is most efficiently thinned with MEK, which is available at just about any paint store, or the aircraft supply places. Second, when it comes time to sand your paint job smooth, be sure that you sand only the primer, do not cut through to the Ceconite, If you cut into it, it fuzzes something terrible, and the only way to correct this situation is to completely reseal it with primer, then carefully resand.

This stuff is just plain super, it has far more strength than any other material I have ever used, and it isn't that much heavier than standard silk-and-dope. There are a few tricks to using it, as mentioned, and if you are just a little careful to avoid the pitfalls mentioned, you will be very happy with your results.