Opinions Needed ...

Although you found a good solution, Evergreen does sell 0.005" thick styrene sheets.  I think there standard package has three or four sheets.  I don't use it all the often, but when a really thin plastic is needed, it's quite handy.

Thanks, Andy.  Either they didn't have any when I got the 0.010 sheets or I just didn't see it.  Could go either way ;)  I'll check again next time I'm there, sheet that thin does come in handy from time to time.

MusicCity wrote:

0.010 styrene is too thick, and that's about the thinnest I know of.  I need something about 0.007" thick by 0.09" wide (1/4" x 3" in real life).

Although you found a good solution, Evergreen does sell 0.005" thick styrene sheets.  I think there standard package has three or four sheets.  I don't use it all the often, but when a really thin plastic is needed, it's quite handy.

Andy 

Bgrigg wrote:

There are numerous guages of metal used in offset printing. I work for a printshop and the plates we use would be far too thick for Scott's needs. They're at least twice as thick as an aluminum pop can. But it's an excellent suggestion for the future. I hadn't put work and pleasure together before!

Bill, as the old saying goes "Business before pleasure unless Pleasure is your  business" I usually find things while working that might "come in Handy" on a project here at home    I just stripped out a largish copier & saved some of that fine wiring

There are numerous guages of metal used in offset printing. I work for a printshop and the plates we use would be far too thick for Scott's needs. They're at least twice as thick as an aluminum pop can.

But it's an excellent suggestion for the future. I hadn't put work and pleasure together before!

Thanks guys.  Some good ideas there for future reference.

The reason I wanted it so thin was that when I swapped email with the owner regarding them his comment was that, "Anything that sticks out from the fuselage would probably be too thick." so I took that to mean that they were very thin steel.  I've got these painted so I'm going to tack them in place with tape and send him a photo for review.  I think they'll work OK.

Torio, I have a friend who owns a printing shop.  I'll have to give him a call and see what I can get.  Never know when thin metal will come in handy.

Marc, I've got some of that metallic tape (I've got regular "Duct Tape" to) and that's not a bad idea.

Tom, for seat belts you might try the foil that comes in cigarette packs.  It's textured and when painted looks a lot like cloth.  You don't have to smoke to get it, empty cigarette packs are where you find them.  I can send you all you'll ever need though ;)  Chewing gum foil is also textured and would probably work to.

I think there are two widths of metal used for offset printing, and the thinner one could suit your needs. Why don't you see a printshop to negociate a piece of leftover, or used sheet ? A friend of mine is achieving an Etendard prototype with this kind of stuff, glueing it on the plastic, and the model did not become "fat".

That metal duct tape actually sounds like a good idea for something I was thinking about... heck you could make belts out of them I bet..  hmmm....

Sounds like you have your solution already with the sanded strip.  But just in case... my first idea was the wine bottle stuff mentioned by triarius.  Them I was thinking of metal duct tape used for HVAC.  Very strong adhesive and if fairly stiff so if you don't press too hard the dimples should not be a problem.

 

And if you ever need "sheet metal" 2 layers of this stuff stuck back to back makes some nice metal to make parts from.  It can be sanded to dull the surface beforehand so it takes paint.

 

 

Wish I'd seen this yesterday! I have some 0.008 in. primed metal foil. I'd be happy to send you some—or you can get it yourself by buying a tube of Tom's of Maine™ toothpaste. The background color is white! Wine bottle foil is also in that region of thickness, and if you use it colored side out, it will also hold paint.

What about those flimsy "For Sale" signs one sees in the hardware stores? they are pretty thin & might work

I still think they would be too thick.  For an idea of how thin I'm looking for, three pieces of notebook paper are about 0.008" thick!

I think I got it though.  I cut some pieces of 0.010" styrene, stuck them on a piece of ceramic tile with some double-stick tape, and took a sanding stick to them.  I got them down to 0.007" thick and they appear to be pretty consistent down the length.  They should also be stiff enough to cover the "Dimples" molded in the fuselage.

Thanks for the ideas and help guys, I appreciate it.

What about those flimsy "For Sale" signs one sees in the hardware stores? they are pretty thin & might work

Scott - you can't putty up the dimples first, or are they too small or numerous... I think the BMF idea would work if you can smooth out the area.  Even white glue or gap filling CA follwed by sanding might do the trick.  I'll keeo thinking about alternate materials in the meantime though...

Ooops, I forgot one important point ... The fuselage is already painted.  I used some custom-blend paint, don't have enough to repaint it, and probably couldn't hit the exact blend again.  It's an off-white color and takes about a hundred coats to cover properly.

what about some lightweight card stock?  Maybe you cand find some cheapy business card someone gave you... if it were long enough it would be rigid enough to keep from dimpling but should conform to the curves well...

That might work, but I'm afraid it would start to get fuzzy over time.  It would also have to be about the thickness of a piece of paper.   The cardstock I have is 0.013" thick, or about twice as thick as I need.

I just remembered that I have some brass shim stock that is down around 0.005" thick but I don't know how well it would hold paint either.  A couple of coats of primer and a couple of coats of base paint would probably be thicker than the brass ;)

Scott - you can't putty up the dimples first, or are they too small or numerous... I think the BMF idea would work if you can smooth out the area.  Even white glue or gap filling CA follwed by sanding might do the trick.  I'll keeo thinking about alternate materials in the meantime though...

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what about some lightweight card stock?  Maybe you cand find some cheapy business card someone gave you... if it were long enough it would be rigid enough to keep from dimpling but should conform to the curves well...