Dope?

[Digger1]

What is dope, anyway?

No wisecracks, please.

I used dope thinner to clean brushes once. Big mistake. The stuff is overkill, bigtime.

[naoto]

It's a lacquer typically used when building model aeroplanes (flying type). Yep, that stuff is pretty "hot" and will melt plastic if you're not careful.

[big-dog]

I've seen it used primarily over tissue paper on a rib and tissue paper aircraft, makes the paper hard without adding a lot of weight.

[naoto]

BTW the dope on tissue paper or silkspan not only stiffens it somewhat but also seals it and tightens it somewhat (due to the shrinkage from drying). Typically I use a 50/50 mix of dope and thinner for sealing tissue coverings.

Dope is sometimes used to attach the covering to the framework, other times folks will glue it (typically by thinning a glue like Titebond). I've tried both methods and haven't found a significant difference ('cept for the smell and working time -- dope is smellier and tends to evaporate faster).

It's also used directly on balsawood -- as it seals the wood from moisture and helps prevent warpage from it (this might not be a problem for those indoor jobs -- but is quite important if you plan on flying outdoors). You can mix in some talcum powder to make a grain filler -- which works pretty nicely on balsawood fins on model rockets. Another method of dealing with the balsawood grain is to apply a tissue paper covering (attached with dope or thinned glue) -- which increases strength without much weight, seals the porous balsawood surface, and adds color (works quite nicely on boost-glide model wings).

Dope is sometimes referred to as "banana oil".

[Stu Pidasso]

Smoke'em if ya got'em!

Oh... that dope...