So I talked to the mechanic next door to our hanger. He rebuilt a plane for himself and used dope. He would recommend we do that. It can be brushed or sprayed. It does sound like a fairly simple system. Any Comments?
What type of fabric did he use the dope on? Cotton, Irish Linen or Dacron and why? Who's brand of Dacron?
Which dope did he use? Nitrate or Butyrate or a combination if the two?
Did he need or use a blush remover or a retarder to prevent it from dying too quickly? High humidity makes dope blush, which needs to be corrected or it will keep working it's way to the surface.
Who's dope process did he use Ceconite's or the FAA's?
https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_43.13-1B_w-chg1.pdf Chapter 2.
What chemical did he use for the first stick coat? Wrong one, then the entire following layers can peel off down to the bare fabric.
Spraying dope requires a lot of coats for buildup. Most of it flies around in the air sticking to every place it lands. Brushing builds up with fewer coats but also requires a lot of sanding, if you want a smooth finish. If you don't care, skip the sanding. It's not required, though I suspect you will regret it later. You will spend as many hours wet sanding as you do applying the dope. Patching where you sanded through the fabric because you didn't notice a small bump with a screw underneath. :evil: There is a minimal sanding requirement with Stewarts in comparison.
I knew a fellow who repainted his airplane every year or so with silver house paint and a paint roller. It worked. It met the FAA's requirement of a taught, well filled finish. Some of the Ceconite processes when done, produce a not very well filled finish. These have a tendency to collect dirt between each pore of the weave.
What are the temperature and humidity conditions where this project is to be done?
Will any of the work be done at your home or all at the hangar?
Did he have any blushing issues or was he blessed?
Why did he choose dope over any other process?
Has he ever used any other processes?
Is this the only recovering job he has ever done outside of what he was taught in A&P school?
Did he use dope because he is reluctant to try a more up to date system? Some of us old timers are reluctant to change even when a system may be easier to use or better for our health.
Why did he choose dope over any other process?
What did he use to stick the fabric to the structure? It would be a shame when after you have your fabric stuck down and shrunk to have the edges lift off because of the coats of fabric filling chemical soaks through and lifts the "glue". This has happened.
Will this plane always be stored in a hangar or tied outside in the sun?
A dope finish when kept in the sun continues to shrink and dry out over time. The pigments of a dark finish gets sucked off, faded, chalked by the sun. When it has some life behind it stored outside, it often cracks around the edges or gets some ring worm cracks. Particularly when someone happens to push in the wrong place. This exposes the fabric to the elements.
Are you in an area where there is always a lot of dust in the air or bugs which like to land on the wet finish before it drys?
I know, a lot of questions. I am an old timer stuck in his ways. For my health, I chose to teach myself a new trick and went with Stewarts system after 50+ years of dope. No regrets, easy to learn and use. Less labor and fewer small issues. I hate spray painting and am not particularity good at it. Stewarts was forgiving for me. I believe it will be more durable than any dope system. When a person is learning from scratch, all the methods will have a similar learning curve. You are not wanting a process that is easy, you want a process that will last and for you to be proud of. A low maintenance process. Dope isn't low maintenance when compared to other systems. At least it isn't if you are planning to fly a lot. Don't worry about ease of repair. You can most always use duct tape to get you home.
Which ever system you end up using be certain to read and understand the instruction manual. In all the systems the working of the fabric attachment to the structure is basically the same, even though the "glues" are different.