Wrinkles in silkspan

[wmherbert]

I just started making sails from silk span . First ship turned out ok but I couldn't get totally rid of the creases that came with it from being folded. 

Any suggestions? Ironing seem like it worked some but some are still there.

Thanks

[whitejamest]

I've only just started working with silk span myself, but the process I used (as demonstrated by others on this site) helped with wrinkles. 

 

I took two layers of the silk span (because it was thinner than I had anticipated) and taped them to a cardboard box with a hole cut out. You can see in the first photo below a crease from being folded in its package is still visible. 

Then I brushed on a very watered down mixture of white glue and beige paint, from both sides. 

Then I used a hair dryer on the hottest setting. This dries the glue/paint mixture quickly and causes the silk span to contract, which pulls the wrinkles smooth. 

 

Don't know if that is helpful but it worked for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by whitejamest

[Roger Pellett]

First make a simple wooden frame; four pieces of 1in lumberyard SPF construction grade lumber nailed together to form a rectangle.

 

Tape the silkspan to the frame.   Masking tape works fine. Tape continually around all four sides.

 

Spray with water..  A spray bottle used to mist indoor plants works well. The silkspan will form an ugly bag.  Don’t worry.

 

Let it sit overnight to dry.  When you come back to it the next day it will be drum tight.

 

That’s all that there is to it.

 

Roger

 

 

[allanyed]

I would add to what Roger suggests that you have a plug that fits inside the frame he describes.   When you go to paint the silk span the color you want the sails to be, using good quality tubed acrylic artist paints (unbleached white titanium with a little yellow ochre and burnt sienna works well,) it will sag and stick to the table top or bench or whatever it is resting on.   The plug will prevent the sag and keep keep the paint off your work surface.  Once painted remove the plug and prop it up so the wet span is not sticking to anything.   Do not let it dry on the plug.  The span will retighten as the paint dries.

Allan

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by allanyed

[druxey]

Also see:

 

https://seawatchbooks.com/products/swan-iv-sail-making-supplement-from-the-revised-and-expanded-edition-by-david-antscherl

 

For sailmaking using Silkspan.

[allanyed]

8 hours ago, druxey said:

Also see:

I totally agree that this booklet is excellent and for $5, cannot be beat.   

 

I made two frames so I can make small sheets on which to draw the sails once the material is painted and a bigger frame for larger scales.  Silk span is cheap, and high quality paint is a bit pricey, but I urge you to not use the cheap bottled paints.  

Allan

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

12 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

First make a simple wooden frame; four pieces of 1in lumberyard SPF construction grade lumber nailed together to form a rectangle.

 

Tape the silkspan to the frame.   Masking tape works fine. Tape continually around all four sides.

 

Spray with water..  A spray bottle used to mist indoor plants works well. The silkspan will form an ugly bag.  Don’t worry.

 

Let it sit overnight to dry.  When you come back to it the next day it will be drum tight.

 

That’s all that there is to it.

 

Roger

 

 

  Back in the day when making paper covered rubber powered airplanes on a small bench next to my Dad's (as he made silk covered RC planes), the paper was glued to the fuselage and wing assemblies (pulling reasonable smooth). After the glue cured, all it took was a light spray of water, and the covering dries nice and taut with no wrinkles (if the edges had been pulled smooth when gluing).  

 

  I flew my planes as-made, but Dad also treated his silk covered planes (once shrunk) with Aerogloss 'hot fuel proof' dope to get a smooth shiny finish that could be wiped clean of any oily exhaust from the single cylinder gas engine that powered the craft.  Those were early days, and as time went by a product was developed called Monocote - a special film (a form of shrink wrap) that was glued, then shrunk tight with a hair dryer.  No more silk (or stinky dope) after that.

[Roger Pellett]

I used to make tissue covered balsa airplanes too.  An old fashioned fly sprayer was good for wetting the tissue.  Silkspan is exactly the same idea.

 

Roger

[wmherbert]

Thanks for the great ideas. A frame. Wetting it and let it dry and contract is such a great solution 

Bill

[wefalck]

Some 43 years ago I published and article (in German, sorry) inter alia on this subject: https://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/tips/FALCK-SM-5-80.pdf. I cut out the sail from the silkspan (in this case the fabric) with a 2 cm margin or so and suspended it from four pins over a board. Then the paint was put on with caution. The process was repeated from the other side, once the paint was dry. Today, I am actually building up the sails from individual panels that are stuck together with varnish. It's easy to avoid any creases that you cannot iron out. 

 

[wmherbert]

Boy I've tried the frame method and steam ironing but still have the fold creases  showing. Any ideas?

Maybe soaking in water for an hour or so.? 

Bill

[wefalck]

Which silkspan are you referring to, the fabric or the paper?

[wmherbert]

The paper I guess. I didn't know there was fabric.

I talked to Bluejacket where I bought it and they suggested steam ironing it between two layers of fabric. I tried that and it worked pretty well. Enough so that when painted the creases pretty much disappeared.

[wefalck]

So the problem is solved?

 

Otherwise, wetting it several times, particularly in the areas with the creases and going over it with iron should solve it. Place the material so that the crease faces upward with the convex side.

 

Otherwise, just choose areas without crease ...

[wmherbert]

Just an update on what turned out to work best for me to get rid of wrinkles.  I got silkspan from SIG manufacturing in the medium weight. 

I had tried making a frame as suggested but with only a bit of success. I think the problem was that since it was taped on 4 sides, after spraying with water and then letting it dry it would only comeback to the tightness I had when I taped it down. So instead I got 4 yard sticks. Clamped the paper on one edge between the yard sticks and then clamped the opposite side between another pair of yard sticks. Then hung the top edge supported by the yard sticks between a couple if chairs and let the other edge hang. Wetted it down both sides and then as it dried and contracted the weight pulled out all the creases. I wetted it down a couple of times.  On one sheet I repeated the process on the opposite ends but decided it wasn't necessary.

     One other little thing I discovered was when rolling out the paint on the silkspan was that if I wetted the paper and rolled out the wrinkles without paint on the roller first it was easier to get everything smooth.

[allanyed]

Herbert,

Were you able to you roll on the paint while it was hanging vertically as well?   

Thank you

Allan

 

[wmherbert]

No. Once it was dry I laid it flat on a formica board and sprayed with water, rolled wrinkles out with roller and then rolled with paint. Then hung with clamps to dry