I had the same problem, but my covering was less than 20 yrs old. Also the paint used did not agree with the Stits instructions and was not approved for the installation. Bite the bullet and re-cover.... Bob
--- On Tue, 8/4/09, David Winters <[email protected]> wrote: From: David Winters <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Wing Covering To: "'Fred Goff'" <[email protected]>, [email protected] Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 10:15 AM Fred, The problem you have is precisely the problem that forced me to have my wings re-covered. The barn paint curse is apparently un-curable. Universal consensus was that it cannot be fixed. Aputation is the only answer. I paid a couple of thousand to have the wings re-covered. some guys do it themselves, but the challenge was too great for me. New covers take at least a couple of weeks to do. (Mine took months.) The paint is astronomically expensive, so I made do with the silver base-coat. The biggest problem, though, was finding someone to do them. Dave Winters From: ercoupe-tech@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:ercoupe- t...@yahoogroups .com] On Behalf Of Fred Goff Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 5:01 AM To: ercoupe-tech@ yahoogroups. com Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Wing Covering Hello. I've just acquired a 1946 Ercoupe. The paint on the entire upper surface of the fabric wings is badly cracked and pieces of it will peel off with little effort. The fabric itself is in pretty good shape. It was last covered in 1980 with Eolox (sp?) and there are three coats of paint on top of the silver - the last of which appears to be house paint. I've tried to remove the paint with MEK, paint stripper, and simply running a plastic putty knife under the paint where its lifted. Each technique takes a long time to get only a small section partially cleaned and the results are poor. Its looking like it would take multiple weeks or months to get the entire wings clean and I'd like the plane in the air as soon as possible. Does anyone have any ideas how I can get the old paint off? If I recover the wings, what's the best approach? Can I do it myself? How long would it take? Any ideas on ballpark costs? I'll appreciate any help. Fred Goff 130 Tracy Drive Vernon, CT 06066 (860) 875-4027 (860) 874-6990 (cell)
