Monocote covering tips ?

[John Gausby]

EXCELLENT POST from Terry T.....I've also been using Moneykote since they
invented the stuff....Like anything else..the more planes you cover the better
you get.

It took me YEARS and many planes to get it right....I wish i had your note 25
years ago!!!!

Yes..The different colors have slightly different
charactoristics.....Transparent is the least plyable. If you are comfortable
using the transparents.....The opaques are easy(er).

Most people seem to have a fit at the wing tips. DON'T GET IN A HURRY here.
Use a fairly hot iron. The #3 setting on a Topflite iron is about right. Heat
small sections at a time and stretch over the wood....little by little you CAN
get it down without a wrinkle.....practice!

I wish Topflite had done a better job with their Monokote Video.....They left
ALOT out in my opinion.........John Gausby





On Sat, 12 Oct 2002 05:19:40 -0400 Terry Terrenoire <amad2terry at juno.com>
wrote:

> 0
>   DocumentEmail
>   
>  
> 
> @page Section1 {size: 8.5in 11.0in; margin:
> 1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:
> .5in; mso-footer-margin: .5in;
> mso-paper-source: 0; }
> P.MsoNormal {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;
> FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman";
> mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination:
> widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
> New Roman"
> }
> LI.MsoNormal {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;
> FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman";
> mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination:
> widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
> New Roman"
> }
> DIV.MsoNormal {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;
> FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman";
> mso-style-parent: ""; mso-pagination:
> widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
> New Roman"
> }
> P.MsoList {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;
> TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; FONT-FAMILY: Arial;
> mso-pagination: widow-orphan;
> mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"
> }
> LI.MsoList {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;
> TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; FONT-FAMILY: Arial;
> mso-pagination: widow-orphan;
> mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"
> }
> DIV.MsoList {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;
> TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; FONT-FAMILY: Arial;
> mso-pagination: widow-orphan;
> mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"
> }
> A:link {
> 	COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline;
> text-underline: single
> }
> SPAN.MsoHyperlink {
> 	COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline;
> text-underline: single
> }
> A:visited {
> 	COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline;
> text-underline: single
> }
> SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {
> 	COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline;
> text-underline: single
> }
> P.MsoAutoSig {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;
> FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-pagination:
> widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
> New Roman"
> }
> LI.MsoAutoSig {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;
> FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-pagination:
> widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
> New Roman"
> }
> DIV.MsoAutoSig {
> 	FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;
> FONT-FAMILY: "Times New Roman"; mso-pagination:
> widow-orphan; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times
> New Roman"
> }
> SPAN.EmailStyle15 {
> 	COLOR: navy; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;
> mso-style-type: personal-reply;
> mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt;
> mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;
> mso-hansi-font-family: Arial
> }
> P.ReplyForwardToFromDate {
> 	BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in;
> BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in;
> FONT-SIZE: 10pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN:
> 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none;
> TEXT-INDENT: -0.75in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;
> BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; FONT-FAMILY: Arial;
> mso-pagination: widow-orphan;
> mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-style-name: "Reply/Forward To: From:
> Date:"; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext
> 2.25pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 1.0pt
> }
> LI.ReplyForwardToFromDate {
> 	BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in;
> BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in;
> FONT-SIZE: 10pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN:
> 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none;
> TEXT-INDENT: -0.75in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;
> BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; FONT-FAMILY: Arial;
> mso-pagination: widow-orphan;
> mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-style-name: "Reply/Forward To: From:
> Date:"; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext
> 2.25pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 1.0pt
> }
> DIV.ReplyForwardToFromDate {
> 	BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in;
> BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in;
> FONT-SIZE: 10pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN:
> 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none;
> TEXT-INDENT: -0.75in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;
> BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; FONT-FAMILY: Arial;
> mso-pagination: widow-orphan;
> mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";
> mso-style-name: "Reply/Forward To: From:
> Date:"; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext
> 2.25pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 1.0pt
> }
> DIV.Section1 {
> 	page: Section1
> }
> 
> 
> 
> Over the years I have build and covered close
> to 300 airplanes. The vast 
> majority were covered with some kind of iron-on
> material, mostly Monokote. While 
> my jobs are not on a par with Faye Stilly, they
> do look good, and more 
> important, they hold up 
>  
> There are really no "secrets" but here is a
> short course.
>  
> It is important to make sure the surfaces are
> very well sanded and 
> vacuumed. Faye refers the this as "polishing"
> the wood. i usually go down to 600 
> paper in prep for covering. I then use a rag to
> get most of the dust off, then a 
> vacuum, then a tack rag. Then the parts are
> taken out of the workshop and all 
> covering is done up in my den, mainly to get
> away from any dust that might still 
> be floating around in the shop.
>  
> Starting with the lightest color, cover the
> intended area by working from 
> the edges and pulling the covering as tight as
> you can get it. When doing 
> demonstrations for our club, guys have told me
> they were surprized at just how 
> hard I pulled on the covering to try and
> stretch it over the surface. 
>  
> I continue to do that for all colors. overlap
> them by 1/8th inch and make 
> sure they are well sealed to each other, but be
> careful not to put so much 
> pressure that you damage the wood underneath.
>  
> Once the sruface is done, go over it with a
> heat gun at least 3 times. On 
> the first pass I stay about 4 to 6 inches from
> the surface and just get 
> everything to start puckering. On the second
> pass yo want to be about 1 inch 
> from the surface and you want to see some real
> shrinking going on, but don't be 
> concerned with little problem areas at this
> time. On the third pass concentrate 
> on getting each color patch to lay perfectly
> smooth. be careful aoround seams. 
> They can be covered with a thin piece of card
> stock to protect them from the 
> direct heat.
>  
> Now it looks like you are done, but there is
> one more step for a surface 
> that you will probably never have to touch
> again. Seal it down to the surface. 
> Pick one color section to start with, and work
> from one corner of it to the far 
> corner, heating with the gun. If all is well
> you will get a slight rise, or 
> "bubble" as you heat that patch. This is
> assuming that you are over a solid 
> surface. Now do it again but follow the heat
> with a soft cloth pushing the 
> Monokote to the surface. The heat is activating
> the adheasive, and you will be 
> sticking the entire under side to the surface
> of the wood. This proceedure will 
> make the plastic look like a coat of paint, and
> will show up any imperfections 
> you have in the finished surface.
>  
> A little trick here is the use of an air escape
> whole. Before you start 
> sealing the covering down use a needle to poke
> several holes in the covering at 
> the far end you will be working toward. This
> gives any trapped air a place to go 
> as you make your way toward the edge.
>  
> If you have any specific questions feel free to
> ask, or give me a call 
> if  that would be better for you.
> 607-748-1846.
>  
> Terry T.
>  
>  
> On Fri, 11 Oct 2002 16:42:20 -0600 "Tomic,
> Stephen" <<A 
> href="mailto:stomic at CoorsTek.com">stomic at CoorsTek.com</A>>
> writes:
> 
>   
>   Does anyone have any monocote covering 
>   techniques/secrets  . . . Do you 
>   use grain filler, etc.
>   I’ve read Dick Hanson’s tip(s) but am 
>   looking for other options!
>    
>    
>   Stephen Tomic
>   <A 
>  
> href="mailto:Set_62 at hotmail.com">Set_62 at hotmail.com</A>
>   NSRCA :3474, AMA 
>   :742205
>    
>    
>    

=====================================
# To be removed from this list, send a message to 
# discussion-request at nsrca.org
# and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.
#