BearcatPilot

What exactly is the "windex method?" I am a little unsure on how it is done. Can it be used on both Monokote and Ultracote? Does the film need to be ironed afterwards? How permanent is it after it is done? Any help on how to do it or where to find it would be great.

BCP

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Ahhhhhhh......... the Windex Method, yes I use it all the time. It works great for applying covering over covering and decals. I spraying the covering with Windex, smear it around a little then lay the other covering over it. I smooth out the bubbles with a sheet of balsa and soak up the extra Windex with a rag. Let it sit for 24 hrs then apply low heat to glue it down and voila done. I Like Ultracote because it sticks at a lower temp than Monokote and that way no bubbles will form. I use the Windex to apply decals the same way except for no heat, just let it air dry.

BearcatPilot

Does it work with Ultracote too? I thought I read somewhere that it only works with Monokote. Is trim solvent necessary for the edges?

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Trim solvent is not necessary, but will really "lock" the trim piece down when applied around the edges with a Q-tip. This is so easy to do, it doesn't make sense NOT to do it...


And I forgot; it does indeed work with UltraCote.

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rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

I don't use trim solvent and the seems have held

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

The windex method works with monokote only. Do a search here and you'll find plenty of info.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

<<...works with monokote only...>>

Well, I guess the several models I did this on using UltraCote are figments of my imagination......


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Thunderhead

I used transparent econocote. (i.e. low temp & cheap) on this bird. All I did was hit the edges with a iron on low setting after it dried. I NEVER had ANY problems. It turned out AWESOME!!!

Derik

barto

What is windex exactly
I live in Belgium and have never heard of it

THX

Mike in DC

The "Windex" method can be used on a bunch of applications, including self-adhesive trim sheets and decals, and probably any application where the adhesive is not water-soluable.

Actually, all you're doing is using a film of water to keep the trim from sticking until you have it exactly in the right spot. Then, eventually, the water evaporates, and the adhesive takes over. There's nothing magic about Windex, it's just that a little detergent in the water breaks the surface tension. Just plain water would work, but it beads up on most surfaces.

Some people have posted that you don't need to use trim solvent or heat with Monokote. However, I have done tests, and in my tests, if you don't use heat or trim solvent, you can peel off the top layer without too much trouble.

If you're going to spend a lot of time doing a design in Monokote, I suggest you test a little before you commit to the no-heat no-trim-solvent method. Just iron a piece of Monokote onto scrap balsa, windex on a piece of trim, let dry overnight, and try to peel off.

Mike in DC

It's a brand of glass cleaner. It's mostly water, dyed blue, with a little detergent and ammonia, and probably some other chemicals to avoid streaking and such.

r1morris

My Feedback: (1)

Barto a very good question?
I had to look in my old regular file cabinet for a formula that works like windex. Here is what I found basically its distilled tap water with a small amount of cleaning ammonia and blue coloring added. About one soup spoons worth of ammonia to a 12 to 16 once spray bottle is all thats needed and use one drop of common dish washing detergent added to the mixeture. I don't think the blue dye coloring does anything more then help sell the product.

barto

Thanks for the replies
Now I can use this method on my first profile (taco) that I'm going to build this winter

BearcatPilot

Thats a nice looking plane Thunderhead. I asked this question because I intended on doing some sort of patriotic/flag scheme on one of my next models. Thanks for the replies everyone.

BCP

cbreeze

My Feedback: (26)

Just wondering if there is any trick to getting the windex method to work on Ultrakote? It does work well with Mono but the one time I tried it with Ultra, it was a failure. I waited about 12 hours and when I went to check the pieces, the Ultra just lifted up. It seemed that the windex did not activate the adhesive on the Ultrakote. Anyone got any ideas what I did wrong? Thanks in advance.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

You need to use heat.

The windex allows the trim piece to lay flat, and provides tension to hold it in place so it won't slide off.

There may be something in windex that activates monokote adhesive; but with U-cote ya gotta use low heat once all the windex has evaporated (overnight).

Another option is MonoKote trim solvent, but you get ONE shot at that. Once that stuff hits the adhesive side, that piece is THERE and ain't moving; which is why I save it for last, going around the edges to form a seal, as it were. This eliminates the need for a second going-over with high heat to seal the piece down.

Again, this is the way I do it, with success, It certainly isn't the only way. YMMV...


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dant-RCU

My Feedback: (3)

cbreeze:

I have had good luck using Windex and Ultrakote. I used the blue Windex which contains ammonia. Not all Windex solutions contain ammonia. I believe that the presense of ammonia tends to "kick" the adhesive. After it all dried I hit the edges with an iron on low heat (220). No problems so far and one of my aircraft is in its second season of flying.

Works for me...

Dan

Goinstraightup

My Feedback: (26)

For nice application of trim and decals - there is no other way!

cbreeze

My Feedback: (26)

Steve & Dan,

Thanks for the tips, I will try it again.

Chuck

fstevenj

Just for clarification on this method, I assume that the wing needs to be completely shrunk fit before appling the top layer? What if you have to go back and shrink the monokote more on the wing, what happens to the top layer?

And the other question I have is about the trim solvent. Do you peel up the edges of the top coat and put it on the adhesive side, or do you just apply it to the edge and it wicks into the seam? Also does the trim solvent hurt the finish if it is on an area that doesn't have another piece of monokote over it?

Goinstraightup

My Feedback: (26)

Yes.

That can be a mess if you are not careful. Use the lowest heat possible.

I've always done mine without solvent.

Dsegal

> The windex method works with monokote only <

I just tried this as a test on Ultracote and the trim piece fell off after I squeegeed it.

Mike in DC

The exact same thing happened in my tests with Monokote. I don't believe Windex activates Monokote adhesive to any extent. But what's the big deal? It is very easy to take a que-tip and apply trim solvent around the edge, or just use a warm iron around the edges.

Mike in DC

In practice, this has never been a problem for me. You'd think with the non-shrunk Monokote on top of shrunk Monokote there might be some distortion or something, but in my experience, it just works fine. I think the reason may be that Monokote actually shrinks a lot less than you might think.

Don't peel up the edge, that eliminates the advantage of the Windex system. I just take a que tip, dip it in trim solvent, and go around the edges of the trim piece. The only hassle is that some colors bleed, and sometimes you get into a situation where you need to clean off the bled color, which causes more bleeding, etc.

I'm not sure what you mean by "hurt the finish". Trim solvent won't do anything to the non-adhesive side of Monokote.

VeeAte

Strange. In Australia Windex (Same name at least) is water and Methylated Spirits (Denatured alcohol). At least I think Methylated Spirits is what you call denatured alcohol.

Methylated Spirits is 95% Ethanol.
Would this be the same thing as your Windex ?

I make my own home made Windex out of this and it smells the same and works identically to Windex.