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ultracoat and compound curves....advice

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ultracoat and compound curves....advice

Old 08-23-2004, 01:27 AM
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tomlewis
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Default ultracoat and compound curves....advice

The wings of my 4*40 wings are tipped with balsa sanded to a smooth curve rather than the stock flat ends. I'm having a difficult time getting a smooth cover. This plane I decided to try Ultracoat as I had heard it was easier on compound curves. Before I give up and supercoat and sand and supercoat and sand for days, does anyone have any tricks? I have at my disposal a covering iron, heat gun, and trim solvent.

Thanks,

TL
Athens, GA
Old 08-23-2004, 05:22 AM
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MinnFlyer
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Default RE: ultracoat and compound curves....advice

First, put away the trim solvent, it doesn't work on Ultracote (This IMHO is the only advantage MK has over UC).

Now, imagine that you have a sheet of thin rubber - like the material from which a balloon or rubber glove is made.

Now imagine that the sheet is glued down to the wing, and you're going to stretch it around that wingtip so there are no wrinkles.

That's exactly what your going to do with the covering, the only difference is that heat is needed to give it that flexability, and you can only heat one area at a time.

Remember to leave enough excess to grab on to, and wear a glove to protect your hand from the heat gun.

PS, there are some videos that show how to cover in a review I did recently. The first one is very basic, but #s 2 and 3 you may find very helpful. Click on the link below, and scroll down to the section on covering:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=352
Old 08-23-2004, 08:07 AM
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rc-sport
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Default RE: ultracoat and compound curves....advice

Tom, this is what I do, I hold the extra Ultracote away from the wing tip and apply heat to it. Let it start to shrink a little then with the heat still on it pull it down and around the curve. Just down pull to much, it works great.
Old 08-23-2004, 09:33 AM
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Campy
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Default RE: ultracoat and compound curves....advice

Just work slowly and take your time. Do small sections at a time.

Do ALL the tacking ON THE EDGE of the wing tip. Stretch and tack the center, then do each end (leading and trailing edge ). Then go halfway between and tack again. Keep doing the "halfway between".

After everything is tacked down and pulled tight and as wrinkle free as possible (you will have some wrinkles ), increase the heat on the iron and seal the Ultracote TO THE EDGE OF THE WING TIP.

Now take the iron, and keep it a little above the covering (you do not want to "iron in" any creases ) shrink the covering down. If you have any stubborn wrinkles, while pulling on the covering in the wrinkle area, CAREFULLY use a heat gun. By pulling while using the heat gun it prevents the covering from "sliding" on the edge of the tip.

Like anything else, it will take some practice, however Ultracote is a lot easier to make CONSISTANTLY good covering jobs on compound curves.

Make sure you watch your heat level, Ultracote is a low temp film. I suggest using an iron instead of a heat gun. Use the heat gun ONLY for stubborn wrinkle areas. The heat gun can easily burn through if you are not very careful.

Remember, once you heat Ultracote (or any heat shrink covering ), you need a higher temperature in order to shrink it more. If you shrink it a 220 degrees, you HAVE to go above 220 to do any further shrinking.
Old 08-23-2004, 01:17 PM
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tomlewis
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Default RE: ultracoat and compound curves....advice

I have done an experiment with Ultracoat and Monocoat this morning using trim solvent, tacking each down to an ironed on piece of Ultracoat on a piece of scrap balsa.

1. Both tack down easily.
2. The mono adhesive seems better disolved than the ultra.
3. The ultra was much harder to remove than the mono - given number two, this is interesting.

I'm going to try the same experiment using cuticle remover and I'll report back.
Old 08-23-2004, 02:33 PM
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Default RE: ultracoat and compound curves....advice

Tom, forget the trim solvent, use a heat gun and iron for this application.

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