Cutting a staight LE with Monokote !!!
 

Hi, the snows flying here today so it's time to get the SomeThing
Extra covered. This the third airplane I've covered, one was a biplane
and I can't seem to get a decent cut on the leading edge of the wing.
The method I'm using is to cut the Monokote just past the LE with an
metal ruler between the wing and Monokote after it's shrunk. Sometimes
it works, and sometimes the results are very poor. I'm doing the color
scheme on the box, so the top and bottom are the same color allowing
me to hide a crooked cut.
Does anyone have a better way to get a staight cut on the LE?

I embed or glue a single edge razor blade (or a #11 Facto blade) to a piece of balsa the thickness of the overlap I want and then cut the covering with the wood pressed firmly against the leading or trailing edge. You need to keep the excess covering pulled out straight from the surface to get a nice clean cut.

I do about the same thing using an exacto knife , I run the body of the knife along the wing with the lade pointing forward, while pulling the excess out and towards the trailing edge enough to get the knife under it. I like to have that overlap down and past the leading edge by about a 1/2 inch . sometimes I use a marker and draw a straight line on the film, then cut just in front of the line leaving it on the cut-off. the line just acts as a visual guide to help gauge where the cut is going.

I've ruined more covering jobs and rolls of MoneyKote trying to get a straight cut. I gave up doing it on the model and instead I picked up a new steel straight edge. A metal yard stick. Down the length at the edge I ran a roll of 1/8 inch wing saddle tape. The tape grips the MoneyKote so you can then run a blade down for a perfectly straight cut. You also need to do this cutting on something that will not harm the blade. I use ceiling tiles for building and keep them on hand. So I just dedicate one to covering and have at it.

Another way I've seen it done on the model would be this. For a straight edge along the LE of the wing, first attach the covering behind the LE. You want the covering right at the LE to be free to pull up a bit. Then I take two of the above mentioned yard sticks, both with the saddle tape. And clamp them back to back on the covering so the saddle tape is holding the covering between them. Cloths pins, clamps or whatever you're comfortable using. Just make sure those yard sticks are secure and where you want them. Then again just run a blade down the length of the yard stick for a perfect cut.

I bought a trimmer from Higley about 20 yrs ago. Works great, leaves a nice straight edge.

Jim's Film Trimmer JFT001

I must be missing something. Why not just cut the MonoKote before adhering with the 1/2" overlap measured on to it? You can measure the width with a piece of paper off the wing, and then cut the MonoKote flat on a protected table using just a straight edge.

many different ways to do it........ the reason I do it on the plane is because it eliminates the potential to cut the stuff nice and straight on the bench and then lay it crooked or have the iron make a mess of that nice straight cut, which it will do very easily..

I like the "clamped yardsticks" idea. Another thing I sometime do is lay a double-thickness of masking tape on the leading edge centered on where I want the cut to be. Then I use a straight edge pressed down on the surface and Exacto or single-edge razor blade to make a straight cut where I want it. The masking tape allows you to cut through the Monokote without damaging the underlying structure.