I have a question regarding re-ironing an ARF.

Looks perfect ! (no wrinkles whatsoever) , should I go over with the iron anyway or not ? I'm afraid, since it is mostly full sheeting, that i might create bubbles with the heat. From what I read most people re-iron a new ARF, but most have wrinkles, this one does not.

What is your experience ? Thanks,V.

If it's not broke, don't try fixing it!

I agree, each time you apply heat to re-shrink your covering you will have to apply even more heat (higher temp.) to get it to shrink the next time. Your covering can only be shrunk so much before you get to the point were applying more heat dosen't do anything. Leave it as is!

May not now have wrinkles, but I am willing to bet that no heat was applied when the model was covered. Somebody at the factory may very well have done a good covering job, but I am quite sure that the covering was still loosely applied.

In my " PERSONAL " opinion, I don't care how good a covering job looks, I will still go over it with an iron. Every time I have done so, the covering does tighten up and I then have a model that will be mostly wrinkle free in the future. Once again, this is my personal opinion, so don't FLAME me folks.

But then again, you can count on most about every covering forming wrinkles over time and you will again have to go over it with a heat iron or heat gun. It is just the result of changing temperatures, humidity, etc, etc, etc. I have seen my models and other club members models arrive at the flying field with a perfectly covered model on a cool morning, but as soon as the sun starts to beat down and cook the models, the ole wrinkles will start to materialize.

You could leave the model alone for now and not go over it with any heat, but I am willing to bet what ever you can afford to loose that eventually the model is going to wrinkle and you will have to shrink it up from time to time.

Thanks for you opinions guys. I've read somewhere that ironing on low temperature (glue activation heat that is below shrinking heat) could be a good idea on new ARF. That could be a thing to do to re-glue the covering everywhere (just to be sure). Anyone doing that with good results?

ARF covering wrinkles when the humidity changes. These things are frequently assembled in countries with a humid climate.

When those of us, who live in drier areas, open the package, the wood begins to dry out, and shrink. This creates the loose covering that we are familiar with.

I'm with Vincent on this. I would leave the covering alone, until it requires attention.

Sooner if not later, you are going to have to apply heat to take out the wrinkles. Its a given !

Granpooba, you are correct, sooner or later you will have to, all plastic coverings will require periodic maintenance to keep it looking like new. That's one of the reasons I dislike using plastic coverings. They do have their place however, no one can argue that they are light and easy to apply compared to other type of coverings. All I (we) are saying is why add heat and shrink now when there aren't any wrinkles to remove...

Vasek, you are correct that by using low heat as recommended by the covering, that you will activate the glue and not cause the covering to shrink. This may be a good idea to ensure that the covering has made a good bond with its substructure. I would recommend using a non-contact infra red thermometer to accurately measure the temp of your iron for this purpose.

10-4 on that Vincent, that's what I like in this forum, when in doubt... Thanks to all, V.