HOW DO YOU GET WRINKLES OUT OF MONOKOTE? I know this may be the wrong forum for this question but it's the best one to get answers from as the other forums don't have as many readers. And I am a beginner with Monokote so it is a beginner's thread so I hope it's OK here.

I really like the Ultracote coverings but should I attempt Monokote again? I want something that has more color choices. I now believe that the reason I couldn't get the wrinkles out of Monokote was I never used a heatgun. After reading RCKen's LT-40 build thread I now use the heatgun all the time, and I am impressed at how rapidly the wrinkles come out. Just gotta watch the edges as they shrink in very easily. Will Monokote shrink the wrinkles out as easily as Ultracote? I have noticed how much different the feel in the two are - Monokote feels more crinkly to me and feels more plastic and dry. Is that why the wrinkles come out harder?

I have heard from other more experienced members here at RCU that they have a hard time getting wrinkles out of Monokote because the manufacturing of it has changed throughout the years and some even say it is thicker than it was before. Is there any truth to this?

I want to hear all the advantages, disadvantages, opinions, hints, suggestions, advice and thoughts on Monokote. Should I attempt it again? Or will it still be hard getting wrinkles out even with the heatgun? Although I want more color choices, if I will still have a difficult time applying it I don't want most of the rolls ending up in the trash.

And share some pics of Monokote-covered planes. Let's see'em.

I have used both mono and ultracoat. Seems the same to me.

I've used lots of Monokote over the years. I've found the most important key to getting wrinkles out is to avoid them in the first place. However, when the occasional wrinkle does show up, I've had good results using a heat gun.

On the roll of Monokote is a paper wrapper around the material that has the instructions on it - I had problems applying the covering with out getting huge wrinkles and decided one time to read and follow them - it actually worked. On open structures like a wing you want to tack the covering down around the periphery and use a heat gun to shrink it down, then seal it over the wood areas with an iron. For sheeted surfaces like the fuselage it helps to tack it around the periphery and then seal it down with the iron. I have noticed from the little bit I've used Ultracote that is does seem to shrink more than Monokote, and area's that I thought may wrinkle didn't - the wrinkles came right out.

Learning to apply Monokote just takes some time and practice. It won't take long before you have smooth and tight covering.

Hogflyer

Well just tried again on an old wing I had stored away in the cellar. Had a roll of Super Monokote as well that I attempted to cover with.

The results [:'(] [sm=thumbs_down.gif]

Had to have my iron turned all the way up just to tack it on and seal the edges. Heat gun first expanded the covering, very loose. Heat gun worked very well in some areas once it started shrinking (nice and tight) while in other areas the sealed edges came loose and made hard wrinkles that would never come out, and wouldn't seal back down. Although it was nice and tight in the other areas there were still wrinkles along the spars that were not coming out. Then I let it cool completely the way it was and pulled back on the covering to remove it and it came off like it wasn't even sealed down, even in the areas where it was drum tight. This was my final attempt and I will never use Monokote, glad didn't waste money on any. Why can't I apply it? [] I apply Ultracote so easily, beautifully drum tight every time.

So my next questions are:
1] What covering can I buy that is as good and easy to apply as Ultracote but has more color choices?
2] Has anyone ever tried Solartex or Solarfilm or Solarkote http://www.solarfilm.co.uk/ ? How are they to apply and how good is the shrinking? How are they with color choices?
3] Should I use Koverall and colored Butyrate dope instead? How would that work on an LT-25?

Please share suggestions on covering to use?
How bout fiberglass covering on a trainer?

Thank you.

P.S: I am not criticizing Monokote in itself, I know lot's of you love it. I just can not apply it is all.

How about Superkote? http://www.hobby-lobby.com/superkote.htm Has about 27 color choices. Any opinions on this?

I like Ultracote myself. In my opinion, monokote has gone down hill over the years and gotten to be poorer quality. I was working on a new ARF yesterday and while trying to take some masking tape off that the manufacturer put on the stab to hold the elevators on and the masking tape peeled off the top layer of the monokote and it was just a transparent film over the color portion of the coating. Yuk! [>:] I tried to iron it back on but it still doesn't look quite right. I hate monokote but that's what comes on some planes and the newest stuff they're putting out seems to be poor quality.

I think this is what I am going to use for my LT-25. How will they work on a trainer like that?

Super Coverite http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXB239&P=ML
OR
Sig Koverall http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...01F.html?E+Sig
Opinions on what is best???

For color scheme – Supercoat
http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...01F.html?E+Sig

For first and final coat – Lite-coat
http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmar...01F.html?E+Sig

If I use Koverall would it be better to apply it with heat with Sig Stix-it OR Balsarite?
OR is it best to apply with the Lite-coat OR Supercoat clear? OR
apply first with Nitrate dope, then Supercoat, then final Lite-coat?

Please advise.

Tigerdude,
Chances are that you're getting in a hurry and trying to move too fast. If the edges pulled away when you were trying to shrink the rest of the covering then you didn't get them adhered good enough. As I said in my LT-40 build thread, covering with Monokote isn't hard to do at all, it just takes time to do properly. 9 times out of 10 people that wind up with poor results are just getting in a hurry and don't want to take the time to do it properly.

Ken

Has anyone tried Sig's Aerokote? I've heard/read some good reports. Jim

I have not used Monocote for years but if I remember correctly the glue required a higher temp to get it to stick.

Anyway here is my tip. I was shown this by Pete Tindal and it makes for a better job. Tack round the edges and use a heat gun to shrink it tight. BUT while heating the fabric use your other hand and smooth the covering down onto any woodwork. Seems to reduce wrinkles occurring esp. when hot.

Use an oven glove to protect your hand from the heat.

I haven't worked with Aerokote from scratch doing a complete covering job, but I have experienced on it on a review I am working on. Like all other ARF's the covering needed tightening up coming out of the box. I was really impressed with how easy the Aerokote was to work with. The wrinkles were very easy to take out and the covering was very nice to work with. I may try out a complete covering job with it down the road to see how it fars there.

Ken

My earlier post was a bit may have sounded a bit abrupt, and I do apologize about that. I was trying to make the post while logged on from a remote location and was in a bit of a hurry as I typed it out. Let me see if I can expand on that a little bit.

Sealing the edges down. This really only requires a strip about 1/4"-1/2" wide sealed down to hold it while you shrink the covering in the middle. If this is pulling loose then your iron isn't hot enough as you seal the strip down, and that is why it's pulling loose.

Wrinkles in the middle seem to be where a lot of problems, but they aren't that difficult to deal with if done correctly. The first thing you need to know is that you should never EVER put a covering iron on a wrinkle. If you do this the wrinkle will be come permanent and you will NEVER get it out, not matter what you do. When you put the iron on the wrinkle it seals the wrinkled material to itself and won't ever come out. To remove wrinkles you have to work the entire piece of covering, not just the wrinkle. I see people make this mistake all the time, and they often get frustrated with it and give up. Removing wrinkles in Monokote is like removing them from a sheet on your bed (thanks Minnflyer for this great analogy!! ), you can't just smooth out the wrinkles in the middle of the bed, but instead you need to pull them out from the edges of the sheet. To remove wrinkles use your heat gun and start working as far away from the wrinkle that you can. Heat the covering until you see it start to shrink (with Monokote the covering will usually darken a little bit as it starts to shrink), then start working your way towards the wrinkle. As you work it you should see the wrinkle start to pull out before you actually get to the area that is wrinkled. If the wrinkles are in the middle you may have to repeat this process several times from all directions around the wrinkles. But trust me, by doing this you can get your covering tight as a drum and pull all of the wrinkles out. But like I said earlier it takes some patience, because if you get in a hurry you won't get a good job on your covering.

Here are some of the planes that I have built lately, all have been covered using only Monokote.

Hope this helps

Ken

Another thing that helps is preparation for applying Monokote (or any iron-on covering for that matter). Get a tack rag similar to that used in automotive painting and wood working and wipe off all the dust. This way you know the covering will be tacking down to good wood and not the dust that resides on the wood.

Hogflyer

Yes, I admit guilt to that ken . I will not be giving up on Monokote entirely, just not ready to use on a kit yet. I have the old Eaglet 50 wing I will be practicing on now and again. I really do want to start using Monokote as they have a great selection of colors and different styles of colors and it looks great when done properly. I do not want to give up on it, just need more patience.

Gorgeous airplanes ken

Ken, you built an Ultra Sport and didn't put retracts in it???

I just lost a lot of respect for you

Don't worry about it Mike, the airplane gods took care of me because of this huge sin. They claimed the plane early in it's life and transported it to airplane "heaven".

Ken

That'll learn ya!

IMHO, Monokote is a very good, tough covering, but it takes time and patience to apply correctly. I think some people overheat it trying to work it to quickly. If you overheat it to begin with, your done. Different colors seem to take heat differently, so work your way up. When you're tacking the edges, just hold the iron in place - don't move it. Hold it there for a few seconds to give the glue a chance to activate. Remove the iron and let that spot cool. Don't run the iron along the edge as that will encourage wrinkles and not give you the opportunity to work them out. Make sure you're surfaces are clean. Any dust remaining will prevent the covereing from adhereing completely.

I used Aerokote to cover a GP Spirit glider. Its lighter than Monokote, and the sacrifice is strength. It was very easy to shrink, but every blade of grass wants to pierce the covering. I suspect I'll recover with Monokote next winter.

Brad