I just tried putting on Monokote on the wing of my plane for the very first time. The results look as if some kid got a hold of it with a Hershey Bar and a ball ping hammer. I did everything that was shown on a video for this. Is this something that takes a lot of practice? I was most concerned about the little wrinkles in the very edge of the trailing edge. They weren't smooth. Just wrinkled. Any one out there know of any little secrets to this procedure?

When I covered my wings the first time, tey were a bit not so nice looking. It wasnt pulled tight, and no matter how much I ironed it, it wasnt going away. Until I found a heat gun! Give that a shot, and it might help a lot!

If you're talking about the Top Flight video, I asked for my money back and they didn't even bother to reply. It's worse than useless. That's the one where the two guys are tripping all over themselves and it's a little content between ads, correct?

To make a long story short, Monokote bites the big one. No matter how good you put it on, it will look like crap soon after. It bubbles in the sun and no matter how hard you try to iron it back down it will continue to bubble, wrinkle, peel up around edges, etc.

Sorry, but that's the nature of all iron-on plastic coverings.

And yes, it takes a lot of practice to get a good looking result that will last as long as you don't take it outside.

Morning Sugarfoot,yes it takes a little practice,sounds as if you need to apply more heat either with a iron or heat gun,the instructions with the covering is a good method.

I know the wrinkles you're talking about. These are not the typical "bubbles" that form, these are the type you get with MK when you iron down a wrinkle. Now you have MK stuck to MK, which is a double whammy. MK doesn't shrink very well, and it's adhesive is permanent. So when you get one of these, you're stuck with it for life.

That's why I use UltraCote (Hold up the product Spokes-Model).

When you get one of these types of wrinkles, a heat gun will take it out even if it has been ironed down. The first time I saw that I was SOLD!

Sugarfoot,

Applying Monokote is something you can only improve on through practice. I watched the video once and have forgotten most of what it taught. The instructions that come with the film are pretty close to the best method I've found for doing wings. I tried all kinds of different ideas and came back to the method they describe. I have found the following to be key factors in getting good results from the application of film.

Temperature (get the little thermometer by 21st Century and go with the ranges suggested by the monokote instructions).

Always buy an extra roll of covering than what is suggested and don't hesitate to rip off covering and try again.

Have lots of patience and a buttload of single edge razor blades.

When covering the wing, you really have to stretch it just like the instructions say. I mean really stretch it almost to the point where the opposite end of covering lets go. And only seal around the edges. When you have gotten most of the wrinkles out, slowly run across the covering with the heat gun held about four of five inches away. It is amazing how well the covering tightens up. And if you don't like the results, rip it off and try again. It doesn't take long to get the hang of covering, and the satisfaction of the results are well worth it, I think.

Most folks are really put off by even attempting to cover a plane, and when you succeed, take pleasure in the comments you hear such as "Wow, it looks just like an ARF". At least I think that was a positive one.

Anyway... Good Luck!

P.S. - It's also helps to have a shop vac or something like that sitting next to your table so that when you are down to your last piece of covering that is just big enough to cover the wing and a small wrinkle shows up that you try to remove by lifting the covering resulting in a tear that upsets you greatly to the point that you kick the shop vac across the garage, which of course your wife witnesses and gives you a hard time about. "Oh, like we have all this money to buy a new shop vac".

Sorry, I had to get that out...

wow, i get on this forum to ask this question about covering the wing, and the first thread is on.....COVERING!!! so i have all my questions answered without having to ask, but thanks for the advice anyhow

P.S. nbcguy, a bucket is better, cause it cost less and flies farther

I actually, I find that cats have much better aerodynamic characteristics than shop vacs or buckets. As a bonus they sound like a Stuka in a dive.

Besides, who wants to kick the bucket?

ibekdog... True, the bucket is cheaper, but I don't think it is heavy enough to take out the kid's bike on it's way toward the garage door.

CafeenMan... Good idea about using a cat, my neighbor has one. I will have to ask about borrowing the thing for my next covering job...

So thats what a diving stuka sounds like.........

so if you have a fairly sizable wrinkle, will a heat gun take it out?

Hi ibekdog,yes,unless it's Monokote that's stuck to itself.I turn the iron up to 400 degrees and that takes care of most all wrinkles,the iron will do the same.If you stay on an area to long with high heat you may burn a small hole in the covering,I would rather add a patch or two than have a plane that is nicknamed "the prune."

MonoKote requires a higher heat than many other coverings, and one problem is that the modeler may not have the sealing iron hot enough. I set the temperature on my iron so that it's just below the melting point of the covering. I use a piece of scrap MonoKote, and use it as the "temp tester".

The iron's too hot if it dulls the finish when you apply MonoKote. If it actually melts the material, of course it's too hot. When the iron is just below the point where the heat dulls the finish, you have the correct setting. I've never measured the temp, so I don't have a number for you.

When you apply MonoKote, you must carefully pull out the wrinkles. You can't just lay the material over the area to be covered and start tacking away. You may have to lift and reset until the big wrinkles are smoothed out. Little ones come out when you shrink the material.

When you cover a wing, make sure the MonoKote is stuck to the ribs. If you're using a heat gun, wipe over the ribs with a soft rag or a MonoKote Hot Glove.

Finally, your MonoKote finish is only as good as the surface below it. The quality of your finish is determined by the sandpaper you use up.

I have models covered with MonoKote that are over 15 years old, and have had no problems with sagging.

Did you know that you can stretch Monokote three times farther than it shrinks? That's the key to a smooth Monokote job that will hold up.

Monokote always wants to return to its natural state, that is, how it was on the roll. If you drape it on the frame like a blanket, iron down the corners, then shrink it, it will relax over time. On the other hand, if you heat and stretch the Monokote as you apply it, it will attempt to shrink back to its original size over time. As long as the covering is well-anchored to the airframe, it can't shrink, and won't wrinkle.

To do it properly, you need to have plenty of overlap around the edges to grab and tug on. When the instructions say leave an extra inch around the edges, they mean it. Don't be afraid to put some muscle behind the tug. As long as you start by anchoring the Monokote to something solid on the airframe, you won't hurt a thing.

MinnFlyer, at my LHS, that's what the sold me because it was real easy to work with. If you mess it up, you can still pick it up and lay it back down right.

Plus, like Minn said, if you do get a wrinkle, it'll come out with a heat gun. When I first saw it, I was totally shocked! I thought "If I didnt know better, I'd think I knew what I was doin!"

You know what I find strange is all the people who claim to have "superior" results with iron-on films. Yet at every flying field I've been to I've never seen a "superior" covering job using the stuff. They ALWAYS bubble in the sun on sheeted surfaces. On built up surfaces there are no problems for the most part. Some people just have low standards.

In any case, so many people have problems with it and there are hundreds of hints and tips for using the stuff which tells me there is a fundamental problem with it which is that it is thermally activated.

Case in point. On my last covering job I sanded the sheet tail surfaces starting with 120 and finishing with 600 until it was as perfect as possible. I then went to great lengths to remove all the dust.

Now my choices are to use high-heat and warp the surface and forever have a plane that doesn't fly right and the covering will probably bubble up anyway. Or I can use lower heat, not warp the surface and the covering will bubble up for sure.

Iron-on film is simply an inferior and sub-standard finish in my opinion. It's made for lazy people.

Well now . . . I'm about ready to try my hand at non-doped, non-tissue (I'm returning to model flight after a LONG rest) covering for the first time and you've scared the puckers out of me! Where can you get this mysterious UltraCote? (Not Tower and not LHS; and those are my world boundries). And, does it stick to itself, as in trim colors over main color?

I've seen some darned nice looking Monokote covered birds at our local club. You sure you're doing it right? ;-)

Charlie, I started back in the Silk-N-Dope days too, and I have tried most of the iron-on coverings, Trust me, Ultracote is MUCH more user friendly, and yes, it will stick to itself for trim. You can get it here:

http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/prod...&NumPerPage=15

I'm sure I've tried every suggestion I've ever read as well as following the directions to the letter. I'm also sure that it's an unresolveable problem.

Like I said, some people think the planes look nice, but I actually do good quality wood work on my models and the major detraction is the covering bubbling up. A lot of planes the the owners are proud of would be embarassing to me. Even a poor covering job makes them look better because the build quality isn't all that great.

Yeah... I know I have an attitude problem, but I've finally decided that I'm tired of my good work looking like crap because of crappy covering. And by the way, my covering jobs get a lot of compliments, but it still annoys the hell out of me to have bubbles coming up that require 20 pin *****s to get out and that only lasts until the next time the sun hits it.

I'd like to see how one of Faye Stilley's covering jobs would hold up in Florida sun. They look great indoors, but then so do mine. As long as I don't actually take the plane outdoors then my covering looks outstanding.

Most of my planes are covered in Ultracote,its a medium I enjoy using,most hobby shops have it or can order it.When Goldgerg went out of business,Hangar 9 picked up Ultracote,if you can't find it then give Hanger 9 a shout.Great stuff.