RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

ysrcflyer,

Just curious, what are you using to trace the templates for the monokote? is it tissue paper?

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

Will windex really make covering stick? Please explain this...

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

Windex partially activates the adhesive on monokote, I have no idea how or why. One of our club members duplicated the flag theme on a Giant Stinger wing. After the Windex had 24 hours to dry he went around the edges with a trim iron to be sure they are sealed really well.

Also, from what I've been told, Windex does NOT activate the adhesive on Ultracoat.

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

Not sure about Windex activating anything, or making it stick, what it does do is allow you a chance to either move decals, or squeege out air bubbles. Think about the mechanics. If you stick two pieces of glued material together, they adhere and there is no chance of getting any wrinkles or bubbles out becasue the surfaces are simply too adhered together. If you slip a non destructive medium (soapy water or a window cleaner type item) into the mix, the adhesive can't get any purchase until the medium is gone. Either by forcing it out, or allowing it to dry. If you watch sign companys place the big decals on the sides of delivery vans, they always use some sort of medium so they can slide those big decals around and get them lined up perfectly.

Tom

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

My biggest question is, how do you guys know how big or what size/shape to cut the monokote? How do you go about making the templates? Do you guys just put a big enough piece on the plane and trim around it or is what you cut pretty much the correct size for what you need?

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

The backing paper from the covering. I only use ORACOVER which has a paper backing which can be used as templates, or you can draw the shape directly on and cut out.

Cheers.

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

I guess you would consider it some type of tracing paper-I get it from head gskt sets for Cat engines that I work on. Any type of tracing paper would work. I tape it to the part that I am covering and then trace an outline 1-1 1/2" larger than the actual piece. This is enough for you to grab and pull when ironing in place. Lay it out on MonoKote and cut out. I will label it left and right, or upper and lower for the pattern. I save all of these for the "God forbid" repairs.

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

I have another question. I've gotten the white striping on and I started putting blue on. Well, I didnt realize the bottom of my sock had picked up some of the blue color and now the white stripe has blue smudges on it. Is there a way to get these off? I tried rubbing alcohol but it didnt work.

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

Trim solvent oughta do the trick.

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

I thought trim solvent was used to adhere two piece of monokote together..

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

It is. It is a solvent for the adhesive, which is also the color layer. There are two layers to Monokote. The clear plastic layer that is on the outside of the plane, and the colored adhesive layer that is inbetween the plastic and the plane.

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

You can also use Acetone to remove any smudges

RE: I cannot get the hang of covering!!!
 

I hope you dont mind if I ask some questions too....as Im new to covering as well....

Ive been able to eliminate bubbles, but how do you guys keep little dust particles and tiny bumps out of the covering? Im trying to cover a balse sheeted foam wing, and the thing just looks like garbage because while Im trying to keep my space clean and have kept the wing clean, no matter what I do I end up with bumps and tiny imperfections in the covering that when taken as a whole just ruin the looks and is quite discouraging.

It sucks to have spent so much time on the plane only to have the covering come out so poorly but I think theres a trick I dont know about. Seems covering is like that, unless you know the magic, you are out of luck. So whats the magic?

Thanks, all.