More about covering...
 

I was just reading the post about covering, and which brands are better for whatever reasons.

I am wondering how it all works, in relation to making repairs (bubbles, edges peeling up, etc.) on my Nexstar. I understand it has a lower quality covering (not monokote or ultrakote). Is there an adhesive applied to the inner side? If I heat the covering will it start to stick better, or will it just shrink?

RE: More about covering...
 

There is heat activated adhesive applied to the indide of most coverings.
Heat will do two things to most coverings, it will activate the glue and shrink the covering.
Care must be taken when applying heat near seams as the seem, in shrinking, can pull apart.
Clear nail polish can be used when a seam starts to loosen or trim starts to come off. I have even used canopy glue to repair loose trim.
Heat works well for removing wrinkles in ARFs but again be carefull around seams.

RE: More about covering...
 

What surprises most people is that almost all the coverings are clear plastic. The color actually is in the heat sensitive adhesive.

Covering is basically just two parts. There is the clear top layer. And there is a layer of adhesive that has the color mixed into it.

Some of the Chinese ARFs are demonstrating this to unlucky purchasers as we speak. It seems a fair number of models recently have had the trim layers come apart. The clear plastic isn't sticking to the adhesive that's supposed to hold it on the airplane. But the adhesive is sticking to the airplane. And that is creating some nasty messes. A buddy at the field tried to paint the adhesive when it wouldn't come off. That was just as bad.

RE: More about covering...
 

My Tiger 120 had the top wing covering come off in flight on the right wing. Fortunately, it was the top covering not the bottom. It was trailing back like a banner when it came off. I landed immediately (yep, it still flew.. as I said, top covering). I then removed all the covering from the wing and used Ultracoat to replace it. I think I will do the same thing (replace the covering) to the other wing now that I think about it.

CGr.

RE: More about covering...
 

I dont know what covering is on the NextStar, but for a while, some Hobbico trainers used some stuff that was basically shelf paper. It didn't shink much at all, and the glue was always active, not heat-activated. You can tell if you have this kind of covering if you find a spot inside the fuse that you can touch (even with a balsa stick). If it's sticky, it's not MonoKote or Ultracote (or Sig's Aerocote, which I found at least one ARF I have used).

IDing covering can be a pain. For repairs, I generally prefer Ultracote, since it's glue activates at a temp that is lower than the shrink temp, and you can get a fair bit of shrinkage at low temps. Monokote shrinks at a higher temp. This means that you can put Ultracote over Monokote with no problems, but Monokote over Ultracote can sometimes cause problems as the lower layer tries to shrink more. I've also put Ultracote over some of the shelf-paper stuff on some cheap arfs without melting it.

RE: More about covering...
 

For the top layer, use soap and water to activate the adhesive. Use a squeegy to remove the bubbles.
Tack the front edges by using an iron. So you don't have to poke holes to get those air bubbles out.

As i said, Tower's you can just use your finger to rub it on. Just use low heat for the front edges.
A dab of CA ..if your at the field.lol

The lower temperature or NeON film , the color will seperate from the clear film more.

example; you can peel the Monocoat off of the balsa and reuse it, if you goof. It might even lift the balsa with it.lol

On lower temp...such as tower...the color/paint will seperate from the film (mostly from where you use the iron)
The color sticks to wood.