splais

My Feedback: (25)

I am totally new to trying covering. I want to put alternating yellow and black stripes on the bottom of the pictured wing. As a beginner, would I be better off laying down individual stripes one at a time; or laying down a solid black wing and overlaying the yellow stripes?

My thinking is, it would be easier to work with individual stripes. Comments?

vogelm1

My Feedback: (1)

Typically you should apply a darker color over a lighter one...if you apply yellow over the black, it will "bleed" through if you used black as your base. That being said, I'd cover the entire wing in yellow first, then cut your black stripes to the desired width and iron them down over the yellow. You probably should sand away that black over spray around the landing gear as well, so it doesn't show through the yellow covering.

You could cut individual stripes of yellow and black but it'll be much much harder to cover that way and get a smooth finish imo.

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

Beginner or expert, the best job can be achieved by covering the entire surface with one piece of film and then adding the additional color(s). But applying MonoKote over MonoKote is not always trouble free. When you apply the second color, rub it down with a finger to get it to stick firmly in place and get out all the wrinkles and bubbles, static cling is your friend. Any wrinkles or bubbles left before you start ironing will only get worse as you work. Keep the heat of your iron absolutely as low as you can go and still have it activate the adhesive, otherwise it will cause the adhesive to outgas and produce huge bubbles everywhere. Start ironing in the center and work out in all directions. You will still wind up with small bubbles but the larger ones can be *****ed with the tip of a new X-acto blade and ironed down from the other edge to push the air out.

Additionally, the conventional wisdom is to lay down the lightest color first and put the darker colors over them as the darker colors will show through the lighter ones. This is especially true of yellow, it doesn't cover underlying layers very well. If your layout has significantly more black than yellow the reverse might work but know that the color of the yellow will be affected.

All of the planes pictured were covered with this technique. The red planes with the diagonal white stripe don't follow the lightest color first rule because of the stripe being less area. On the Epsilon, notice that the color of the wing tip stripes is affected by being laid down over the red/white color line at the leading edge. Again, the small stripe needs the other colors to be laid down first so you have to break the rule here too. But notice that in spite of the large area of the white diagonal stripe and the fact that it passes over multiple ribs, it did lay down flat. This took considerable work prepping by rubbing it down and working out the bubbles and wrinkles but the time spent doing that pays off in the end.

Dave

SrTelemaster150

X2 on applying the light colors 1st. I always used adhesive backed "trim' for stripes & used soapy water (some say windex works well) to allow me to position them.

52larry52

My Feedback: (1)

I have also found it helpful to do the base color (yellow in this case) in a higher temp covering like Monokote and then the stripes (black in this case) in a lower temp covering like Ultracote, tower kote, or Econokote. This way you can set the iron at a lower temp for the stripes and cut down the air bubbling problum. The Windex "trick" only works on Monokote brand and I understand that adding extra ammonia to the Windex helps also.

52larry52

My Feedback: (1)

P.S. I also think Monokote sells a "trim solvent" that allows you to install stripes using no heat at all. I have never tried this stuff but I should!

SrTelemaster150

The soapy water method is what automakers use to apply graphics. A friend that worked in the Indianapolis GM plant W/me used to work where the Firebirds were assembled, He told me about the soapy water method that was used to apply those huge eagle graphics on the late '70s/early '80s Firebirds.

This method only works on the cold adhesive backed "trim strips" that you see in the LHS. It will not work for rolled monocoat or other brands of rolled covering.

http://www.monokote.com/trim.html

http://www.hangar-9.com/Search/Defau...Term=ultratrim

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

agree with putting the lighter color down first, (I would stay AWAY from the 'trim solvent', it can be OK but unless applied with GREAT care it can make the colors bleed at the seams)
I've had very good luck with the 'windex' method, and do use a low heat setting when applying trim over covering.
(FWIW, the EASIEST way of course is to use covering that's already got stripes on it... bad news, the only colors I can find is red / white.)
'my' version of the windex method is a bit different:
first use alcohol to clean the area where the trim will be applied
then I apply the windex to the back side of the trim (NON sticky back type) and 'float' the trim into position.
then I squeegee out the windex using a credit card or similar (and paper towels) till it's dry, then using a very low heat setting I seal the trim in place.
(use only enough heat to get the trim to stick... using too much heat will cause bubbles... if you get a bad bubble, try and poke a hole with a pin through the trim only)

there's no replacement for patience.

your mileage may vary, but I've had great success with this method