KrisG

Does anybody know how to remove the sticky stuff that stays on the airframe when you remove Monokote or other polyester film? I want to re-cover a great airframe, but it is full of this stuff!! I tried sandpaper, solvent, etc ...

Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Kris

funkworks

try ironing some scrap monokote over the bits. The old monokote should stick to the bits allowing you to put them off easier.

jmctague

acetone or tylene

nk3t

Put some acetone on a small piece of paper towel, and place the towel over the surface. Lightly iron over the towel with your covering iron, and the towel will pick up the covering residue.

I hope this helps!

Dave

Viper500

I just had the same problem about two weeks ago trying to recover a old airplane I bought at an auction. The plane was probably 10 years old or more. When I pulled the old covering off it came off in many pieces and left small scraps of covering everywhere. I tried a number of things to get them off. In the end I stumbled across something that worked very well to remove the left over color part of the covering. I used a Dremel with the round steel wire brush running on low to mid RPM and held it almost parallel to the surface and walked it into the stuff I was trying to remove. The stuff came off in a hurry and it did not damage the balsa at all. Once all the little pieces are gone your left with a clean airframe again. Then I took acetone on a rag and wiped the whole thing down to clear up any left over adhesive residue.

One caution: This method did not work very well on places where the covering bits still had the plastic shrink portion still attached. This mainly worked well where just the color portion of the covering was left behind.

The nice thing about this method was that I could do the Dremel work indoors save the Acetone use for a one time shot outside.

KrisG

Hi there Viper500,

The trick with the Dremel and a polishing brush works miracles. The pieces of monokote come off very easily without hurting the balsa. Even when a piece of plastic is still there, the plastic curles up, probably because of the friction heat. Last traces can then be cleaned up with a rag with acetone.

Still have to try the trick with the paper towel/acetone/covering iron, but i am afraid that will give very bad fumes.

Thanks for the help,

KrisG