I've finally got my 4*60 covered (used MonoKote), and I am adding black on white checkered trim sheets on the bottom LE of the wings. I am using the front edge of the wing as a guide. I've got one on, using windex to position it. I squeegeed ?? out all I could and it is laying pretty flat.

My concern. The trim sheet was stiff enough that I had to use masking tape to roll the edge over so it would lie flat on the LE where the most curve is. I left it over night, took the masking tape off, and it seems to be holding. I just don't want it to come loose during flight.

Will Trim Solvent applied to the edge of the trim sheet really lock it down? Do any of you have any neat tricks you could share with me?

A rookie looking for some help

Thanks in advance.

Assuming you're talking about the self-adhesive trim sheets, trim solvent has no effect (actually may make it peel). My experience is that the pieces won't come off in flight, but they will peel a bit as you use the plane. I would suggest either a line of CA on the edge of the trim, or a layer of clear Monokote over the entire leading edge (both of these after you show off the plane at the club meeting, of course).

Thats what I was looking for. We have a swap meet next month that I plan to take it to, to show off.

Yep, after that would be the time to put the ca on.

Thanks again

Actually you can use your regular iron-on Monokote for trim. Here's how I've been doing it for the last several years. Get an 8 oz. or so spray bottle, an old Windex bottle works fine. Put about 4 oz of water in it, about 3 oz of alchohol (denatured or methanol seems to work best), about 1 oz. of Trim Solvent, and about 8 or 10 drops of dishwashing liquid. Shake it up good. Shake it every time you spray with it.

Cut your trim colors and trial fit them on the wing & fuselage until you're satisfied with how they fit together. When you're ready to apply the trim make sure the Monokote underneath is absolutely clean. Spray a good coating of the mixture from your spray bottle onto the wing (or fuselage) where you want the trim to go. Lay the trim, adhesive side down, onto the freshly sprayed mixture. Now use a soft squeegee like the squeegees you get for Bondo at the car parts place and carefully squeegee out all the excess mixture from under the trim. You can use paper towels to dry it then let it sit for four or five hours, better overnight, until everything dries completely. The trim will be stuck down perfectly as if you'd ironed it but no bubbles. you can do all the trim at once, just be careful not to accidentally move the trim you've already applied. You have about fifteen to twenty minutes to pick up and move the trim if needed before it begins to stick permanently.

The Monokote applied this way is absolutely fuel proof and will last as long as the rest of the covering, unlike the sticky-back trim Monokote that is NOT fuel proof.

The trim on the Dirty Birdy on the left was done using this method (the wing is red, all the other colors are trim). It has several hundred flights on it now and the trim is still perfect. This method will also stick the Monokote to well-cured paint, too, without using heat. So far, I haven't had any problems damaging the paint with the mixture.

Hey there , CurtD will that system work on ultracoat covering?

I plan on adding some trim to the wing tomorro, so I will try it. I used straight windex for checkering, and it seemed to work.

Thanks again

Never tried it with Ultracoat since I only use Monokote. Easy to find out, tho. On an old Ultracoated or Monokoted wing, apply a very light film of straight trim solvent to a small spot. I would use a cotton ball dampened slightly with solvent. Wipe it on the area so that only a thin, almost invisible film is left (the stuff is incredibly reactive with the Monokote adhesive so it only takes a tiny amount). Apply a small piece of Ultracoat to the spot and wait a few seconds. If Trim Solvent is compatible with Ultracoat you won't be able to lift the test piece after a couple of seconds.

Thanks, I will give it a try ...Vic G.

Curt, have you ever had the base covering loosen up from humidity or sun and had to shoot it down with a hot air gun? Does the unshrunk trim applied with your method shrink with the original covering too? Just curious....I like your formula.

Reshrinking the Monokote can be done but you must use the heat gun carefully. You can't just lay the heat to it like you would if there was no trim there. Too much heat and the trim will blister. Work the heat slowly and carefully over the areas with trim by keeping the gun moving quickly and continuously, and not held as close as you normally would. you don't have to be as careful over the non-trim areas, of course, just don't accidentally overrun the high heat onto a trim area! :stupid: If you don't have a lot of trim just heat the non-trim areas and it'll reshrink nice and tight. Maybe I should mention at this point that I don't iron down the Monokote all over the wing, only at the leading and trailing edges where the top and bottom overlap, the tips, and the center. That may make a difference in how difficult it is to reshrink the Monokote.

I've had to reshink the covering on the Dirty Birdy wings a couple of times, usually after a 100+ deg. day at a pattern contest. Interesting observation is that after it's been heat wrinkled and then reshunk a couple of times, it stops heat wrinkling. Some kind of aging process I suspect.

Hey guys,
I use a little self stick trim sheets and goldberg/ultracote trim tape to seal the canopy edges. I have found that a little heat from an iron makes them stick twice as good, and also makes it more workable, like regular monokote, and I could shrink it a bit too. With reguard to the checkerboard, I usually cut my own, takes more time, but I have more control of the colors and sizes. I also hand cut most of my graphics and lettering, many times by making patterns with my scanner. I never did get the trim solvent to work very well for me, so I just use it full strength to wipe up any color bleeding smudges, it works great for that.

I have found that going over the Monocote trim sheet with the heat iron will also help tack it down . That a sometimes a little CA