Try the following link for a tutorial on using Monokote. The techniques can be applied to almost all heat-shrink wrappers for our balsa/foam creations.

http://www.monokote.com/monoinst1.html


Perfect your technique on a piece of scrap foam first. Don't go directly to your wing, etc., until you're comfortable with the equipment and covering material. Covering is 90% technique, 10% materials and tools.


Note: Not affiliated with TopFlite. I do not endorse, nor decry Monokote. This is posted for informational purposes only.

I avoid Monokote on foam. The shrink tem is high enough to deform the wing surface.

When covering a foam wing that isn't sheeted, like the Duraplane, I use TowerKote or other low temperature coverings. Even the shrink temp of TowerKote is high enough that you have to be careful wth some types of white styro...

Another option is to cover with light Kraft paper using yellow glue of a spray adhesive, then you can paint the paper with a fuelproof paint that doesn't have a base that attacks foam. I have found that mixing yellow glue and water 50-50, and applying it to the paper, then sticking it on the wing adds a lot of strength, without adding a lot of weight. (still much heavier than TowerKote....)

I've also seen foam wings covered with plasticized posters. The best result was on a Gremlin flying wing, with a poster of the Chicago skyline at dusk. The plasticised coating on the posters is fuelproof. The glue used was 3M Formula 77 (old version, one new version has ACETONE, which eats foam. READ the labels!)

Back in the old days (late 60's), a group of us used to purchase high-density blue foam, wire cut it, then use contact cement and poster board to cover it. We'd route a groove for a spar, top and bottom, glue it in and let it dry over night, then lay a thin layer of contact cement on the foam and the "rough" side of the poster board. After the cement had a chance to set (become tacky), we'd start at the trailing edge, and carefully wrap the core with the poster board, shiny side out. Worked great!

The link I gave above was for reference purposes and technique building only. I haven't used Monokote for quite some time, but the techniques still work, no matter what heat-shrink wrapper I use. Actually, I've gone back to built-up wings with a silk and dope finish. Nostalgia? Purist? I don't know, but I love the results!