Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

I have a question for you expert builders. Shown below is a pic of a beautifully done plane. How does one go about covering a wing or plane like this in monokote?

For example, do you cover the entire wing first in yellow, then overlay the black followed by the red? Or do you put down the yellow and then trim whats not needed. Doing the colors in "sections"? What about the over lap or seems? Don't they eventually peel up over time? How do you keep the seems down?

I'd like to take covering to the next level. Up till now most of my planes have been a solid color with some trim details in a 2nd or 3rd color, but nothing this complex.

Any advice or feedback?

Thanks
http://blaineaustin.com/images/Fly%2...20edge%202.jpg

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

Looking at just the wing, I would do the yellow first, just 1/4" past where the blue starts. Then the blue (black?) to 1/4" past the red. Then the red. Then I would lay yellow squares on top of the red at the tips.

The squares is the only area you would have to worry about seams lifting, because by working from back to front, the air would not be able to lift the seams. As for the squares, some clear Lustercoat would help hold them down, But I would probably just leave them alone and hit them with a hot iron whenever needed.

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

As MinnFlyer says, do it in small overlays with 1/4" overlaps starting at the trailing edge and moving forward.

You can do the squares in Ultracoat although their color choice is limited to 4 or 5 combos.

Don

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

If you are going to be covering an open area (built up wing,etc.) the best way is to make a skin first. I make skins over glass using the same overlap as above. Put the first color down on glass that you have first sprayed with a little water, squeegee out all bubbles, then do the same with the next color (you can either use a sealing iron to join the seam or put a very light coat of No Heat or similar solvent on the first color and then lay the second one on the seam and squeegee out bubbles (I like the sealing iron). Continue this until you have the skin complete.

Practice on something small.

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

In the picture you posted the surface being covered is balsa sheeted foam. The easiest way to do this is to cover the wing panel using individual pieces. Cover the root and tip first with the desired color, then the aileron inset. Begin covering the bottom of the wing and then finish with the top. As far as the pattern in the picture I'd make up some templates. Keep in mind that when you are putting the covering down to apply the light color first then the dark color. Put the yellow on first, overlap with blue about 1/8-1/4" then apply the red. For the checkerboard I would make up the pieces on glass out of individual squares and then apply to the wing. I've used the skin technique and this also works well. Alot depends on how the covering is behaving. I've layed monokote over monokote before and it went on beautifully and at other times I've gotten so frustrated with the stuff I just wanted to throw the whole mess in the garbage. Some of the covering such as oracover can be seamed almost effortlessly with low heat, monokote from my experience works better with trim solvent.
I spend numerous hours doing a very intricate three color trim scheme on a 35% Giles only to have the plane destroyed when it ran out of gas on it's second flight. The only way I'd spend that kind of time covering a plane again would be on a plane that was going to be a display piece. My every day knock around giant scale plane now gets a covering job that is applied in a fraction of that time. If I destroy I don't feel so bad because I don't have that much time invested.

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

OK I have a question then. I have done all the above methods but one thing still plagues me. When I take a color strip (say the red or blue wing sweeps in this picture) I tape it in place but when I apply heat from my iron on long strips it wants to move. In some cases the ¼” overlap barely covers at the end. Is there any technique that I am missing?

Another question to one of the above statements of placing darker colors over lighter colors, I agree but in the case of this picture with the yellow and red wing tips checkerboard. Is the yellow box’s put over the red or red over the yellow? Yellow over red in this design would be easier.

Thanks

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

It's always better to go darker colors over lighter colors because the lighter colors will allow the overlap to be seen.

As far as applying color sweeps and stuff, tack the monokote every 2-3" to hold to the pattern and then tack in between the tacks and then seal the edge. Then shrink as normal. Just takes practice.

Don

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

If it is moving that much, turn down the heat. The covering should adhere at a lower temp than the shrink temp. Once it is all locked down, then increase the heat to shrink it. Or better yet, shrink it with a heat gun.

Yes, in this case you would have no problem putting the yellow over the red. Where you want to avoid this is where colors meet. For example, in the picture above, if the blue is on top of the yellow, there's no problem, but if the yellow was on top of the blue, the blue would show slightly through the yellow where they overlap. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but avoid it if you can.

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

www.cfcgraphics.com

I can't take credit for this at all!! Someone else around here had this site listed in a similar thread.

Basically, you cover the entire plane in one color. Then these vinyl peel and stick graphics go on. A bit expensive maybe, but cool enough to consider!!!

Well, I thought you just covered your plane in one color! After checking the site again, I'm not so sure.

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

Talbert, I have grown to really like this color scheme. I may try this on a Ultimate Bipe I am scratch building. Do you have any other photos of this plane?

Pics
 

Sure do. I have quite a few as a matter of fact from many angles. I'll send them to you in the morning. Headed home from work now.

Nice isn't it?

Re: Pics
 

Yes very nice. My email is [email protected] Thanks

Monokote Question - Advance Covering -
 

To answer your first question.. I usually don't use tape. Lay the covering on top of each other and rub down with a soft cloth. This will smooth the layers out and help get rid of air. Take your iron on a low setting(hot enough to activate the adhesive but not hot enough to shrink the material) and run it along the seam. In the case of the red color you can then attach the piece to the LE of the wing. Covering over sheeted foam takes practice because you can't use maximum heat to apply the film. If you get the surface too hot you risk melting the foam underneath. You will then have soft spots in your sheeting where the foam seperated from the sheeting. If you do this in enough spots you risk a wing failure. I prefer to use oracover/ultracote over balsa/foam because it is a lower heat film than monokote. For balsa or ply structures the monokote works well. The guys that have these intricate covering schemes are not beginners when it comes to covering. Some guys pay a professional builder to cover their planes.
For the checker board it is possible that the tip is first covered in yellow and then the red piece is layed on top of it. You would simply prepare the red skin on a piece of glass(lay film on moistened glass) and lay out your checkerboard.
Remove the squares where the yellow would be. You then put down a piece of frisket film(made by Badger and sold at an art supply store) over the red skin to hold the piece in place and then lift off the glass. You sort of make a decal out of the red skin. Then apply to the yellow covering and affix using low heat. Peel away the frisket and your done.
Your best bet is to get some covering and practice, you'll be a pro in no time.

Monokote Covering
 

It's amazing what you can do with monokote with some practice. I have done checker board schemes as well, but on an open structure wing. If you go to my gallery there is a picture of a "Winglet" flying wing that is tapered and swept back, so the checker board is too. The checker was added after the wing was covered, although I have used the pre-made skin method as morris mentioned previously with good results. If you do go to my gallery, have a look at the "Monosport" while you're there. It's done with monokoat also, including all the lettering and numbers.
I use thin cardboard (art board, bristol board) to make templates for all the trim, letter & numbers. I tape a piece of monokote down to a cutting mat, position the card template on top (sometimes with tape as required) and carefully cut around the template with a very sharp #11 blade. I use another piece of cardboard for the cutting mat. Surprisingly, the white numbers over the black wing look great. They are far enough away from the white scallops on the leading edge (which are not over black, just balsa) that you don't notice the very slight color difference.
I have found that like most other things, the success of a good monokote job requires a lot of thought and planning ahead.

Cheers, Nigel