general monokote tips ?
10-07-2003, 01:38 AM
#2
RE: general monokote tips ?
The instructions that come with the Mono-cote give
about as good of an over view as any. It takes practice.
Generally....iron it down around the edges first, to get it
tightly in place....Then shrink it tight with the heat gun
before you try to iron it down. If you try to iron down
loose Mono-cote with a hot iron....you will "iron in"
wrinkles that you cannot remove.
You will find out the the covering loosens before it shrinks.
The hardest part about getting the stuff down tight can
be simply ironing it down on the flat surfaces. You would
think that would be the easy part, but it can be very
frustrating. The reason is, when you apply a hot iron to
say a flat, solid part....the area around the iron will wrinkle
real bad, and you wont be able to iron them out. Even the
material under the iron will wrinkle, and you ironed them
down tight.
When you are shrinking the material with the heat gun, and
it gets down tight over a solid area....rub it down tight with
a gloved finger. (use a cheap cotton glove from the hardware
store) That will help from to keep from getting wrinkles
when you do the final ironing. When you start to iron the
covering down tight....go over it first with a warm iron,
then come back with the hot iron for the final ironing. You
need to shrink the covering gradually to get a real nice, flat
finish.
Use an "iron sock" on the iron....it will help from making
dents in the wood on the final ironing.
When you get to the curved parts....like the wingtips....
turn the heat up on the iron to hot. Let the heat of the
iron shrink the material, and shrink out the wrinkles before
you iron them down. If you "iron in" a wrinkle....you won't
get it out.
Leave a couple inches of material extending past the
curved parts. You can pull gently on the covering as you
iron it down, to help pull out the wrinkles.
Allways do the bottom of any piece first....this will give
you some practice on the parts that don't show as much,
and the top will be overlapped to the underside, so the
seam won't be seen on the top surfaces.
Practice, practice, practice....
Dave.
about as good of an over view as any. It takes practice.
Generally....iron it down around the edges first, to get it
tightly in place....Then shrink it tight with the heat gun
before you try to iron it down. If you try to iron down
loose Mono-cote with a hot iron....you will "iron in"
wrinkles that you cannot remove.
You will find out the the covering loosens before it shrinks.
The hardest part about getting the stuff down tight can
be simply ironing it down on the flat surfaces. You would
think that would be the easy part, but it can be very
frustrating. The reason is, when you apply a hot iron to
say a flat, solid part....the area around the iron will wrinkle
real bad, and you wont be able to iron them out. Even the
material under the iron will wrinkle, and you ironed them
down tight.
When you are shrinking the material with the heat gun, and
it gets down tight over a solid area....rub it down tight with
a gloved finger. (use a cheap cotton glove from the hardware
store) That will help from to keep from getting wrinkles
when you do the final ironing. When you start to iron the
covering down tight....go over it first with a warm iron,
then come back with the hot iron for the final ironing. You
need to shrink the covering gradually to get a real nice, flat
finish.
Use an "iron sock" on the iron....it will help from making
dents in the wood on the final ironing.
When you get to the curved parts....like the wingtips....
turn the heat up on the iron to hot. Let the heat of the
iron shrink the material, and shrink out the wrinkles before
you iron them down. If you "iron in" a wrinkle....you won't
get it out.
Leave a couple inches of material extending past the
curved parts. You can pull gently on the covering as you
iron it down, to help pull out the wrinkles.
Allways do the bottom of any piece first....this will give
you some practice on the parts that don't show as much,
and the top will be overlapped to the underside, so the
seam won't be seen on the top surfaces.
Practice, practice, practice....
Dave.
10-07-2003, 07:17 PM
#3
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RE: general monokote tips ?
wish some one had told me all that when i started, i still cant iron... maybe i need to get a heat iron, will a hair dryer work?? i remember melting the covering on my first plane with dryer and destroying dryer...
10-07-2003, 10:27 PM
#5
RE: general monokote tips ?
Warping....OH BOY....[X(]....
....here's another thing you don't want to find out the
hard way....if you shrink up the wing covering unevenly,
you can warp it so bad....even the Wright Brothers
would shudder....same thing with the tail feathers.
Say your working with a trainer wing....you put the
covering on the bottom first, both sides....and you have
it ironed down all aroung the edges. Now you cover the
top of the wings....both sides, all down around the edges,
wiith about 1/4" overlap to the underside.
You must have a hobby heat gun to do it right....a hair
dryer generally isn't hot enough....and an industrial, or automotive type heat gun for removing paint, ect....will
burn through the covering so quick you won't have time
to react....
....heres the "no warp thing"....the covering must be
tightened evenly, in a pattern to avoid warping the wing
(or tail feathers).
Get your heat gun on high heat....start on the underside
of the wing in the middle of the wing, hold the gun about
4" away from the covering, and make a slow pass up the center....all the way out to the tip.
Do the other side the same way....up the center, out to
the tip. If you watch the Mono-cote as you go....you will
see it get real baggy before it tightens up. That's what I
was talking about in the above post, with the wrinkling
from the heat, under the iron.
Anyway....just go up the center....one time on both sides
of the bottom of the wing....don't do the part near the
leading edge, or the trailing edge yet....flip the wing over,
and take a pass up the certer of each side....just like the
bottom.
Now, think about this....on the first pass up the center....
you just want to give it a "general tightening"....you don't
want to get it as tight as a drum....and you have shrunk
about 1/3 of the surface....mainly up the middle.
Now go bact to the underside, and again, starting in the
middle of the wing....take a pass first up the leading edge
....one side, and then the other....tightening up the forward
1/3 of the covering.
Now take a pass up the trailing edge 1/3 on each side.
Again....don't try to completely shrink the covering into a
final stage....just a general tightening.....even-ness is more important for now.
Flip the wing over and do the top side....same as the bottom.
Now is the time to check the wing for warps....before you completely shrink the covering. Say one side is warped up
at the tip. You can hold the good side down flat against the board....and flex the bad side down, about 1/2" past the
perfect position....and tighten up the covering....top and
bottom with the heat gun. Hold it for a few seconds to
let it cool....and when you let it go...it should flex back
into a straight position, and be OK. Taking the warp out
of a wing takes some practice....but if the wing structure
is strong, and you have'nt warped the heck out of it....
it should be OK.
Dave.
....here's another thing you don't want to find out the
hard way....if you shrink up the wing covering unevenly,
you can warp it so bad....even the Wright Brothers
would shudder....same thing with the tail feathers.
Say your working with a trainer wing....you put the
covering on the bottom first, both sides....and you have
it ironed down all aroung the edges. Now you cover the
top of the wings....both sides, all down around the edges,
wiith about 1/4" overlap to the underside.
You must have a hobby heat gun to do it right....a hair
dryer generally isn't hot enough....and an industrial, or automotive type heat gun for removing paint, ect....will
burn through the covering so quick you won't have time
to react....
....heres the "no warp thing"....the covering must be
tightened evenly, in a pattern to avoid warping the wing
(or tail feathers).
Get your heat gun on high heat....start on the underside
of the wing in the middle of the wing, hold the gun about
4" away from the covering, and make a slow pass up the center....all the way out to the tip.
Do the other side the same way....up the center, out to
the tip. If you watch the Mono-cote as you go....you will
see it get real baggy before it tightens up. That's what I
was talking about in the above post, with the wrinkling
from the heat, under the iron.
Anyway....just go up the center....one time on both sides
of the bottom of the wing....don't do the part near the
leading edge, or the trailing edge yet....flip the wing over,
and take a pass up the certer of each side....just like the
bottom.
Now, think about this....on the first pass up the center....
you just want to give it a "general tightening"....you don't
want to get it as tight as a drum....and you have shrunk
about 1/3 of the surface....mainly up the middle.
Now go bact to the underside, and again, starting in the
middle of the wing....take a pass first up the leading edge
....one side, and then the other....tightening up the forward
1/3 of the covering.
Now take a pass up the trailing edge 1/3 on each side.
Again....don't try to completely shrink the covering into a
final stage....just a general tightening.....even-ness is more important for now.
Flip the wing over and do the top side....same as the bottom.
Now is the time to check the wing for warps....before you completely shrink the covering. Say one side is warped up
at the tip. You can hold the good side down flat against the board....and flex the bad side down, about 1/2" past the
perfect position....and tighten up the covering....top and
bottom with the heat gun. Hold it for a few seconds to
let it cool....and when you let it go...it should flex back
into a straight position, and be OK. Taking the warp out
of a wing takes some practice....but if the wing structure
is strong, and you have'nt warped the heck out of it....
it should be OK.
Dave.
10-08-2003, 09:00 AM
#7
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RE: general monokote tips ?
Here are the basics from TopFlite
http://www.monokote.com/monoinst1.html
Most folks never find this one on graphics on the TopFlite site
http://www.top-flite.com/reviews/trimgraphics.html
Here is another from TopFlite on covering fiberglass
http://www.modelairplanenews.com/how_to/monokote.asp
The best tip I picked up a couple of years ago, after using the stuff for many years had never occured to me. It's useful when you have too much monokote to cover an area, particularly wing tips. Hold it up and shrink if first, then start to stretch it. I hope that makes sense, 'cause it works.
JR
http://www.monokote.com/monoinst1.html
Most folks never find this one on graphics on the TopFlite site
http://www.top-flite.com/reviews/trimgraphics.html
Here is another from TopFlite on covering fiberglass
http://www.modelairplanenews.com/how_to/monokote.asp
The best tip I picked up a couple of years ago, after using the stuff for many years had never occured to me. It's useful when you have too much monokote to cover an area, particularly wing tips. Hold it up and shrink if first, then start to stretch it. I hope that makes sense, 'cause it works.
JR
10-08-2003, 08:16 PM
#9
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Join Date: Aug 2003
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RE: general monokote tips ?
Thanks guys for the comments and references for the sites. Really appreciate your generosity and giving. 
Perhaps one day I will be able to contribute.
Steve
Perhaps one day I will be able to contribute.Steve
