Does anyone know of a good way to apply monokote OVER monokote? Air bubbles
under the top layer is the issue - is there some easy way to do this w/o
getting all the little air bubbles? Thanks. Scott - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - Scott Covey Scott@scottcovey.com


Scott, Two books from Model Airplane News, "Covering Model Airplanes Vols.
1 and 2" by Faye Stilley. The guy is a master with Monocote, and he
explains how to do it very easily. Each book can be read in an evening or
two, and IMHO, they are the best books on the subject out there. Good luck
with your covering... Mike mkwhite@mindspring.com 

Scott, The above subject matter has always been a
mystery to me. I have seen great covering jobs with Monokote. When asked
how they did it, they always calm up. A few WRAM shows ago, Faye Stilley
conducted a covering demo. I asked the same question you did. He basically
said read my books, but added he does not cover over Monokote. He puts one
base color down & removes ( by cutting ) the portions of this & adds ( by
tacking ) his color scheme. I found this odd since one would be cutting
into the balsa skins & impacting the integrity of the wing structure. I
have tried to poke small holes in the base color before applying the color
scheme over such , but still I have small bubbles too. I heard of using
soap & water to apply the color scheme & rub out all bubble. Allow to dry
overnight & when apply a small amount of heat with an iron. I have not
tried this, but I know ironing down covering over covering does not result
in a car show finish. If you find out any info let me know. I would think
maybe the building professionals can provide some insight on this
subject.... Regards, GARY DUDEK Email: dudekgl@pweh.com 


If I can add my 2 cents worth on monokoting. I have won 4 past WRAM shows
with monokoted pattern planes. Forget about applying monokote over
monokote! Pinholes, soap, chemicals are totally unneccessary. To a acheive
that showroom finish, you still have to go back to the basics, surface
preparation. Protect the wood during the building phase and repair all
dings as they occur. Final sanding needs to be done with 200 followed by
400 followed by 600 grade paper, the wood should be as smooth as the
proverbial baby's well you know. I fully agree with piecing your pattern
together using about 3/16 inch overlaps. Yes the base material can be cut
on the surface of the wing but I prefer to make a pattern out of brown
paper, the stuff you mask the plane with for painting. The pattern is taped
to the monokote and cut with a sharp blade and straight edge. Expect to go
through several dozen blades to cover a plane!! Place small pencil marks on
the wood to line up your piece. After tackragging both the wood and
monokote, put the piece into position. My method is to use the iron to tack
the edges down and then use the gun and a wad of cotton to seal the rest.
You need to leave an open edge to blow the air out. A little practice is
required to perfect the technique, but basically start at the far end from
the open edge, heat until shrunk and rub lightly with the cotton wad while
still hot, pushing the air toward the open end, you will see some of the
wood pattern show through but you must press it down (lightly) to adhere
it. If you just shrink the monikote you will really get that showroom
finish but it will wrinkle. Continue to the open edge, which ideally would
be the trailing edge, but sometimes must be the leading edge or wing tip.
In that case make sure you have plenty of overlap and pull and heat with
the gun and then finish with the iron. This edge must be cut on the wing.
As long as you use a straight edge and very sharp #11 blade with just the
weight of the knife, you will not cut into the wood or underlying monokote.
The trim colors are also made from patterns and adhered to the edges of the
base monokote. This does take more time but the results are worth it. As an
additional benifit, you get very little bubbling or wrinkles later on, and
any that do appear can usually be reattached with the gun and cotton,
unless you trapped air under the monokote, in which case a pin hole would
need to be made. I have an Atlanta in my basement, covered with dust but no
wrinkles. I am not even sure what year this is from! Try it you will like
it. -Stuart Chale

Hello Scott, Do just as
Stu tells 'ya. That ATLANTA *has* to date from '86, and I think I remember
it at DCRC, that year. The way stu told you to steamroller the air out with
a cotton wad works (even for me). After watching his technique at a club
meeting, I did an LA-1 wing that is now eleven years old. I just gave the
plane away, but the wing has no wrinkles. The planes second stab was
quickly covered the "normal" way: it was a prune. -Dean Pappas 


Spray a thin solution of water and dish detergent over the base layer.
Float the trim into place and heat gently.  The water goes to steam and
controls the temperature.  Just PATIENTLY work the steam out from under the
trim piece.  Sometimes you'll need to go back and re-seal the edges in a
day or so, but this will make it easier to work all the bubbles out.
 Steve Byrum 

 Scott,
 I don't apply Monocote over itself except for a very small overlap = (1/8").
I layout the pattern on the wing/stab... with a very fine line fiber tip =
pen (not marker). Then I use tracing paper to make patterns for each =
element to be covered allowing for the 1/8" overlap. I start covering =
with lightest color like white or yellow on bottom then top. Next apply =
the succeedingly darker colors. When ironing the overlap, be sure that your
iron isn't too hot. I use an = antique Topflight iron with a nearly all
cotton infant size baby sock = and run the iron at about 80-90% wide open.
I also use the same setting = to iron on the panel. I use a bare iron to
seal material around TE or = into aileron cutout. I iron penstripes with
the socked iron. Notes:=20 1. Using the fine line pen, I can see the line
through the white/yellow = (barely). I mark the overlap point on the
white/yellow and use this as a = guide when applying the next color. After
the covering is complete, I = use alcohol to clean up the pen marks. 2. The
fine line pen is less likely to make dents in soft balsa than a = pencil.
If you use a very soft pencil (.7 mm drafting pencil with B, 2B = lead.) In
either case be sure that you don't apply much pressure. Good luck. I'm sure
that you will get many good suggestions, but you = will have to see what
works for you. Ken Blackwell KBlackw@snowhill.com 

Try setting your iron to no more than 250 degrees. The
bubbles are caused by excessive heat. Rich Fletcher