Iron-on coverings? Opinions?
- Thread starter Bartman
- Start date
Bipeguy03
150cc
I always go for MonoKote. MonoKote has a higher application temperature, 275-300 compared to 215-230 for Ultracote. This results is less wrinkles after the plane sits out in the sun all day.
Why people have such a hard time conforming MonoKote to corners is the small window in temps between conforming well and melting, it just takes time and patience. I used to think it was impossible stuff to deal with until I got Faye Stilley's books on covering with film. I decided I wanted to be able to do it and got a couple rolls of film and covered everything in sight, now I can cover a tennis ball with only one seam (Yes I am bragging
).
Why people have such a hard time conforming MonoKote to corners is the small window in temps between conforming well and melting, it just takes time and patience. I used to think it was impossible stuff to deal with until I got Faye Stilley's books on covering with film. I decided I wanted to be able to do it and got a couple rolls of film and covered everything in sight, now I can cover a tennis ball with only one seam (Yes I am bragging
).
Bipeguy03
150cc
I use a Top Flight iron and heat gun and I have a laser thermometer that I use to set temps. And I have a trick to set the temp of a heat gun, get a helper to run the thermometer. Turn the heat gun on and let it warm up then face it at a piece of film stuck on a piece of wood and count to 5 (you want to hold it about 3-5 inches from the surface). Then have the helper take the temp of the surface you had the heat gun on. The surface temp should be around 280*F. I set the iron temp at 280* as well.
Hot Socks are a MUST!!!!!! Regardless of the Iron you use, wrap it up and change it with every color you put down!!! You can make your own out of an old bed sheet, but I always just buy them. Knife blades are also expendable, nice sharp seams hide easily while jagged ones always show.
The wood pecker is a great tool, but I made one out of a balsa block and a bunch of stick pins, it puts SMALLER holes CLOSER together and there are MORE of them. Always poke sheets, and whenever you have to put film on top of film.
I don't use any kind of treatment unless I'm trying to cover an old airplane that has oil in the wood. But I have a way to get that out as well.
I could write a book on this stuff myself I think!! lol
Hot Socks are a MUST!!!!!! Regardless of the Iron you use, wrap it up and change it with every color you put down!!! You can make your own out of an old bed sheet, but I always just buy them. Knife blades are also expendable, nice sharp seams hide easily while jagged ones always show.
The wood pecker is a great tool, but I made one out of a balsa block and a bunch of stick pins, it puts SMALLER holes CLOSER together and there are MORE of them. Always poke sheets, and whenever you have to put film on top of film.
I don't use any kind of treatment unless I'm trying to cover an old airplane that has oil in the wood. But I have a way to get that out as well.
I could write a book on this stuff myself I think!! lol
Bipeguy03
150cc
The last grit I use is 220, most important thing is to ALWAYS use a block when you are doing finish sanding. Fingers put grooves in the wood.
As for dust removal, before I do anything when I feel I am ready to start covering I take a couple of days and scrub the WHOLE shop from floor to ceiling. Everyone remembers to remove dirt from the plane but not from the shop.
Vacuum cleaners (shop vacs) are your best friend. Compressed air can damage things and believe it or not can dent wood so all your block sanding is wasted. I vacuum the airframe constantly during the covering process.
After the vacuum I wipe it down with tac rags, another often overlooked area is the back of the film. When you pull the backing off of the film there is static electricity, a quick wipe on the back of the film and again on the area you are going to cover before you position the film goes a long way.
As for dust removal, before I do anything when I feel I am ready to start covering I take a couple of days and scrub the WHOLE shop from floor to ceiling. Everyone remembers to remove dirt from the plane but not from the shop.
Vacuum cleaners (shop vacs) are your best friend. Compressed air can damage things and believe it or not can dent wood so all your block sanding is wasted. I vacuum the airframe constantly during the covering process.
After the vacuum I wipe it down with tac rags, another often overlooked area is the back of the film. When you pull the backing off of the film there is static electricity, a quick wipe on the back of the film and again on the area you are going to cover before you position the film goes a long way.
Bartman
Defender of the Noob!
pictures!
Bipeguy03
150cc
Another quick thing I picked up from doing car body work to help get large sheeted areas flat.
If you have a sheeted wing, such as a foam core wing, fog some black spray paint on the wing before you start sanding. FOG is the key word, you just want enough on it to see speckles of paint. Then use the longest bar sander you can get to sand the wing.
You'll sand the paint off of high spots and it will stay in the low spots, so you can see what needs sanded more or where to add filler.
This is most important when using high gloss coverings like film, low and high spots show!!
Also, low spots in large sheeted areas give somewhere for gasses to accumulate causing those bubbles and wrinkles on hot days at the field.
If you have a sheeted wing, such as a foam core wing, fog some black spray paint on the wing before you start sanding. FOG is the key word, you just want enough on it to see speckles of paint. Then use the longest bar sander you can get to sand the wing.
You'll sand the paint off of high spots and it will stay in the low spots, so you can see what needs sanded more or where to add filler.
This is most important when using high gloss coverings like film, low and high spots show!!
Also, low spots in large sheeted areas give somewhere for gasses to accumulate causing those bubbles and wrinkles on hot days at the field.