Compared to old fashioned fabric finishes, iron-on film is easy. \u00a0However, there are some important techniques to be mastered if you want to achieve the best results. \u00a0The best way to learn is by doing. \u00a0Even if you tear your first attempt off and do it over, it’s not really a waste. \u00a0You’ll have to spend some money, but my goal is to help you at least get a discount on your tuition to the school of hard knocks.<\/p>\n
The first step to covering a model is to decide what you want it to look like. \u00a0Do you want two colors? \u00a0Three colors? \u00a0Pin stripes? \u00a0What colors are easiest for you to see? \u00a0I always favor designs with two contrasting colors for visibility, but as I’ve gotten older I find that I can’t see a red and yellow airplane as well as I used to. \u00a0So now I usually use yellow only with purple or blue, and my favorite light color is white. \u00a0So figure out what works for you. \u00a0Put rolls of film next to each other, and even go outside and hold them up to the sky so you can see what they will look like together on an airplane. \u00a0I figured this out the hard way. \u00a0I covered a bunch of airplanes with bad color schemes, and then I learned not to. \u00a0For instance my first Cloud Dancer was black with some bright highlights. \u00a0It looked great on the ground, but it always looked like a silhouette in the air and I couldn’t tell what it was doing. \u00a0I still use black, but now it’s only for stripes. \u00a0I have covered a few airplanes with tiny random scraps from my scrap box, and they looked really cool. \u00a0But this has to be done correctly\u00a0because anything covered with random \u00a0spots will look camouflaged at a distance. \u00a0I had very good results with a Q-Tee\u00a0covered with scraps, but only the fuselage was done that way. \u00a0The wings were solid yellow, which allowed me to see what the plane was doing. \u00a0On another occasion I covered an aerobatic trainer with stripes. \u00a0Each rib bay was a different color, and the fuselage was covered in stripes as if it were wearing a bunch of belts of all different widths. \u00a0I couldn’t tell what that plane was doing in the air at all, so that experiment was classified as a disaster. \u00a0So I eventually came up with a good idea that I use on everything. \u00a0If you don’t want to think about it and want to just do it my way,\u00a0see my article on high visibility color schemes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now that you have that settled, here are the three rules of what order to apply pieces of\u00a0iron-on film.<\/p>\n Let’s assume that\u00a0you are covering an RCM Basic Trainer just like the one in the article in the above link, except that you want it all red. \u00a0For the fuselage you start with the bottom, then add the sides, and finally cover the top. \u00a0Now let’s assume that you want it to look just like mine. \u00a0Start with the white film\u00a0on the sides. \u00a0Then apply the white top. \u00a0Then apply the red bottom, then the red sides, then the red top just behind the engine. \u00a0Nothing to it.<\/p>\n I’ve heard a lot of questions about ironing film onto an airplane, and I’ve heard a lot of answers, most of them disagreeing with each other.<\/p>\n First, which film should you use? \u00a0The old standby is Top Flite Super Monokote, also known simply as Monokote, or for obvious reasons, Moneykote. \u00a0Much like the Coke vs. Pepsi rivalry, Ultracote has its share of loyal users as well. \u00a0So what’s the difference?<\/p>\n Monokote is durable. \u00a0It has a good shrink rate but it has its limits, so you have to know what you’re doing. \u00a0Once you put it on you can’t take it off and reuse it. \u00a0If you have to take it off, you’ll need to replace it with a new piece. \u00a0If you mark your balsa with a\u00a0ballpoint\u00a0pen, Monokote will cover the marks and the ink won’t bleed. \u00a0(The mark may show through white, yellow, and some shades of red, though.) \u00a0It stretches well around curves, but you have to know what you’re doing. \u00a0It comes in a wide variety of colors. \u00a0Some of the red colors are not entirely opaque, unfortunately, and some colors, particularly green and purple, have wide variations in color from one dye lot to another. \u00a0Monokote is rather expensive at retail price.<\/p>\n Ultracote is just as expensive as Monokote. \u00a0If you put it on and decide to move it, you can reheat, lift, and re position Ultracote. \u00a0Sometimes this is a bad thing because you iron it on, then try to shrink it with a heat gun, then\u00a0the edge will lift and shrink into the middle, ruining the piece. \u00a0Ultracote comes in a wide variety of colors. \u00a0Unfortunately if you mark your balsa with a\u00a0ballpoint\u00a0pen, any remaining ink will bleed into the adhesive and be visible through Ultracote. \u00a0Ultracote fans say that it shrinks and stretches better than Monokote and is easier to apply.<\/p>\n I’ll tell you my bias. \u00a0I’m a big fan of Monokote, and I’ve been using it since I started. \u00a0I like the way it goes on. \u00a0If you develop your skills, you will be\u00a0rewarded with good results. \u00a0My main gripe with Ultracote is the thing about unsticking and resticking. \u00a0Sometimes this attribute is offered as an advantage, but I say that if you know what you’re doing, you should be able to put it on and trust that it will stay on. \u00a0To be fair, Monokote will loosen and shrink away from the edge, too. \u00a0But for this to happen you have to blast it with a heat gun beyond reason, and you shouldn’t be doing that anyway.<\/p>\n There’s a new player in the market in the past several years that goes by a few names.\u00a0 The most commonly known name is Neucover.\u00a0 These are all copycat products made in China that all seem to be pretty much the same except that products from different factories don’t have matching colors.\u00a0 These products are collectively referred to as Chinakote.\u00a0 Stretching qualities, required iron temperature, adhesion strength, and application techniques in all cases seem to be directly in between Monokote and Ultracote.\u00a0 Durability is good but perhaps not quite as good as Monokote, and it produces a good looking finish.\u00a0 The main difference is the cheaper price and greater availability.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s safe to assume that most of us will be using Chinakote for most of our covering projects in the future.\u00a0 Some would say that it’s silly to even talk about Monokote any more because it went off the market several years ago, but there is so much of it still available at swap meets and estate sales, I figured I should go ahead and mention it.\u00a0 In any case, I hope you’ll find this information useful no matter what film you end up using.<\/p>\n Next question is how to prepare the plane for film. \u00a0Well, I have seen lots of guys spend way too much time sanding, filling, etc. \u00a0My philosophy is that filling is kind of a waste because your film should bridge the gap anyway. \u00a0Not much more to say about that. \u00a0Lots of guys sand with 220 grit, then 400 grit so the balsa surface feels like a baby’s bottom. \u00a0I never found that necessary either. \u00a0I have two sanding blocks. \u00a0One is always loaded with 120 grit and the other 180. \u00a0Good enough for me. \u00a0If you’re six feet away from the plane, guess what it looks like. \u00a0It looks like a model airplane.<\/p>\n Have you heard about Balsarite, Sig Stix-It, sanding sealer, and other preparations? \u00a0Some people swear by them, others not so much. \u00a0Sanding sealer is supposed to prevent a fuzzy grain from coming up on sanded balsa. \u00a0It’s probably more important when the plane is being painted. \u00a0I’ve always covered with film, so sanding sealer is something I’ve never used. \u00a0Maybe I should, but I don’t think I’m missing anything. \u00a0My planes look good on the ground and in the air, and then either I sell them or they crash. \u00a0I don’t think sanding sealer will change that. \u00a0Balsarite and Stix-It are a different story. \u00a0This is a product that comes in a can and is brushed onto the air frame before covering. \u00a0It comes in fabric formula and film formula, the only difference being that the former is much thicker than the latter, which means that if you are buying the latter you are buying more solvent. \u00a0The idea is that you can brush the fabric formula onto the wood and then use any fabric or film as an iron-on product even though it has no adhesive on it. \u00a0There are a few aircraft covering products that are provided without adhesive, in which case this is a useful product. \u00a0The film formula is advertised for use with iron-on film that already has its own adhesive, to make it work better, theoretically. \u00a0I have my doubts. \u00a0Interestingly, the manufacturer recommends fabric formula for any film or fabric without its own adhesive, and the film formula for any film or fabric with adhesive. \u00a0So what they’re saying is that you should use the highly thinned product if you already have glue and don’t need more. (Wink wink. \u00a0Get it?)<\/p>\n My take on Balsarite and Stix-It is that it is useful around the engine compartment as a fuel proofer. \u00a0You can paint any surface in the engine compartment that is intended to not be covered with film, and extend the coating an inch or so in all directions where there will be film. \u00a0Then iron the film on and you have a thoroughly fuel proof installation. \u00a0Also if you are repairing crash damage or re covering an old plane, it can be used in areas that have suffered a bit of oil-soak to help the film adhere better. \u00a0So, it’s a good product, but you can also fuel proof with epoxy after covering, which is something I usually do.<\/p>\n How about trim irons? \u00a0I bought a trim iron a long time ago, used it a couple of times, and got rid of it. \u00a0Use a regular iron, use a hot butter knife, or whatever. \u00a0I wouldn’t advise you to spend extra money on a trim iron.<\/p>\n Regarding the use of a tack cloth, that’s a good idea. \u00a0The less dust you have on the surface to be covered, the better your film will stick. \u00a0But here’s the secret. \u00a0You can get excellent results with a T shirt instead of spending money on a tack cloth.<\/p>\n If you have any other questions related to covering with film, let me know and I’ll include them.<\/p>\n We’ll start cutting and sticking in Part 1<\/a> next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Compared to old fashioned fabric finishes, iron-on film is easy. \u00a0However, there are some important techniques to be mastered if you want to achieve the best results. \u00a0The best way to learn is by doing. \u00a0Even if you tear your … Continue reading \n