MONOKOTE OVER SUPER COVERITE TECHNIQUES

by Lyman Slack

This is not an original idea of mine; a friend, Mike Ball, down Miami way heard about it somewhere, tried it, and passed the technique along to me. I believe the idea was originated by David West from Houston, Texas. A 1987 article in RCM, by Ed Clayman, discussed the technique. I have used it with great success on several models. It works, it's durable, and it really stands up to our Florida weather. My Extra was five-years old before its demise and had lots of exposure to our hot sun as well as the winter chills; it never needed one touch-up with the iron; nor did it ever blister, sag, or bubble up. We all have had plastic films do this from time to time. The drawbacks are a wee bit more time, money, and weight.

Who should use this procedure? If you are the type that tends to like fancy designs over open structure surfaces like wing bays, or just want to add longevity to your model, go for it! The extra skin strength prevents those straw-weed punctures as well as eliminating the brittle-with-age problems with MonoKote. If you are still learning and tend to re-kit your aerospace vehicles with some frequency, it's not for you.

The weight factor: SuperCoverite (no substitutes, please!) weighs about 2.4 ounces per square yard, so the weight added is negligible. My small Sig Wonder probably only weighs an ounce more than just MonoKote; my C.G. Extra about 5 ounces more. By the way, you only use this double-covering technique on your open-framed surfaces such as wings and built-up tail feathers; you don't need to use it on solid ailerons, etc. (You can, though, to keep the textured finish the same.)

I have just finished covering my Godfrey Davis Acro Pro. This 30%-scale model is BIG at 98” span! I kept very close track of the weights added. I covered the entire airframe, including the solid parts such as ailerons and the turtle-deck using this procedure. The Super-Coverite added exactly 18 ounces; the MonoKote added another 10.25 ounces. In other words, the complete covering works out to be 8% of the all-up model weight. I’d venture to say you couldn’t do any better with Krylon, Epoxy, or other painted finishes.

Need I suggest to you, Mr. Experienced Craftsman, to insure that all your hardware such as horns, hinges, and pushrods, have been tried on for size, fit, and set-up, removed, and set aside for now?

Before starting the covering procedure, do like you always do; sand, sand, and sand some more with 150-grit until you are happy. Now, fill in all your boo-boos and hangar rash with Model Magic Filler and re-sand with 180. From this point on, work on last year's beach towel or borrow Momma's oldest big soft bath towel. Start sanding again, this time with 220; going down to 320 or 400. Hint: When you think everything feels super smooth, wipe down all the surfaces with a slightly damp cloth and allow to dry overnight. This will raise a small "fuzz" on the surfaces. Now go back and sand one more time with 400 grit. Now you're getting there.

Let's have a plan starting with all the tools you will need. Get a box of single-edge razor blades (Home Depot Paint Dept. has boxes of 100 @ $5+) and stock up on #11 blades. Super Coverite dulls blades even faster than plastic! I reach for a new blade the very first time a feel a pull or get a not-perfect cut. Have your steel straight edges cleaned and ready, as well as a stack of newspapers to be used for cutting on. Have a sketch with your design and measurements thought out also. Plan ahead!

One last step: wipe and then vacuum every part of your structure; no tack rags, please -- they pull up wood fuzz.

Clean and set your iron for medium heat for the Super Coverite (300^o) -- no heat gun will be used. Check the direction of the grain of the fabric; cross-roll with the small rolls; lengthwise with the 15' rolls; the grain, for those of you who don't remember silk and dope, goes from tip-to-tip Note the adhesive side will be slightly shiny. Cut your material at least two inches oversized all around. Have at it -- don't do your hinge area -- just cover all your flying surfaces, starting as you always do with the lower surfaces and work your way up. Tack the four corners first, then the center edges, and then lightly tack all around. Don't worry about its looks at this stage! Now, with a light touch, iron the entire surface, pulling slightly as you go. shrinking and working out most all of those ugly puckers and wrinkles. To the maximum extent possible, cut all your edges by using your straight edge and then do the final ironing of the outer edges. Again, do not be concerned with the wrinkled or puckered look of the fabric; it will come smooth with repeated passes of the iron -- no pressure, please, you can and will leave very visible dents in your wood! If you are a first-time user of SC, you will fall in love with its ease of application. When you think you are all done, re-iron one more time, lean back, and pat yourself on the back -- you did it J Now is the time to unplug your iron and clean it when it cools. SC does ooze adhesive at the edges, and you will find it on your iron.

Now rethink your MonoKote designs. I use MonoKote exclusively, and while I have used the German Ora Cover as well, I cannot speak for the suitability of any other plastic films, especially the cheap, the low-temp and those house brands. By the way, the transparent MonoKotes really take on a different appearance over the Super Coverite -- one way to be different! Pre-cut your small pieces and work out your final design. You may want to consider drawing out your pattern with a light colored marker pen right on your SC. Hint: From this point out, use a sock on your iron to eliminate scratching. Also: Be sure to increase the heat adjustment to get a minimum of 300⁰ to 350⁰ on the ironing surface.

Start out with your stab/fin/fuselage fillet pieces first. then do your hinge lines, overlapping about a quarter inch. Iron on your trim pieces, butting them together as you go, and work aft-to-front. At some point in application, you might see the temporary color change briefly as the MK really melts into and bonds to the SC. In some lighting, you can actually see the fabric pattern imprinted into the MK, thus showing its great adhesion.

Continue with your larger base-color pieces until you have finished. Once again, please try to trim off your edges with your straight edge; a wavy edge is so much more obvious than a straight one! Do not try to do everything in one large piece; several smaller pieces cut cleanly will not show up noticeably, and it sure makes your job easier!

Now it the time to add any pin-stripes, outlines, etc. using pre-cut MonoKote -- the regular stuff; not stick-on. I like to cut them somewhere between 3/32" and 5/32" -- any narrower is too hard to work with and any wider overpowers your design. Hint: Do not use your trim iron for this unless you have a mini bootie for it! It will mess up your otherwise beautiful job.

It's time to lightly re-iron the entire model to ensure no sharp corners have come up -- once again, use a clean sock on your iron, and don't use pressure.

Clean the entire covered surfaces to eliminate any adhesive slop and any markings you made. I have found a rag dampened (not wet) with either acetone or thinner works just fine. Clean once again with alcohol or Prepsol, and apply your vinyl graphics where applicable

The final step -- this is a great time to use that MonoKote Polish-Cleaner you bought and never used; use it as advertised with a real soft rag. I recently discovered that the new Pledge brand “Glass & Wood Furniture Cleaner” is a great polishing spray and gives MonoKote surfaces a streak-free showroom shine.

Now is also the time to pour yourself an adult beverage, call Momma, and really stand back and accept your accolades as she admires your creation. Hint: Never let her know how well you learned to use an iron :-)

If I can ever help you, or if you have any questions on this technique, drop me an E-mail note.

Lyman