Ok, today I'll start the covering with Ultracote. I'll show some of the things I have learned in covering over the years and empahsize that I am still learning. But you can with practice do a covering job that will let you gather reasonable appearance points at contests in a lot less time and with a lot less weight than a paint job. Please don't think I'm trying to put down paint jobs. I love them. Used to do them. But I do not have the patience to do it any more nor the desire. I don't fly at the NATS and am not now or ever interested in having a plane sit in the front row there. Just not my thing. But I do want a plane that I can be proud of and that looks really nice. What I will share are the things that work in my hands. Are there other ways and materials? Absolutely! I'll also be showing the Windex method of applying film later on in the thread as I get to the trim colors.
For starters I'll just go over the materials I'll be using. Two are not shown in the pic below. The first is a sheet of glass. There is nothing else to cut trim on that will get you a fine clean line. Formica can til you get the first cut on it and then when you rn a blade over it sometime in the future you wind up with a glitch. Glass is the only thing I have found. Wood of any kind has grain and will deflect a blade and give a non straight cut. The second not shown (cause I forgot to put it in the pic
) is a tac rag. Not the one you have been using for the last 3 years or even the last model. A brand new, unused tac rag. If it had dust on it it will shed dust to the model. You can make them yourselves or buy them, but use a new tac rag on each each model and go over every surface before you do it. You do not have the option of wet sanding off dust or burying it in clear. Its going to show so get it off now. You can't do it later. Also on the same line, be careful not to seperate the backing of the film until just before you are going to place it on the model for attachment. It will pick up dust and it will show. This is the most frustrating part of film covering. You want to know how good the arf builders are? Everyone is always putting them down. Just look at the covering jobs and the lack of imperfections under the surface. It will humble you.
Blades: You need more than you can imagine. I ue straight edges and scaple blades. I don't use curved blades but have, its just harder to get consistant cuts cause you never know where on the blade you are actually cutting. Buy them buy the bunch, buy them cheap cause no mater what you use and how much you pay they are going to get pitched so often you will not believe it. If you feel the slightest drag on a cut, if you have to repeat a cut to get it, if you feel any vibration in the blade during a cut, its time to change the blade. When you are cutting on glass, guess which is harder, a thin steel edge or glass? I just cannot stress enough how important a fresh sharp blade is to your end result. Lastly in blades, you need a disposal container. In medicine we learned to use sharps boxes. Since we are not dealing with body fluids here (if we are its your own, so no worry about cross contamination...sharp remember?) we do not need a puncture proof plastic container. But you should use something thick enough that the garbage man isn't going to get hurt from I use the thickest cardboard box I have with a slit that only lets the blades go in. When its filled I tape it shut with a few layers of duct tape and pitch it.
Irons: You need at least two. A full size one and a trim iron. I will sometimes use a third one with a sock on it. Socks where out very fast, commercial or home made. I think a cotton sock home made one gives a better surface but it requires a higher temp setting to get the temp you want to the film. If you use a sock you must check the temp on the surface of the sock with a monocote thermometer, the temp settings on teh irons are not accurate enough. As I said I like the 21st Century irons because they have actual temp settings on them, but any brand is fine as long as you ck the setting temp and know what temps you are using.
A heat gun is used by most but must be used judicously. Use it heavy handed and you will melt holes and crate warps, and make messes. Used right and it is a huge time saver and lets you arrive at a much higher quality finish.
Lastly you need some kind of a soft surface to rub the film to the surface. I use a monocote glove most of the time, that is what is in the pic, but I also usually have a terry cloth washcloth available as well. Sometimes something thinner works better.
Also notice the irons are not on the worktop surface, but on holders. This keeps them from bleeding heat to the work top and increases their life. Also do not neglect the towel to work on. No mater how clean you have the surface, there will be stuff on it that can cause a divot in soft (and even hard) blasa. Foam under it is even better. But don't do this on your glass surface. You are going to need access to it as you work.
bob branch
Topic: T-Rex electric build thread (Read 26250 times)
