Finishing with monokote...??

[jim gilmore]

Hello, am hoping to build a 25 powered profile model but I'm not yet sure if I will dope it or just use monokote. I am wondering if any of those people that do great monokote jobs can tell me how to do qa nice monokote job. Do you dope and fuel proof the fuselage first ? do you assemble all the aircraft or just the fuse and tail then cover it and then add the wing ?

[Rudy Taube]

Hi Jim,

1. You may want to try using Robert's excellent search feature. There have been many posts on this. Also in the finish section, and building section.

2. OR:  Go to the Monokote web site and read their very good  instructions.

http://www.monokote.com/monoinst1.html

3. If you find that you want to do a "really" good job, then order their instruction video, or order one of the several books on this.

4. It is not hard to do. You do not need to paint the surface with anything. Just finish the balsa to a smooth finish just like you would before using paint, at least to 200 grit sandpaper (400 grit even better). If you are using a wet fuel engine, then you may want to use some dope or diluted epoxy around the engine area before covering just to protect against oil etc. (see #6 below)

5. Practice 1st on a scrap piece of balsa. It is not hard to do, but it requires that you TAKE YOUR TIME, don't rush. It is much easier to use monokote if you can cover your parts (wing, fuse, tail) BEFORE you assemble them. Just make sure that you glue wood to wood when you put them together, do NOT glue to the monokote.

6. A good compromise that many CLPA pilots are using is to paint the fuselage (small surface area to add little wt with paint, and more difficult to cover with monokote) then use the monokote for the wing and tail surfaces (to save paint weight and it is easier to use monokote here).

7. If you use #6 above, you may want to use their matching paint. It is excellent and easy to use. Make sure you use their primer and warm the paint (in hot water) and shake the cans until your left arm falls off, then you will not have any problems. :-)

8. I have been using Monokote for forty years (YIKES! ;-) and I think it is a great product. I still have one plane that is now 28 years old and the Monokote still looks like new and is drum tight. :-)

Good Luck,  

[Ed Prohaska]

I'd Monokote the whole thing and do all the parts separately, them glue them together. Have lacquer thinner and lots of paper towel handy to wipe off the excess epoxy. Use 30 minute or 1 hour epoxy to allow plenty of time for alignment. Consider pegging the parts with tooth picks as an alignment aid and allow enough time to baby sit the parts until the glue sets. Anything larger than a .25 powered model, I'd probably glue the wing to the fuselage first, then add some glass cloth reinforcing at the LE and TE before covering. I'm just about ready to nail together the parts to a Brodak Flying Clown. All are pre-covered. The two half-A models sitting nose to nose are 95% cardboard and 100% Monokoted. Each has many dozens of flights. The fully take-apart Brodak Basic Trainer is also 100% Monokoted. It's 5 years old and has well over 100 flights. Few paints would tolerate the 25% nitro 1/2A fuels this well. Trim schemes with sunbursts and color bars are simple, but yield a sharp looking model with less effort. Take-apart models are the easiest to cover. All of the framework issues are resolved before finishing starts. The separate parts are easier to work on and just screw together when done; no messy gluing of covered parts. One of the many nice things about Monokote: if you don't get it right the first time, just carefully peal it off and try again. You've only lost a couple of hours and a few dollars worth of film. I recovered half of the Clown's wing due to a problem with the tip. It was OK the 2nd time around. Try it - You'll like it!  Regards, EWP

[john e. holliday]

I also have used Monokote thru the years depending on my mood.  I have also discovered that I use more heat than the instructions say when sealing the edges down.   Get a hot air gun for shrinking after the edges are sealed.   But, like anything it takes practice to get it right.  After all these years I am still learning and having fun.  DOC Holliday

[Jerry Reider]

I found this on YouTube.  It's a 5 part video series on Monokoting.  It actually originated from the RC Universe website.  I looked on theiy website but was not able to find it.

[Phil Coopy]

Jim, if you are not already an experienced monokoter you can't expect an excellent job on your first try.  Like any other finishing technique it takes a lot of practice.  For myself I like to monokote the open spans like wings, stab, and elevator, and use silkspan and dope on lood surfaces like the fuselage and fin.  Reason is that it takes as much prep to get a surface ready for monokote as it does for a doped surface....and the doped surface seems to last a lot longer and is easier to repair on the fuselage...and monokote is easier to repair on the wings. This was a repair job done in a few days time.

Phil

[jim gilmore]

My  biggest concern is making sure i've got what needs to be fuel proof adequately protected. I 'm concerned about how to do the front of the fuselage arount the engine and such. I do want my plane to last a while .

[dirty dan]

My  biggest concern is making sure i've got what needs to be fuel proof adequately protected. I 'm concerned about how to do the front of the fuselage arount the engine and such. I do want my plane to last a while .

The first and best step to doing a proper MonoKote finish is simply to read the instructions supplied with each roll. I don't know when these instructions were updated but they are quite good and certainly cover all the basics.

The Top Flite video is pretty good.

Higley's book (Tom's Tricks?) is real good.

Learn to use a heat gun. When it comes to the tips note that MonoKote can be shrunk and stretched. Learn to do both depending upon the application.

There is no substitute for experience.

I very much prefer to finish models after they are assembled. Yeah, it makes some stuff more difficult...

Get the MonoKote nailed down in the engine area. Might want to apply Balsarite--thinned 50/50 with acetone--to the entire nose of your model prior to applying the MonoKote. Balsarite is merely a glue; it and MonoKote adhesive will surely seal this area nicely.

The best fuel-proofer seems to be runny epoxy. Simply lap the epoxy over to and onto the MonoKote.

Finally, mount the engine to aluminum pads. As in: Cover fuselage. Apply fuel-proofer. Lay a thin coat of J-B Weld on aluminum pads. Install engine and aluminum pads. Let dry overnight.

Dan

[Jerry Reider]

My  biggest concern is making sure i've got what needs to be fuel proof adequately protected. I 'm concerned about how to do the front of the fuselage arount the engine and such. I do want my plane to last a while .

I have found that Indian Head Gasket Shellac works great for fuel proofing around the motor mount beams and firewall.  I takes only one coat and dries to a hard surface overnight.  I've used it on my stunters.  I never tried it but I can't see any reason why it couldn't be painted over to match the rest of the plane.

[Dan McEntee]

  The best thing I can add to what has already been covered, is to stress that you get ALL the wrinkles out as you apply MonoKote, rather than relying on the film to shrink them out. MonoKote, in my opinion, is the best of the iron on films available, but even it has it's limits. It only shrinks about 17% and you don't want to use all of that up when you put in on. As the model ages and makes the heat and cool cycles of going in and out of the house to the flying field, it will loosen up a bit over time, but you can re-shrink it if you don't use it up when you put it on.
   Always remember that Monokote won't hide bad finishing and prep work. Like any other finishing system, the more you prep the plane the better the finish will look. A really nice looking MonoKote finish isn't much easier than any other type of finish, it's just less smelly and messy And in some cases can be lighter than other finishes.
   Practice makes perfect, just don't try to over do it on your first effort.
   Good luck with it and have fun.
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[John Stiles]

I found this on YouTube.  It's a 5 part video series on Monokoting.  It actually originated from the RC Universe website.  I looked on theiy website but was not able to find it.

Outstanding presentation............thanks Jerry for the link!