Covering a spitfire

[spitfire]

Hi every one
I am planning on building Top flite’s Gold edition 1/7 scale spitfire. I am not too experienced at this and need some info on the camo finish for my airplane. If I use Monokote film in flat olive color would I be able to paint the gray in the desire pattern over the MonoKote with some thing like LusterKote paint? Dose anyone has any other recommendation as how I could better achieve the camo color finish?

Thanks in advance
Spitfire:confused:

[Dave Robelen]

Hello Spitfire,
I have heard of people having good results with the Rustoleum brand of spray paints over monokote. Very few paints will stick well to it, but the enamel based pricucts seem OK. How about cutting the gray sections from the proper color Monokote? If you leve most of those areas bare, you could apply a second color with just a bit of overlap. Making patterns from paper would be a big help with this one.
Regards, Dave Robelen

[orian_m42]

Hi super coverite fabric works well its not treated so paint will stick but youll have to seal it after your done.
.................................Paul:)

[spitfire]

Dave, Thanks great Idea, I was trying to find a way to eliminate the bubbles that results from MonoKote over Monokote.

Paul, Thanks for the replay. Does Coverite has the same shrinking properties under heat as Monokote? What do they use to seal it, dope?

[orian_m42]

Hi well coverite doesnt shrink as much as Monokote but it does shrink its very criticle of its heat range follow the recomended tempeture range closely seal with dope or any good fuelproofing.
I think that when your finished that the fabric is stronger than Monokote with no air bubbles to worry about.
The only thing your adding slightly more weight than using monokote but with most glow or gas planes you won`t even notice the difference.

..............................Hope this helps Paul :)

[spitfire]

I was reading an article from an old issue of R/C Modeler magazine. The author described finishing the spitfire with: “K&B medium fiberglass cloth using K&B polyester resin for a bonding agent. K&B Ultrapoxy primer and paint was used to finish the Spitfire”
Is K&B similar stuff as Coverite? Can some one give a brief Pro and con on the finish between:
MonoKote
Coverite
K&B

Thanks again
:confused:

[Dave Robelen]

Hello Spitfire,
Now we are talking "apples and oranges". Coverite and Monokote are iron on coverings that are nearly (or completely) finished when they are applied. The fibrrglass and resin method is a totally diferent way to apply a finish. The fiberglass is a very thin, limp cloth that is meant to cover the wood grain. Finishing resin is a two part mixture that has a consistency similar to thick paint. A resin and fiberglass finish yields a nice smooth wood colored base for a paint job. If you are partuicularly handy with a spray gun and don't mind a bunch of sanding, the results can be very rewarding. Essentially it is a complete custom paint finish with the fabric used to fill the wood grain. This method is the easiest to get overweight real quick, and is pretty messy (and smelly) to work with.
Regards, Dave Robelen

[Taylorcraft]

I agree with Dave.

The glass and resin finnish will give a very good surface to paint on but requires a lot of work before it's all done.

My two bits worth:

Stick to something you can apply with a covering iron. Either use the Monokote, or Super Coverite, if you want a painted finnish.

The Monokote can be applied in patches and when applied correctly it won't peel. Mostly this patch approach works best over a solid surface but the patches can be put together first, then applied over an open frame such as a wing or tail. - Faye Stilley (one of my heroes!) :) had an article in MAN about this some years ago. He also has a couple of books about the subject, they're well worth checking out.

In my oppinion, the biggest secret to covering is keeping the surface clean. No film will stick to the wood if there's a lot of dust under it, and it won't stick to itself either as long as there's a lot of grease (a fingerprint can be enough!) on the underlying film.

A smooth surface (sanding), vacuum cleaning, some extra bonding agent (Balsaloc or sim.) and the use of either Isopropanol or alcohol for removing grease and other dirt from the film surface is paramount (I've even tried Acetone on Solar film, works great).

Note! When using solvents, ensure that you have good ventilation, and keep away from flames!

On top of this, avoiding any sharp corners also keeps the film from peeling.

But, even a simple job can be ruined by rushing it. Plan ahead and take your time, and you will be rewarded with a good finnish.