Ever use Monokote?

[Modlbldr]

I was given a few rolls of Monokote that is used by R/C aircraft modelers the other day and yesterday I was wondering if it is possible to use it like decals or pinstriping. Now I know that it isn't like a waterslide decal but I thought that it should be possible to cover it with clear if it were possible to get it to adhere to the body long enough to coat it.

I thought about using water to position it (like a decal), then once the water dries, spray it with clear.

As I'm typing this I thought about using Future and a brush to get it to lay into position and then airbrush Future over it.

Anyone have any ideas or see any obvious flaws in my thinking? (yes, I know my thinking can often be flawed.)

Later-

[MAGNUM4342]

Waaaayyy back in the day, I tried it on some models that I wanted a shiny neon on. It doesn't conform to compound curves well and bubbles/wrinkles are the norm. It's useable on a flat, straight surface though.

[Mooneyzs]

I personally dont see monokote working that well for pin striping or decals. My dad has flown R/C planes before I was born and I started flying them when I was in my teens with my dad. I have built a few planes with my dad and have had the oppprtunity to use monokote and ultracoat (which is another brand of covering material)

the monokote has an adhesive on one side of the material that is activated by heat. It is applied by a heat iron as well as a heat gun. You basically would take the material and attach it to the leading edge of the wing using the heat iron. Then you would pull it tight and run the iron on the trailing edge. from here you would take a head gun and run it over the wing and with this process it actually shrinks the covering material and pulls it tight.

sorry about the lengthy explaination. since monokote is activated by a heat iron and heat gun i personally dont see this as a good fit with plastic. I would be afraid that you could damage the plastic if you tried to apply with heat. You could try an experiment with the method you were thinking. i just am not sure how well it would work.

I think you would be better off to use vinyl like vinyl stickers and you can stick that on and clear over it. I have done that on a build and it worked great for me. I had to build the clear up by painting multiple coats to basically bury the edge for when I color sanded you would not see the edge of the vinyl. hope that i have been able to help.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Mooneyzs

[Modlbldr]

Thanks guys for the response.

Chris- No problem about the long reply.

I knew that it was applied to R/C airplanes using heat and that I didn't want to attempt that on plastic. I just thought that since it seems to be thinner than vinyl (not certain if it is) than there wouldn't be as much build up of the clear to worry about. I will have to do some playing with it and see what may work.

I would just hate to see it go to waste. I have some gold sheets that are about 5 inches by 2 feet and thought that it may be useful to cut it into strips using the two X-Acto blades taped together trick and make pinstripes out of it. If I use it this way I shouldn't have to worry much about compound curves.

I'll post any positive results I come up with.

Later-

[Mooneyzs]

Tom... you have a good point about it being very thin. I am wondering if you are able to use some sort of adhesive on it to get it to lay down where you want and then once dry you can clear over it. It wouldn't hurt to try it on a test body. I hear ya about hating to see it go to waste. I say give it a whirl and see how it does.

[Mike Kucaba]

Try applying it to clear decal paper,and then to the model?

[Dr. Cranky]

Never have used it, but have heard about it and like most products, it'd be interested to find out how we can get other uses out of it.

[Kit Basher]

I think the problem is going to be that you will want to put it over paint. It doesn't take that much heat to activate it, and it would probably work on bare plastic. There is also a liquid "Monokote Trim Solvent" that will make it stick without heat. I suspect that either the heat or the solvent would ruin a paint job, tho. Looking forward to the results of your experiments, I have a bunch of scraps of it too!

[Joe Handley]

If you want to try Monocote, look at their Trim Tape line instead. It's self adheasive and comes in 6"x36" strips and is about the same thickness. I've ised the Chrome on some R/C truck bodies and it does not like compound curves what so ever! If you were going to make chrome trim and cut the shape out of it (say Buick sidetrim for a leadsled for example) it won't like to be made to curve, so you have to cut that shape out instead of trying to form a strip to the radius you want.

[Tom Setzer]

I have used Monocote on Flying Model Aircraft for over 40 years. It's Adhesive is heat activated using a special hot iron. My hot iron was made by TopFlite and is atleast 43 years old, the heating head is covered with Tethlon, and I have onlt had to replace it twice over the years.

You cut the Monocote to the shape you want it to be. Then you apply it using the hot iron. You can the remove any loose or wrinkled areas using a hot heat gun to shrink the monocote. to get rid of trape air, you just puncher the Monocote with a small straight pin, and theh use your heat gun to shrink the Monocote pushing the air out .

You must us care when working with Mono as you can get baddly burned if you don't.

Hot irons can warp plastic or melt it, so it's use would be very limited.