I took the occasion of having to cover the wingtips
of my AAR-X1 electric control
line model to make a short video of how I cover a compound surface (one that curves
in two or three dimensions) with MonoKote. The only "trick" involved is being daring
enough to apply the amount of heat needed to exploit MonoKote's extreme ability
to shrink, while pulling on it to stretch it. By daring I mean that it can take
quite a bit of heat, even to the point of being dangerously close to the melting
point. It can also put the phalanges is peril while attempting to stretch the MonoKote
while heating it.
In the case of these wingtips, there is an open framework, but
the method works equally well on solid compound surface. I have smoothly covered
carved sailplane nose blocks and curved wingtips using this method.
Be careful with the stretching force as it can become so thin that it is semi-transparent.
Posted November 12, 2021 (updated from original post on 1/17/2012)
