My latest build for the 2017 Ringmaster fly-A-Thon

batjac wrote:Since it was raining and I couldn’t fly the THT Beginner’s Ringmaster, I thought I’d give it some trim.  I tried several shapes for the canopy, but couldn’t find anything I liked, so I’ll leave it without a canopy.  I don’t have any checkerboard MonoKote trim sheet, and at $5.99 a sheet I’m not going to buy any.  So, this gives me a chance to try the GLAD Press N’ Seal method of applying MonoKote trim.

For those not familiar with it, it uses the super-clingy Press N’ Seal plastic film made by GLAD.  The procedure is to:

1) Spray Windex on a sheet of glass and put a sheet of MonoKote on the glass.
2) Squeegee the Windex out from under the covering sheet.
3) Put the pattern for your decal/lettering/whatever over the sheet.
4) Cut out the pattern with a NEW knife blade.
5) Apply a sheet of Press N’ Seal over your design.
6) Peel the plastic up with your design stuck to it.
7) Spray Windex on the surface you’re attaching your design to.
8 ) Apply the design to the surface and work all the air bubbles out from under it.
9) Let set overnight.
10) Peel off the plastic the next morning, using light heat from a heat gun to make the Press N’ Seal release
11) Use an iron or MonoKote Trim Solvent to seal the edges of your design.

Here’s my first try at using this method to trim a plane.  You don’t need to use tape to hold the film down, it’ll naturally stick to the glass firmly.  I just used the tape so I’d have something to draw grid lines on to ensure the squares were uniform.  I also think I was a little to aggressive in squeegeeing the Windex out from under the MonoKote sheet, as the squares were a little reluctant to peel up with the Press N' Seal.









Not a bad first try at this method.  I could have made my lines more uniform.  And using covering leftovers is definitely better than shelling out $6.00 for trim sheet.  Besides, it's got a nice feeling of accomplishment to make the checkerboard myself.

The Neophyte Mark

batjac wrote:Since it was raining and I couldn’t fly the THT Beginner’s Ringmaster, I thought I’d give it some trim.  I tried several shapes for the canopy, but couldn’t find anything I liked, so I’ll leave it without a canopy.  I don’t have any checkerboard MonoKote trim sheet, and at $5.99 a sheet I’m not going to buy any.  So, this gives me a chance to try the GLAD Press N’ Seal method of applying MonoKote trim.
The Neophyte Mark

KariFS wrote:Mauricio, I think the spray chemical Mark uses is "Windex", it is a product for cleaning windows and mirrors and such surfaces at home.

The plastic is something you would use to wrap your picnic sandwiches with, or covering a bowl of food. I am not sure if it needs to be "extra sticky"... The ones available here in Finland are not very sticky, I think I will have to buy a few different brands to test

batjac wrote:Mauricio, Kari is correct.  The fluid is Windex brand glass cleaner.  It is soapy and lets you slide the work around like your soap and water.  It also has ammonia in it, which is what I think helps the MonoKote trim to stick to the MonoKote on the wing.  I think the ammonia somewhat “activates” the adhesive on the bottom of the trim piece and makes it stick overnight.  I’m sure any ammonia based glass cleaner available to you would work just as well.

Kari, the GLAD Press N’ Seal is like a super cling wrap.  The standard GLAD plastic wrap doesn’t stick all that well, but the Press N’ Seal has a sticky side that sticks extremely well to surfaces.  Here’s a commercial to show how it is different from regular plastic wrap films.  Yes, it really IS this good:



I’d be surprised if GLAD didn’t sell this in Finland.

The Clingy Mark