Doculam/PET covering material

[spitfire]

thanks for all the posts, can't wait for you to try the different paints!


SPIT.

[Slowjohn]

Originally Posted by capn chaos

Ooooooookkkkkkk!
Finally got a chance to sit down and play with this a bit more.
First, if you dont like Monokote type shrink covering then you will not like this any better. If you dont mind shrink wrap I think you can learn to like/love this stuff. It is a little more difficult in handling since it is a lighter material and it does not shrink as much as monokote but I did find a way to help both of these (you probably already knew this).
A couple of hints regarding above. You might want to keep the iron away from interior panels while sealing the edges. You will need as much stretch as possible after edges are sealed so premature shrinkage should be avoided.
My first attempt a week ago seemed difficult but then again my flying stabilizer offered some extra challenges. Second try at other side of FS today went smoother and the other two tail surfaces were simple as any monokote job I've done. Results were satisfactory (to me anyway) and the overlapped edges seemed to dissappear. To be continued:

Looks good to me CC. I'm thinking that this will help on the lighter airframes since it doesn't shrink as much. Less twisting of the tail-feathers & wing I'm sure. Looking forward to trying some myself, Thanks Again

Standing By,
SJ

[Nitro Blast]

Any chance of buying a roll from ya? If you want to send me a sample, I'll hit it with my Faskolor paint for a test.

I'd buy a few feet if ya wanna do it.

[capn chaos]

I think I have come up with a good paint system for this doculam and maybe a few suggestions as to prep etc. I was stumbling through my inventory of paints and found three cans of 21st Century Space Age Paint including one can of white sandable primer. These must have been bought somewhere back in 1996 97 when I was working on a .60 size kit from Sig.
So I thought I would give the primer a try on my test panel. Sprayed a bit too heavy and thought it had attacked the film as the film did sag as if had not been shrunk (shrank?, shrinked? whatever). Hit with the iron and everything went back to drum tight. Two very light coats did the trick. I pulled the film off of the form it was attached to to see if I could get the paint to flake or peel. Its tight!! and light. Then masked off the rudder and vertical and sprayed two very light coats on...no problem, The flat finish of the primer looks exactly like doped tissue..hadn't planned on that but it looked great. The final test will be when I mask off the vertical for accent color around profile of VS and rudder.
I'm sure this stuff is lighter than the krylon or acrylic latex. Maybe not as light as Fascolor (look forward to Nitro Blasts report on this) .
Was happy to find this in the junk drawer. this is the best link I could find from Coverite that said it was good for use on film. I believe it is available in all the same colors Coverite makes for their covering materials...thats another plus. Preliminary results below

[capn chaos]

http://www.hiflightrcshopping.com/ai...lat-earth.html

[spitfire]

what do you think is the lightest model you could cover with it?

come to think of it... the 1.2 mil would probably do the trick for some smaller planes... not sure WHAT size... but still...


SPIT.

[capn chaos]

Running into a stumbling block on the 21st Century Space Age Paint available from Coverite. All the adds show a yellow, red and blue (medium) as part of main page. But then specifically say that deep red and dark blue are available as well as white primer. I'm sitting on an old can (dont go there) of Black 21st Century paint as well as a can of red and two cans of white primer. All of them are about 12 years old but seem to be good as new and two thirds full. I did think that Coverite had paints to match all of their films but cant seem to find more than 6-8 colors including some military tones. Any ideas, connections, sources, links etc would be helpful as this paint is designed specifically to paint any model parts (no foam) including films. It dries quick (not three days like some latex or acrylic paints Ive read about) and can be recoated as necessary in about 10 minutes and doesn't seem to have much weight like Krylon or similar paints.
I may just end up using thin coat of primer and then Fastcolor or what ever seems compatible.
Also, two weeks ago I did a trial run with PET on a flying stabilizer that I had ready to cover. No sagging or wrinkles in that period of time. At the same time I took a heat gun to the Dimona wings in prep for maiden. Those wrinkles are back. Not sure what the film was but likely a Chinese knock off of monokote.

CC

[Nitro Blast]

Doculam test...

First off, THANKS Cap'n!

I got my Doculam hunka-chunka-roll the same day my 2010 AMA card came in, so whaddya know... DOC-U-Lam... Hmm...

First test, Laminate the AMA card.


Results?

Success.



The stuff went on with the monokote iron, became cystal clear, and now my AMA card wont rub off like last years did.


Ok all kidding aside, I'm looking forward to putting it onto an airframe. I think I may cover that GWS Pico Stick I recently got.

Kudos Captain Chaos!

[capn chaos]

Thanks,
Let me know what you think about painting. I did find that a green scotch brite pad (medium course/fine) worked pretty well for scuffing. I have now started tacking it temporarily to a melamine shelf and scuffing it before it goes on any frames. Saves time and I think it is safer than risking chafe at the hard corners of balsa framing.
Good luck
CC