... The same irons and heat settings are used for both.
Generally, you iron on the monokote (or ultracote) at around 250 F. Then, you go back and iron again at around 325 F to get the final shrink & adhesion.
If an iron is enough, what do they sell a heat gun for?
To apply monokote, you MUST have an iron. This is needed to attach the monokote at a specific point.
A heat gun is good help, but not required. A heat gun is used after the monokote has been applied, to help remove wrinkles. Since the heat gun acts over a broader area, it produces a larger area of shrinkage. This tends to give monokote (or ultrakote) a better look.
NOTE: I strongly suggest you use a heat gun made for monokote. Heat guns from a typical hardware store tend to be too hot, and can damage the monokote.
The heat gun is more useful for shrinking sections of monokote that span an open bay. Airplanes often have open frame construction, and the heat gun helps shrink those more uniformly and quickly. The heat gun is also useful for applying heat and pulling and stretching monokote to get it to go around compound curves (like a nose cone). The iron is good for activating the heat sensitive adhesive and attaching to solid balsa structure. If you have flat, or cylindrical solid surfaces, just get the iron.
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