Top Flite Trim Monokote

[Bruiser]

I wanted chrome looking fins for this rocket. I tried wrapping the whole fin in the trim but it looked bad. This stuff shows every piece of dust you didn't get off! So I switched to "plan B" which was to paint the fin with some type of shiny silver paint ad then just use the trim on the leading edge. I really wanted something to wrap over the leading edge because these are PSII plastic fins and I don't want them coming apart in flight.

I sprayed the fins with Rustoleum filler/primer then sprayed on the Rustoleum metallic silver-the one with the cap that looks like chrome. Then I clear coated with some Krylon UV stable clear gloss. Once that dried I applied the trim Monokote, which to my understanding has pressure sensitive adhesive.

Well I am having a problem with getting ripples and with some corners not staying in place. You can see a ripple near the leading edge and I circled the corner that hasn't seem to be stuck down well on the fins.



I was wondering if I need to lightly iron them down to get better results or is that a no-no with the trim sheets? My trim sheet did not have any instructions and I can't seem to find them on the web. I can only find the instructions for regular MonoKote which is a different product.

Thanks,
-Bob

 

[neil_w]

File under "for what it's worth":

I had some trouble with edges staying down on my Accur8 rockets. Along fins roots, I applied small fillets of medium CA, purely for the purpose of sealing everything down. Seemed to work pretty well, mostly invisible.

One thing I learned: the vinyl sticks best to itself. Ideal method was to apply fin cuffs first and then cover fins right up to edges, overlapping the two so the fin covering edges are adhered to the cuffs. I can't say whether similar technique would work best on the Trim Monokote, since I haven't worked with the stuff.

 

[BEC]

Yes, you can use a trim iron on Monokote trim sheets. But as you already suspect, go carefully.

To keep from scratching the shiny surface, you'll want to have a "sock" on your iron.

 

[BABAR]

File under "for what it's worth":

I had some trouble with edges staying down on my Accur8 rockets. Along fins roots, I applied small fillets of medium CA, purely for the purpose of sealing everything down. Seemed to work pretty well, mostly invisible.

One thing I learned: the vinyl sticks best to itself. Ideal method was to apply fin cuffs first and then cover fins right up to edges, overlapping the two so the fin covering edges are adhered to the cuffs. I can't say whether similar technique would work best on the Trim Monokote, since I haven't worked with the stuff.

Brilliant idea.

May be modified as follows.

Cut a template the exact size of the fin, excluding any through the wall segments.

Use this template to cut two more templates.

The first is the size of the fin, plus 1/4 inch extra tabs around forward, lateral and aft edges, leave root even.

Cut "triangles " at the forward and aft lateral "corners" so you can wrap the tabs around the corresponding edges.

FLIP THE ORIGINAL TEMPLATE OVER BEFORE THE NEXT STEP.

Make a third template for the opposite side of the fin. Cut this with the root edge the same size as the original, the remaining edges just a mm or 2 SMALLER (yes I mix metric and standard.)

Trim monokote likes a clean smooth surface almost as much as paint, although it tolerates some grain. Sand surface smooth and wipe off any dust.

Apply the tabbed piece first. Aligning with the root edge, wrap the remaining edges. Burnish down with a soft cloth.

Now apply the smaller mirror image piece, aligning first to the root edge.

Tip: if you do this to find BEFORE attachment, leave 1 -2 mm bare on the root edge for a fillet.

 

[David Schwantz]

I am going to guess that you may have air trapped underneath. Poke a very small hole in one end, needle or tip of exacto , then warm slowly and as it cools it should shrink down. Then rub in place starting at the end without the hole.

 

[Bruiser]

I went after the trim with my Coverite iron yesterday and they looked pretty good afterwards. I just looked at them again this morning and the ripples are virually gone along the leading edge. I do still have some lifting at the fillet area though. I think I will try my MonoKote trim iron on that area to get "inside" the radius of the fillet well.

-Bob