This stuff does work, no doubt.

I can't help but to think there are other possible alternatives though.

I have toluene, xylene, acetone, MEK, denatured alcohol, paint thinner and lacquer thinner to work with.

Anyone have any experience with making a solvent or two get the job done vs. buying name brand stuff?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

I have found it is much easier and cleaner to just iron the trim on. Position is where you want it and use a lower heat setting to iron down.

I generally apply the trim with Windex and smooth it out with a squeegee. After it's all dry, I go over it with an iron at low temp to be sure and get a good bond. This is using regular Monokote, not the peel and stick trim.

I looked for the SDS sheet on it and did not find anything. Tower shows this partial list of contents
cyclohexanone, naptha, and gamma bytrol acetone
Maybe just try some acetone, or nail polish remover on a small piece and see if it gets tacky.

Windex with ammonia, let set for 24 hours then Iron with medium heat and once again with high heat. Been using that method for two decades now.

I always either iron the trim down, or use the Windex. I definitely use the trim-solvent to go over edges and clean up any bleeding... and it tends to further seal the edges when applied sparingly. Trim-solvent cleans an iron like no other as well.

I'm also curious if there's another alternative as well... as I don't have that answer... but I definitely use trim-solvent. I go through a bottle of trim-solvent about every 5yrs.. so I'm not really in the market for other chemicals, but I am curious.

I covered these with iron-on Monokote, graphics, stripes, and trim all hand cut.

Originally Posted by DGrant

I always either iron the trim down, or use the Windex. I definitely use the trim-solvent to go over edges and clean up any bleeding... and it tends to further seal the edges when applied sparingly. Trim-solvent cleans an iron like no other as well.

I'm also curious if there's another alternative as well... as I don't have that answer... but I definitely use trim-solvent. I go through a bottle of trim-solvent about every 5yrs.. so I'm not really in the market for other chemicals, but I am curious.

I covered these with iron-on Monokote, graphics, stripes, and trim all hand cut.

That's why/how I use it as well...it does have its very good uses!

I'll break out some various coverings soon and give it a look with a few solvents. Seems like I remember acetone doing some good, toluene and xylene look promising as well, lacquer thinner and MEK have potential, too. All of these are fairly 'hot' solvents...one of them is bound to work!

BTW...the plane with the flag looks excellent! ...Good Job!

I have used carb cleaner and brake cleaner. A little spray, position the piece, squeegee down, let dry.

I have also sprayed the trim on ARF's to seal the edges.


Buzz.

Originally Posted by exf3bguy

Windex with ammonia, let set for 24 hours then Iron with medium heat and once again with high heat. Been using that method for two decades now.

X2 for this method!

The only thing I use the trim solvent for is to seal the Monokote edges by dipping a Q tip into the trim solvent and then running it along the covering edge. Works really well to keep it from peeling up over time.

ALL of these comments/pictures are quite helpful to a lot of guys out there...great stuff!

A whole different topic though...T/F Monokote produces gases when heated, especially when you go hot...how do you keep bubbles from forming when 'customizing' over another layer? ...in my experience, other coverings don't 'bubble' as bad...Ultracote does really well.

Now, if I will just get off of............ and see which solvent DOES work.

...possibly tomorrow I will do a few experiments, will see!

The technique I use is to keep the iron moving and heat the trim slowly until the adhesive bonds. Use the minimum heat and you can avoid the bubbles.

For me layering is never as perfect as I like. The Windex method helps quite a bit, along with squeegeeing the film well before the heat is applied.. and using the lowest heat that just tacks the film down seems to help as well... and once bubbles are worked out better, then just adding a bit more heat and going over it again.

I use either a credit card, biz card, or even a cotton pad is good for sensitive film..all depends there, but I get it layed down as much as I can.

If I end up with bubbles, I use the sharpest needle I can find in my wifes sewing room(even then I sharpen it(yes, I sharpen needles..).. and just try to prick/pierce the bubble as gently as possible... that works decently. Again, its never absolutely perfect, but when the plane goes by at 100mph I'm not thinking about bubbles...

Striping is actually very easy... up to about 1/2"... I like to cut and iron on my own stripes... It's so cheap... a plane can be striped very nicely for about a bucks worth of film if that... as well as shapes and smallish graphics are fun too... but the bigger the graphic, the more chance of bubbling of course.

The above does give reasonably good results for me though.

I just tried some MEK as a trim solvent. I was applying a 6X5 piece of Monokote on the bottom of a wing. It works but leaves bubbles. Maybe they will go away after some time.

First test I used a foam brush and brushed on a generous coat as it evaporates VERY fast. That made a huge mess. Pealed it off and cleaned up the left over glue. That was a mess also. Second time around I used a paper towel and wiped in on. It evaporated very fast but I was able to stick the trim down easily. But, as I said I was left with some bubbles. Maybe it would work to mix some acetone with the MEK to slow it down just a bit????

Ken

Monokote solvent works better than anything I've tried. Yes, its pricy and it stinks to high heaven but it does work. One feature of it that I like is that it doesn't seem to degrade the heat activated adhesive on the Monokote. Some of the others mentioned will dissolve that adhesive and keeps the covering from sticking as good as it should. But as with everything else with this hobby, you need to use what works best 'for you'.

Tom