The guys who finish with various sorts of paints seem to get more advice than one individual can possibly digest, from Stunt News, their friends, Windy's videos, contruction articles and so on. This is only right, painters are by far in the majority.
But early on in my Stunt efforts I decided to at least give plastic films an honest effort. I've had some success, to the point where I would not consider painting a Stunt model, even though conversations with folk like P.T. Granderson sometimes almost get me fired up enough to once again shoot runny mixtures through a spray gun. Almost...
To begin, I don't cover with film to save money, because it's easier than paint, or that the end result is superior in any way. Instead, when coming back to CL I had been flying a fair bit of RC, even dabbling in RC Pattern to no good effect. But I was comfortable with a long series of MonoKote-covered models--quite a number featuring open bays covered with Micafilm--how they held up, the satisfactory results achieved.
These results got a lot better very quickly when Rick Allison (Model Aviation's best-ever RC Pattern columnist; for CL Stunt guys much of his stuff is still worth going back to read) readily took the time to show me how to cover with MonoKote.
The first indication that Rick knew a lot more than I about the subject came up during a party at his house. The story was told about an up-and-coming Pattern guy buying a used model from Rick. On the way out the door our intrepid modeler, a highly experienced sport flier, mentioned that the only thing he didn't like about the model was the colors chosen; he was fixin' to pull all the MonoKote off and do it all over. Rick laughed, several others did as well, with calls of "Good luck!" the new owner of an Allison-built model trundled down the road.
He was back the next day, expressing amazement that he could not get the MonoKote off the model without taking wood with it. The film, applied in the manner which is common to this crowd, was literally bonded to underlying wood.
Thus it is one should not be surprised that once finished my models simply never need work with either an iron or heat gun. (Well, almost never. It's not too unusual to miss finishing an overlap, for example. But just one good cleaning prior to that first flight generally sees any holidays come to the fore and they are easily taken care of.) If the MonoKote is truly bonded to the wood, the stuff simply cannot pucker or loosen. And Micafilm only very rarely gives trouble, so even those open bays stay nice and tight.
But first: I'm not interested in setting myself up as any sort of authority on this subject; instead, my motives are selfish. I'm interested in learning more tricks about film, want to hear of plastic coverings outside my range of experience. So y'all need to kick in with a lot more than just questions...
Furthermore, while others are free to do so, I don't have the time or interest in addressing very basic questions about plastic film and its application.
So. 1) Read the instructions. MonoKote in particular comes with quite good--even if basic--instructions and all the techniques, even those which intuitively don't seem right. 2) Buy Higley's book on covering with film, it being the only book of which I am aware that is worth the price. 3) Buy Top Flite's video on covering with MonoKote. Most of it is excellent, although advanced techniques contradict certain pieces of information. 4) Buy the best tools you can afford, Coverite's newest iron being quite good, even if I don't have one. (Yet.) 5) No matter your favorite covering at this time, be prepared to discover that MonoKote really is (still) the very best material available. 6) Cover something with film. It can be a framework you'll never finish otherwise, even an incomplete model purchased for pocket change at a swap meet. But you're going to need at least a little experience or you won't understand some of the discussions. 7) While optional, I did write a Stunt News article on this subject. It would be worth digging it out, as it was fairly complete. Unfortunately, I don't remember the issue, although it was several years ago.
The final thought is that maybe we should include some painting tips, as in lots of guys prefer to paint the fuselage. But let's try to limit this to paints like one can buy in a hardware store or, even better, Top Flite's line of LustreKote rattle cans. I personally do not paint at all, seems to spoil the concept of using film, but I will readily admit that covering fuselages in film is intimidating. So various sorts of paint which work well while meeting the needs of modelers ought be addressed, especially the troublesome point where paint meets film.
Hmmm, wonder if we can drag Arlie Preszler into this discussion? The man is an artist with film/paint combinations, this including painting trim directly onto film, an act I have never even considered, although I well remember some of his beautiful models which had received this treatment.
Danny Dirt