Great Planes Corsair 40 Kit - GPMA0177 - Manual (Page 33)

The Corsair 40 does not require much painting to
obtain the scheme shown, on the box, as most of the finish
is done with Top Flite MonoKote Film The only painting
required is for the cowl and canopy frame
The technique we will describe here is the how the
model pictured on the box was finished Make sure the
structure is smoothly sanded with 320-grit sandpaper
Remove all dust from the structure with a Top Flite Tack
Cloth so the MonoKote will stick well
Cover the aircraft with MonoKote using the following
sequence Make sure the MonoKote is thoroughly stuck
down to the structure and all of the edges are sealed Use a
Top Flite MonoKote Hot Sock" on your covering iron to
avoid scratching the MonoKote Film.
COVERING TECHNIQUE
You can practically eliminate covering wrinkles that
sometimes occur when the model is left out in the sun or
in the back of your car by following this technique used in
the Great Planes model shop
A Cover your sealing iron with a Top Flite Hot Sock and
turn the heat about 3/4 of the way to the high setting
B Cut a piece of MonoKote film about 2" larger all around
than the surface you are covering Strip off the backing
and position the film Tack the film down smack dab in
the middle of the surface.
C Pull (as in stretch) the film toward one end, sealing it to
the balsa from the center out to the tip Work out any
wrinkles and air pockets as you proceed with a
combination of circular and back and forth motion
D. Do the same procedure working the opposite
direction from the center
E Pull and seal diagonally toward the four corners,
always starting from the center The trick is to shrink out
any wrinkles before you seal the film to the surface
F Use a heat gun to heat and to stretch the film around
curved surfaces like the stab and rudder tips, while pulling
on the excess material You may need to pull hard to get
out all of the wrinkles, so wear a glove if you need to
Follow-up the heat gun with your sealing iron to secure
the bond
The idea behind this approach (which can be applied to
any part of the model) is to prestretch the MonoKote
film as it's applied, and remove the air pockets that can
expand later to cause the sags and wrinkles
When covering areas that involve sharp junctions, like
the tail section, cut narrow strips (1/4" to 3/8") and apply
them in the corners before covering the major surfaces
The larger pieces of MonoKote Film will overlap and
capture these smaller pieces This technique also bypasses
the need to cut the MonoKote Film in these areas after it
has been applied DO NOT, under any circumstances,
attempt to cut the covering material after it has been
applied to the fin and stab, except around the leading
and trailing edges and the tip. Modelers who do this often
cut through the covering and part-way into the balsa stab
This can weaken the stab to the point where it may fail
in flight!
1. Tail Junction Strips
2. Rudder left and right side
3 Bottom of elevators
4. Top of elevators
5 Stab bottom
6 Stab top
7. Fin left and right side
8. Fuse bottom
9. Fuse sides
10 Fuse top (May require three pieces one on each side
and a small triangular piece on the top)
11. Ends of ailerons
12. Bottom of ailerons
13. Top of ailerons
14. TE surfaces of wing and belly fairing
15 Junction strips between wing panels
16 Bottom of left outer wing panel
17 Bottom of right outer wing panel
18 Bottom of Left and Right inner wing panels
19. Sides and bottom of belly fairing
20. Top of left outer wing panel
21. Top of right outer wing panel
22 Top of left and right inner wing panels.
23 Top of center section
24. Front and back of landing gear doors
Paint used on the prototype: We used Top Flite LustreKote
Insignia Blue to paint the cowl and canopy frame
First wet sand the cowl with 400-gnt sandpaper to provide a
rough surface for the paint to adhere to Wash and dry the
cowl thoroughly On the canopy, mask the area not to be
painted Roughen the area to be painted with 000 steel
wool or 400-gnt sandpaper Clean the area thoroughly with
alcohol and a paper towel
To spray the cowl with LustreKote paint First spray a light
coat on the inside and outside Let the paint flash off (dry)
for about two minutes Then, spray a wet coat on (a wet
coat will look slightly rough when first sprayed, but will
smooth out after a couple of seconds) Be careful not to get
the paint on so heavy that it runs For best results, allow the
paint to dry for two or more hours Then spray another wet
coat Allow the paint to dry overnight before installing the
cowl on the fuse
To spray the canopy with LustreKote Paint Make sure the
masking is down around the edges Spray light coats of
paint Allow the paint to dry for 5 minutes between coats.
After the desired coverage is obtained, remove the mask
and allow the paint to dry overnight.
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