A better tool for covering airplanes

IN FAYE STILLEY'S BOOK "Film Basics and Beyond: Covering R/C Airplanes," he states, "You'll need ... [a] trim iron. Don't let the name fool you. Trim irons are absolutely indispensable for covering, not just trimming." That statement—and his descriptions of how trim irons are used—changed the way in which I used plastic film coverings and improved the appearance of the airplanes I covered using plastic films. Used with a standard-size iron, trim tools are so indispensable that it's hard to understand how you ever got along without one. I own two, and they've had many hours of use.

Not only are they useful for getting into nooks and crannies, for running covering into pushrod exits and for getting crisp edges along fin/elevator interfaces, but a trim iron is also the tool of choice for tacking plastic film into place before you smooth it, sealing hinge lines, general edge-sealing, when pulling covering over wingtips or noses, applying covering over fiberglass parts like wheel pants and—surprise, surprise—applying trim schemes and lettering.

If there's a problem with trim irons, it's that there aren't many to choose from in the marketplace; the Top Flite trim tool is the only one I know, and it runs at only two temperatures. This was OK when the covering world was equally choice-limited, but these days, many heat-applied films are available and each has different glue set and shrink temperatures, causing those of us using trim irons to wish for a good, variable-temperature trim iron to match our standard-size irons.

Well, the wishing has paid off, as the Coverite folks have just released their variable-temperature trim tool. It comes with a small support stand and two different tips. One is flat on one side and elliptical on the other; the second provides a shallow, curved surface and a flat surface as its working areas, and so far, I've found this one most useful for my personal work style. I like having a flat surface at times, but I found that the flat surface on the compound tip isn't completely free of the mounting bolt (the bolt ends up touching the plastic at times), and so only the very tip of the flat surface is usable, whereas the other tip has its working surface angled relative to the mount point and, thus, its entire surface is available to the user.

The temperature control is a slide switch located on the handle. Because temperature changes of these small trim heads can occur fairly quickly (standard irons require some time to heat up and cool down), this is really nice, as you can change temperatures while you're working on a piece. The scale says the temperature can be regulated from 105 to 305 degrees Fahrenheit; I attempted to verify these numbers, but the only thermometer I have that reads across this range is my Coverite thermometer, and it's designed to sit on a larger surface than the one provided by a trim iron. About all I'd be willing to say in print is that if you set this thermometer on the flat surface of the compound tip, it will increase and decrease temperature as you operate the iron. Given that Coverite's standard-size 21st Century iron does such a good job of matching head temperature with its control scale, I suspect that the trim iron would be similar, though in my experience, the small heads of trim irons are by nature a bit more variable. Speaking of Coverite's standard iron: it's still one of the finest irons on the market and, though a bit more expensive than some others, it's certainly worth the price. With the introduction of the trim iron, Coverite has assembled the most complete toolkit for the application of plastic films on the market today.

Reprinted with permission.
June 1999 Model Airplane News
Editor: Gerry Yarrish