How to Cover Rubber Models

Prepare the plane's frame. The frame needs to be assembled before it can be covered. Soak the frame in dope to seal the wood. Nitrate dope is suitable for models that are rubber-powered or electric-powered with rubber and tissue covering, such as RC planes.

Cut the tissue along the grain. Tissue paper and silk used for model coverings both have a grain. To find the grain, make a tear. A tear that goes with the grain will stay straight, but a tear that goes against the grain will veer to the side. The grain of the tissue should run from wingtip to wingtip or from the front of the fuselage to the tail. Cut the tissue slightly larger than the part it will cover.

Wet the tissue with a 50/50 alcohol/water mix. Add rubbing alcohol to water in a spray bottle and spritz the tissue pieces. You may skip this step if you're using tissue paper, or prefer to use dry tissue. Wetting the tissue encourages it to shrink a little, which is especially useful around curves in the plane's structure. The alcohol slows the shrinking down so that it doesn't warp the piece of tissue.

Apply glue to the frame, one area at a time. Start with undersides, such as the bottom of the fuselage and wings. This places seams slightly underneath so that they can't be seen from the top of the plane. Use a toothpick to apply glue to the edges of the area being covered; applying straight from the bottle or stick of glue can leave globs, which adds weight and affects the plane's flight.

Place the tissue on the glue. Start by putting the damp or dry tissue on one spot, and carefully smooth it out from there. Work on both sides to minimize wrinkles. Ideal starting points are the inside of wings, working the tissue out to the tip, or the tail end of the fuselage, working toward the front.

Mist the whole area with the alcohol/water mixture once it's in place. This encourages it to shrink again, so if any spots aren't taut over the frame, they'll tighten up. Smooth any wrinkles. If you need to move any tissue that has been glued, loosen the glue with rubbing alcohol and be careful to avoid tearing.

Apply tissue to a different part of the plane while the previous area dries. Working on a separate area instead of an adjacent one lets the glue dry without jostling it.

Trim excess tissue once the glue has dried on all parts of the plane. Use a sharp blade or scissors. Add glue to any loose seams between tissue areas. Use a toothpick to dab the glue inside the seams without disrupting them. Once the plane is covered and dried, you can spray a sealant to protect the tissue from moisture.