Droiddr

Hi,

I will get a four star fourty kit and was wondering if people prefer monokote or ultracote and why?

What suggestions do you have for covering the four-star?

The best to all!

ggraham500

My Feedback: (4)

Have you ever worked with Solartex or Worldtex? A little bit more expensive, but GREAT to work with IMHO.

wickedpissa

My Feedback: (1)

Ultra is much easer it work with 

GaryHarris

You can cover an egg with Solartex.

Dick T.

My Feedback: (243)

Monokote is more durable (Mylar), retains color and gloss longer due to color being in the adhesive. Requires more heat to mold around curves and shrink tight. Bonds well at overlap.

Ultracote less durable (Polyester), colors fade and becomes dull over time, although waxing from the start minimizes this. Less heat for bonding and shrinking, easier to mold around curves. Does not always bond well at overlap.

Monokote has more colors to choose from.

Both suffer from application issues if stock 1 to 2 or more years old. Fresh stock has a noticable aroma. Store unused in plastic bags to preserve freshness.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

Ultracote for film, Solartex for fabric.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

^ what Steve said. This is an old debate so if you do a search you will find hundreds of pages about Mono VS Ultra. I used Mono for years but about 15 years ago Mono changed the formulation and sometimes it will shrink and sometimes not at all. I changed over to Ultra and if I have a choice I never use Mono. I do keep Mono on hand for trim. I like using Windex with ammonia to put the trim on. Ammonia activates the adhesive on Mono but doesn't do it on Ultra. Ultra is a bunch easier to work with. There aren't as many colors to choose from but Ultra works very well almost every time. Only color I have ever had a problem with is there aluminum once. The Tex cloth coverings are perhaps the best covering I have ever worked with and will look great on a 4*.

Droiddr

Ultracote it is then.

I have used it on an extra 300 10 years ago, and don't remember any issues. Just getting back into the hobby after 10 years hiatus.

I will check out the tex cloth.

ortmayerm

My Feedback: (3)

I have been working with mono for the last 20+ yrs.  Great stuff and very wide color selection.  One of the things that I like is that it matches so well to after market paint such as testors and tamyia paints. I personnally use model master from testors, matches very well to most of the mono that I use.

maekju

Hobby King covering works good. I've used it twice and love it. Never used Ultra but have a roll I'm going to try on my next model. Haven't used Mono in years.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

^ I'm going to buy some of the HK covering soon and give it a try. I have been told it works as well as Ultra and the price is sure right if it is out of the US warehouse and the shipping is cheaper then if it comes from China? I have a big electric plane to cover right now and will give some of the new light weight covering a try too. I want to try the cloth type you can see through. Looks like it could be a fun covering to use.

AllTheGoodNamesAreTaken

My Feedback: (180)

Every covering will benefit from sealing the wood prior to covering. Makes a HUGE difference in Monokote adhesion. Also, once it's down and shrunk, sealing the wood significanly reduces wrinkles and sagging later on.

Droiddr

I saw that ultracote has parklite (for indoor types) and lite that is semi-translucent?

If you want to save weight but keep some strength what would you guys use?

Thanks!

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Going to give Coverite Microlite a try on the plane I'm almost ready to cover. On a old plane that has a bit of oil in the wood I may give it a light spray of lacquer hair spray over the wood but other then that all I do is take a tack cloth and wipe the frame down. Ultra sticks to wood perfectly as long as it has been cleaned of dust. If you use anything over the wood before covering it does stick well but when you want to remove the covering for repairs and a recovering job it tends to stick and not come off.

MTK

Both MonoKote and Ultra Kote are very similar chemistry-wise. Both are polyesters. "Mylar" is the DuPont trade name for their version of polyester.

The fundamental difference between the two types of color is that MK has the color in the adhesive while UK has the color mixed into the plastic film. UK is slightly thicker and hence heavier than MK. It gives MK the edge on color choices but as far as stability, it's hard to beat a color mixed into the plastic. But both need stabilizers for UV, Oxygen and Ozone attack....ASALWAYS, YMMV!!