stephensackro

My Feedback: (6)

Haven't used yellow Monocote in a while but the last time I did, the color was so thin that the wood grain of the balsa showed thru. Anyone one else had this problem and is their any way around this? I thought of maybe spraying the balsa with a thin coat of yellow paint. Wouldn't really know what type of paint to use. It would have to be very light, not raise the grain of the wood and not interfear with the Monocote glue. Any ideas??

Don M.

My Feedback: (5)

With all the problems people seem to have with Monokote now a days I'm surprised they still sell the stuff. I switched 15 years ago ( Ultracoat ) and never looked back.

Deadeye

That will happen if you press too hard with the iron, or run it too hot. Here's what you do, next time around. Seal just the edges of the monokote and hit the bigger areas with a heat gun. Use a covering mitt, to shield seams from the heat, and to LIGHTLY smooth the Monokote (this takes practice, it's an art form, really. I would probably look silly to a bystander if they didn't know what I was doing. I get elbows, and sometimes knees involved LOL). Don't use paint, as the Monokote needs a porous surface to adhere to.

Minnflyer has an excellent how to for covering if you are new. Just check the RC University link at the top of the page.

Deadeye

Don,
I have read that many times from many different people here on RCU. My experience has been quite different. I started with monokote 5 years ago with my first kit, and it went well. A lot easier than I thought it would be. I have used it almost exclusivley since then. I have tried Ultracoat and SIG Aerocote. Although they applied well, I found them to be too thin and too temperature sensitive for my liking.

I have found that Monokote likes A LOT of heat when applying. I usually have to reshhrink after it sits overnight, and maybe a few spots on a few planes every few years have to be reshrunk. The ARFs I have with the thinner covering seem to need reshrinking quite a bit more often.

I think it all comes down to what a guy does best with. I think mono and ultra have their benefits and downfalls, depending on the covering style of the modeler. A big plus for me with Monokote is also the ability to use the windex method and trim solvent for applying complicated covering designs. What do you think?

Don M.

My Feedback: (5)

There is a guy in our area who has been building and flying for over 40 years and always used Monokote. His covering jobs would knock your socks off. I have one of his old pattern planes and it still looks better than anything I could do new. My point is he recently switched to Ultracote because of the trouble he was having with the "new" monocoat. He even started a thread in the Pattern section on this site about these problems, it got lots of hits.

He's probably reading this post right now and smiling to himself. Right Dave

But on the other hand I use things in this hobby that other guys laugh at. So who knows.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I think I will have to respectfully disagree with deadeye. I used yellow monokote a year ago to cover a sheeted foam wing. It was by far my best monokote job to date. A year later and it still looks great. However, I was very disappointed when I finished as a saw that the wood grain shows through the yellow areas. I did exactly as deadeye described above. An iron didnt touch anything but the seams and after shrinking it down with a heat gun I very lightly passed over it with a mitt (I have learned that technique too, its important to pass over with the mitt to make sure the monokote is in contact with the surface) and the grain is visible.

Somebody here at RCU recomended to me that you can dilute down white glue and lightly brush it over the surface to help with the grain passing through. I have never tried it so I cant say how it works.

carrellh

I think this is common to yellow film coverings in general. I covered a PT-60 wing and tail with yellow Ultracoat and noticed it was not very opaque. I have a yellow Four Star 60 ARF (also covered with Ultracoat) that's the same way. I really don't know what to do about it. I just accepted it.