SoCal GliderGuider

Just did a phone tag go around with Great Planes on the material that Mono coat is made from. They admit that prior to their buying Top-Flite the base material was changed. They just say polyester. I say the old Mono Coat was much better than the new.

I would like to find out what the old material was and where it can be procured from.

SilverEagleBW

My Feedback: (1)

I do believe the old Monokote was made from a plastic named Mylar and worked pretty good.You can find it on the web and yes it does shrink when heated.But it will not have an adhesive backing and not much on color selection,odds are that all you will find is clear Mylar.Good luck.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Say what? No adhesive backing? How long ago are you talking about? The stuff I used in the 70's certainly had a heat activated adhesive backing.

SilverEagleBW

My Feedback: (1)

Piper,,,No,the Monokote back then did have an adhesive backing.What i am talking about is Mylar film that you buy today,not an airplane covering at all,just plain Mylar which is in fact a polyester film.Saran Wrap,Solorfilm,Solartex,Litespan,shrink wrap films,all that stuff is Mylar based.The trick here is to find out what the old Monokote was made of and where it can be purchased.

dennis

My Feedback: (90)

Just remember that then as today the color is not in the material but in the adhesive. Thats why you can have color separation when you lift to reposition a piece.
C/L combat flyers use a form of mylar to cover their planes it's generally put on with a low tack spray. As in monokote you paint the back of the stuff and then apply it. Phil Cartier at the corehouse has an excellent product that he sells
Dennis

SoCal GliderGuider

I still have a few remanents of the "old" MonoCoat. Much more "brittle" feeling than the new. The new stuff is soft and mushy. The old stuff was a dream to work with. Would shrink up tight as a drum and stay that way. Could do a trim cut on the model and the cut would track straight. New stuff is worse than Solarfilm.

So what whould be a better covering? Or are all "mushy"?

I'll check out what has been listed.

SilverEagleBW

My Feedback: (1)

Give Ultracote a try,It dosen't sag after it is on like monokte does and seems to be a bit light,especially the transparent stuff.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I gave up using Monocote A few years ago and now only cover with Ultracote [in the plastic films] anymore. It goes on at A very low temp and is much more user friemdly. After shrinking I like to set the plane out in the hot sun and let it sag as much as it will then reshrink it using an iron, after that it doesn't sag or wrinkle in the heat. That's A very good thing in Calif.

cltom

Arghhh! This hobby is changing too much:

- no more dope (or very hard to get)
- no more Hobbypoxy
- no more K&B Superpoxy, resin, etc., etc.
- low oil fuel, or no castor
- ARF's

Now, it appears there's no more original, 25,000 lb tensile strength mylar Monocote.