No, not all covering are created equally. I've used both Monokote and Ultracoat and I like the results I can get with either of them. My preference it Monokote though. But, with that being said... both types of covering requires practice. It's really like more anything else in the hobby, the more you practice the better you get at it. I had a lot of the same problems you described, but the more I did the better I got at covering.

Ken