Mark,

I had all those concerns you are expressing before I tried my first application of Flite Metal, too. I had placed Flite Metal access panels and raised panels on painted surfaces for years, but never had done a full metal finish. I decided to do a C-ARF MiG 15, and wanted to do a natural aluminum finish. I debated BVM Metal Kote (even bought a kit), vs Flite Metal. I intended to put Flite Metal on the top surfaces and then paint BV Flite Kote on the bottom until I saw the difference. I finally took the plunge and covered the MiG 15 top and bottom with Flite Metal. I had a few goofs in some areas, but it actually turned out much easier, faster, and cleaner than aluminum paint. I'm now working on a set of wing tanks for the bird, and am irritated that I will have to paint them instead of putting Flite Metal on them. The reason? not enough seam lines on the full scale tanks to make Flite Metal feasible, and the full scale tanks are painted with silver paint anyway.

My point? Go ahead and take the plunge it really is much easier than you think. Another advantage to doing Flite Metal, is if you goof, just peel it off and re-do the panel again. It really does stretch around compound curves, and can be embossed with all kinds of surface detail. The only critical thing is to keep your base surface clean because anything you trap under the foil will show through, so make sure your surface is prepared properly.

FM is a lot of work, but less than paint, doesn't smell, easy cleanup, and can be repaired very easily after you start flying the bird. For example, any time damage occurs (usually dragging wing tips), it is very easy to peel off the damaged metal, repair the damage, and the put a new piece of Flite Metal back on the panel - never shows the damage. I'm pretty well sold on it over aluminum paint.

One other factor since FM is real aluminum, it weathers just like the real thing. In fact, the more it is handled, the more realistic it looks. You will need to do panels so the seams will match, but it just adds more realism to your project.

Hope this inspires you to give it a try.

Regards, Les