well i dont know if i am doing this right .. but i hope i am .
i have an arf that is in need of a new skin but the old covering is a peel and stick type covering and is leaving a nasty sticky residue behind .. my question is this how on earth do i get this sticky mess of without messing up the wood .. i want to go back with a monokote covering and would like to get it as smooth as possable .. if any one has any ideas please help i am rather partial to this plane and it flyies very well ..
thanks dreadlord ..

I would try a light amount of rubbing alcohol but I am not sure if it will soak into the balsa and warp it. Maybe someone who has more experience with balsa can confirm if this is a good idea or not.

sand it slightly and coat the entire plane in balsaright then recover with monocote

The key to avoid a warp is to do a small area at a time. Acetone will take anything off. Just use a dab on a paper towel, and rub onto a small area. Let it dry and sand it down a bit. Monokote should go over that OK.

I use denatured alcohol, available at most hardware and paint stores. Your home improvement stores also carry it.

Any imperfections in the balsa can be filled and sanded. Use "light weight" spackle for this.

Just make sure you apply the Monokote to a dust free surface.

One more thing, the fumes of these products are very flammable, so be sure there are no souces of ignition nearby.

Have done this many times with great results, so have fun with it! It allows you to have a "new" plane without the fuss of re-building.

Gary