Is it me or doesn't monocote shrink like it use to?[]

I switched to Ultracote and 21st century fabric. I only use mono when I am doing windex trim.

Thanks Irish, I'll give u-cote a try

New monokote sucks. Big time. The only time I use monokote anymore is if I pick up older rolls at swap meets. The new stuff is absolute garbage IMO. Ultracote FTW!!!

I have never used monosucks, I mean monokote. I only use Ultracote, the stuff is great. But I plan on trying a silkspan and dope finish on my current build.

I love Monokote. But I think they have serious quality-control problems, so I've mostly switched to Ultracoat and 21st Century film.

I seem to prefer Ultracote to Monocoat, I feel that the Ultra shrinks better for me. The Mono has a lot more "rubbery" feel to it at the shrink stage. I used it on my Topflite Thunderbolt, but then scuffed it up and shot Warbird Colors paint over it because I wanted better colors. It's several years old now, and still looks ok.

About 15 years ago Mono started changing there formula and started having a lot of problems. I changed over to Ultra and have never botherred buying another roll of Mono. I do have quite a bit of it on hand that just sort of finds it's way into my shop. I still like it for trim work and use the Windex trick to lay the trim sheets down.

I prefer Monocoat [X(]

Never used it but you call it monosucks? The wonderful dumbing down of America.

Kurt

Watch who you are calling dumb . . . I worded it wrong. What I meant was I have tried it a couple times with no success, I could not get it to stick or shrink properly, was very hard to handle, causing me to remove it and throw away the remainder of the rolls because it sucked. I have not used it to the point where it stayed. I went to Ultracote and it worked beautifully, went on smooth, and shrunk perfectly. I have never gone back.

So keep your insults to yourself!!!

I know right. Clearly the best hands down.

Oh, you "worded it wrong." Ok.

Kurt

Is that it?, I just got my popcorn and coffee. Well, I'm gonna search windex trim then.

Yup. That's about it. I'm shutting this one down, folks.

some of the Monocote colors don't shrink as well as others. I have a dark red that was my first monocote job and a bear to get tight in some of the looser spots that just wouldn't lay down decent..... those spots I knew I would have to rely on really shrinking the film to get a good cover job. later, I learned that the dark red I used, was one of the most problematic colors.

I want to re cover a couple models and wondered which way I should go. Maybe I'll try Ultracote but would love to try something else like the silkspan mentioned above

It's an old thread, but I'll chime in. I used Ultracote for years after finding it easier to apply than Monokote. Every plane I never did had sagging covering, wrinkles, and lifted seams pretty quickly. Mind you, I fly in Texas so the summer heat is pretty harsh. I've even had seams lift on the first day out. Yes, I do get dust off and clean the covering before I stick down another layer. I was tired of having to repair my covering job after every day of flying, so I tried Monokote again. I covered a classic pattern plane, which I fly a lot, back in the spring. I ironed down my first lifted seam this month. Maybe Monokote changed back to their old formula, or maybe Ultracote is different than it used to be. But the performance speaks for itself. The only downside is that the Monokote doesn't stretch as easily.

I got several bad rolls of Monokote some years ago (8 or 10, maybe), but lately it seems to be better. It does pay to get it as tight as possible when you first apply it, because it doesn't shrink all that much. Many years ago you could get away with sticking it on pretty much any way and hitting it with the heat gun. No longer.

Having used Monokote and Ultracote/Oracover, I prefer Monokote. So far, the only color that's difficult to stretch is a 30 year old roll of Dove Gray - it has the black and white photo instruction sheet with a guy in shirt and tie.

Ultracote doesn't stick well to itself, doesn't trim as well as Monokote (the adhesive layer separates from the pigment during cuts), it has a smaller color selection, isn't as glossy, and creases can't be removed with heat. Also has no metallic or flats.

Covering, graphics, and trim are all Top Flite Monokote on these airplanes: >>>








Disappointed with Forest Green going away.