I have some monokote still in the wrapper that's been stored in my workshop out in the garage for the past 5 years. In the summer time the garage can get quite warm. Will this monokote be any good??? I have about ten rolls of it. Thanks, Jim

The only way to know is to try it out. You are basically faced with 3 scenarios:

1, It's good

2, It's bad

3, It has a few bad spots, just how many will determine if it's usable or not.

My suggestion... Try some out on a few scrap pieces and see what happens.

MinnFlyer

While you are on the topic of covering and I am getting ready to cover my first kit. I would like to use Monokote, but it seems the current run of white is less than wonderful. Any ideas? Or should I just use Ultracote or 21st Century fabric?

Jim,

Give it a try. It should be OK.

Certainly the age isn't a factor. And I doubt if your garage got hot enough to activate the adhesive. You should get 3 planes out of that stash, now start building!!!

Tom

I recently covered a trainer with two rolls of monocote that had been in storage in an attic for 5+ years. This attic space is a small space in the side of a barn-styled roof that isn't ventilated, so it gets really hot in the summer. It adhered fine with no problems, so I'd say it should be more than fine if it was in a typical garage.

Good luck,
Heath

I have been using this product since year one & have found two pretty good ways to test it & care for it .Try to keep the packages sealed if possible. When you open it ,smell it ,if it has an oder it still pretty fresh. When you pull the backing off ,grab a corner & shake it, if it sounds like wrapping paper it is getting old. It will still work OK but a lot of life is gone from it & after a while it will get very brittle on your open bay surfaces. What we need is a great big "baggie" to store it in! Use my old stuff on sheeted surfaces & buy new for the rest. Try to keep your plane in the shade helps a lot.>>>>>>>>>big max 1935>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I covered a Seniorita that's on my web site and the cream monokote was 20 years old and had been stored in many different places, had absolutely no problem with it. I did have a problem when I needed to do some patch work as the cream they have now didn't quite match, go ahead and use it.

I have been using monokote forever as well. I find that the really old, say 10 years or more, works fine. Sometimes you have to watch the heat with it, but it has always worked. It seems that it is easier to blow holes in it if it is really old.

I had some monokote that was stored for almost 10 years (3 rolls). When I tried to use it, it would simply fall apart when I pulled on it a little. It had become brittle as a leaf. All three rolls were transparent monokote that had been opened. They were in gov't storage and I don't think they were climate controlled.

I have about 8 rolls of oracover nontransparent
some are silver, gold, red, orange and creamy have
been stored more than 15 years in a cool enviroment
away from sunlight ... they are still good and have been
using them a lot lately, however the first few inches of
the roll got some dust and won't stick properly.
Regards
Hisham

Transparent covering is another story. I find as that ages, it is very difficult to use. I have a couple old rolls I use for patching old gliders, but the transparents get bad. If it gets too old, you can't fix the holes in it with heat or you make bigger ones. Don't find that as much with the solid colors.

I have all of you beat! I just opened a 17 year old roll of Monokote red! It had the old wrapper printed with brown ink instead of the current multi-colored wrapper.

It went on fine, and even though it felt a little stiff, worked around the nose of my Sig S.E. just fine. It stuck, stretched and shrunk just like you would expect. The color is still even and it's just as shiny as any of the current material. It even smelled right

John