Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

The recent rolls of Monocoat that I've bought just didn't stretch at all, didn't shrink like it's supposed to. I've been told by a friend that works in one of the largest hobby stores on the west coast, that they had to change the formula of Monocoat because of the Socialist Republic Of California[:@]. Say it ain't so, Joe !!
So whats a good replacement for Monocoat? Anyone??
Thanks, Motorhomer

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

Yep your friend is right.
Monocoat now sucks. However there are still hard core fanatics that continue to swear by it.
There are also people that don't drive cars. I'm not one of them.
It (moneycoat) does come in a larger selection of colors, but if ya can't get it work right (like you have discovered on your own) what good is a large selection of colors that you can't on your plane without a huge amount of extra work.
In short moneycoat just ain't got it no more.
Ultracoat, is a far superior covering even if it costs little more money. Try it you'll love it.
Now you may not be aware of it but you've gone and opened up a huge ole' can of worms, hold on and you'll see what it is of which I speak.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I am with Mike, go with UltraCote, you won't be sorry. It is around $16 roll.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

Hold on - I am going to make some popcorn and sit back and watch this one!

Dan

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

There are alot of threads here on RCU concerning this very matter. Top Flite says nothing changed in the formula, however as an ex Monokote user for as many years as I can remember, I changed to Ultracoat a couple years back for the same reason that you have mentioned. Ultracoat is great to use and it stays tight once installed. The one thing that Monokote has over Ultracoat is colors. I still have some of my old planes that are covered in Monokote and they are as tight as the day I finished them and I still have the last one I did in Monokote and it wrinkles if I look at it wrong. As I said, Top Flite said no changes to the formula, but I think something some how some way changed. There are those that still use Monokote, just not me. Good Luck, Dave

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

Buy some Koverall and Nitrate dope. Paint with Nelson Hobby paint, using a foam brush. Its so easy, its ridiculous. And you get access to many many colors.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

Ultracote for the base. Use your inventory of Monokote for trim using the 'ole Windex approach. Best of both worlds ...

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

The last two times I've used black Monocote, I had to nearly burn a hole in it with my heat gun to get it to shrink. Disappointing since it used to be great when it was called Super Monokote. Can't speak for the rest of the colors.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I have to say that I've covered 4 planes in the last two years with Monokote and all have come out great, no problems with it sticking or shrinking. I'm new to building but I just followed the instructions and advice here on RCU and had no issues. The most recent was completed last week with fresh Monokote from Tower Hobbies, a vintage Craft-Air Scout 15 kit covered in orange and blue Monokote.

The first one I covered in Monokote two years ago was a SIG 4*Star and after two seasons and dozens of flight days at the field, the covering still looks good as new.

Maybe I'm just a covering savant?? http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

I have no experience with Ultracote so I can't comment on the product. If anyone wants to get rid of their stash of evil, awful Monokote, I'll be happy to give you my mailing address so you can send it to me!

PS I do drive cars and a big ol' stinky turbo diesel Cummins Dodge pickup. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...bananahead.gif

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

oops...accidentally hit "reply" while editing. Sorry.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I have not used the new Monokote, but since my LHS only has Ultracote I used that and I was impressed with how well it went on, but less than impressed with it's opacity. The white is slightly visible under the red no matter what lighting there is.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I'm with Mark, my last two monocote jobs turned out great. When the planes were put together at the feild, the guys were pulling out their cell phones and asking if they could take pictures!:D I'll stick with it,( no pun intended).:)

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I found different colors act differently. The Red, worked OK, the White worked great, the blue sucked. I did burn holes in it trying to shrink it.  I did 2 planes this year, one with yellow and blue, the yellow was ok, while the blue was a pain.  I just finished a Kadet LT40 in red white and blue, the white was really good, the red went on OK, and again the blue was a pain.

On a Guillows B-17 I am using Ultracote lite and it goes on Very easy and looks great.  Switching to Ultra on my next project.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I had similar opacity problems with yellow Ultracoat. It was very user-friendly when applying to a surface and going around corners, but the darker grain of the wood is visible through the yellow. Also, I purchased a "Coverite Pocket Thermometer" to get the iron to the correct temperature. 220 degrees F to apply Ultracote, and 300 - 330 degrees F to shrink as indicated in the instructions.

As for Monokote I do have one plane covered in flat Olive Drab monokote that looks great 5 years later. But I've moved on - no more monokote.

Lately I've discovered spraying flat, clear, Krylon over Ultracote and feel like a kid in a candy store. It's such a cool flat finish. Have also discovered carbon fiber Ultracote. Apparently it was very popular several years ago but is passe' now. I manage to discover cool things about 5 years too late.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

Well I have to agree with the OP, something in Monocote is not the same. I just tried starting a new covering job a couple of nights ago and cannot get the wrinkles to stay out of the black no matter what I do. It's on a sheeted wing which has no compound curves, I stretched it as best I could and had a nice smooth wrinkle free surface then I shrunk it and the problems started. I have re-shrunk with a gun and ironed at least a dozen times. A half hour later its covered in wrinkles again. I have been using Mono for close to 30 years and this is the first time I have had this much problem. This is also the first time in 5 or 6 years I have had to buy new because I have run out of black and neon green.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I think most use Ultracote instead of MonoSlop anymore. I would imagine sales of MK are slightly down. Many have quit buying MK altogether. I stopped about a year ago since I started having so many problems with it. I know a builder that builds lots of planes and he put the brakes on MK. I cannot imagine how much that cost MK sales. That guy was a big time builder. The old MK I have is rock solid, but the new don't have it. I did buy some old roles at a swap meet so that is cool. Some still have good luck with the MK but they don't use the bad roll I have :D.

The last roll I purchased of white about a year ago is only used for small pieces/patches since most of the roll is bad. I would not cover a plane with it at all. Some say nothing has change with MK, but I put two rolls side by side and can tell the difference. Good luck.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

It has changed, it  takes more heat.... and smells bad. But what I can't figure out is how do they cover them at the factories. Those chinese can't build them so good, but they can cover like  pros when they use the mono-coat or any other decent covering.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

they changed the glue IMObut I have no proof of that but I tried a roll and found it very unstretchable compared to ultracote.and wont use the monocote .In fact I built a sig 1/4 scale spacewalker a year ago and went with koverall and some paint and loved the appearance and ease.I wont do that for simple 2 stroke sunday fliers but on my large planes the koverall is by far the easist to apply..

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I've had some excellent results, even with Monokote bought this year, and one very bad result, not with shrinking but with sagging after it was put on. I think it's a quality control problem. Even with the good results, the stuff didn't shrink like it did in the old days, so the changed-formula story is probably true, too, but the new stuff is OK to work with.

My advice is, if you are using MK and the roll smells bad when you open it, return it.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

The covering that they use ain't Monokote, and that's for sure.

Karol

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

As long as you continue to use monocoat you will continue to have problems. Try Monokote instead http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif

Sorry about that - the devil made me do it http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...evil_smile.gif

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

Monokote did make a statement years ago (at least 12 years ago) that, due to environmental hazards/concerns, they removed an adhesive chemical they had been using in their original formula, and began using another adhesive chemical that was environmentaly friendly.

In my opinion, the new formula has changed the performance of Monokote. It no longer stretches as well or as much as it used to, and is a little more difficult to work with. I noticed that it stretches more in one direction than the other. Thus, when used on a wing, both wing halves (and top and bottom) need to be applied lengthwise of the roll of Monokote.

The new Monokote is also more prone to sagging after it has been applied. It doesn't have the same adhesion as it used to.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

It's ALL in the (syntactical) details!

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

While I have used this stuff with some success, by and large I have always felt monokote was a temporary proposition. Especially on smaller glow models. It may be perfectly suited for large IMAC type aircraft, but the real solution for the best results is to paint your aircraft. I avoid plastic coverings like the plauge, and I have been using the stuff since 1984. Monokote has always been a compromise in my opinion.

RE: Whats happened to Monocoat ?
 

I can say that MK is not like it used to be. Whether or not some can currently get good results, it is different than it was. A friend wanted me to cover his plane with current MK chrome & red... both were terrible to work with! I expected the chrome to be problematic, but the red was IMPOSSIBLE to shrink- it burned through without shrinking a bit. I changed to UC red and could cover like a pro again.

Say what you want, MK is harder to work with than it used to be.