My team is building a solar powered car and we were considering using Monokote instead of paint. The weight and cost savings would be HUGE, but since none of us have used Monokote before and I have only used Saran Wrap , we don't know how well this would work. There are a few things that I am worried about:

1. Does it hold up well under heat (the car is powered by the sun after all)
2. How difficult would it be to apply it to, say, a football? The front corner of our car is shaped similarly.
3. Are the seams visible when similar colors are overlapping and will the seam pull away under a lot of use?
4. How durable is it? It is a car after all, so it will be bumped and scratched.
5. How well will it attach to fiberglass? I am guessing this wont be a problem, but I want to ask just to make sure.

Also, if you have any tips about its application, feel free to share them.

Thanks in advance
Matt Hatfield

not just no, but no way. Paint would be so much lighter if done right, and you won't get monokote to go on fiberglass at all, much less around corners on glass. If you had years of experience with the stuff, you could maybe get it go on with a ton of bubbles under the film, but it would look like heck. It won't go on around the nose very well, especially for a beginner. I can get it to go around corners well, but that is with a lot of using it. Most peoples first exp with it is really bad.

I would shoot a very thin layer of color on it. Save yourself a lot of headaches.

Have to agree with Flyboy, particularly if the body is fiberglassed. )The glassing process is the best place to save weight by the way.)

We only glass our planes when we're going to paint them, NEVER when using a shrink type covering.

Good luck with the project by the way.
Dennis-

The main reason we were wanting to use this method was to get away from paint. It will be a lot heavier than the Monokote and we are looking for ways to reduce the weight as much as possible. Also, painting will be expensive ($1000 if we had to buy everything). And Monokote will only be $150.

But I do understand where you both are coming from. The team really wants to use this stuff and it will be tough to convince them otherwise. But I will try.

But has anyone out there tried attaching Monokote to fiberglass? I might just to out and get some Monokote and try it, but I have a feeling that I am just throwing ~$15 down the drain.

Thanks for the responses.

Use sign vinyl...heck of alot cheaper than monokote and the stuff will stick to fiberglass,there are also alot of colors available.You can get 30 foot x 2 foot rolls for around 30 bucks..I buy my stuff from Beaco Graphics,give them a try.

Yes, I have tried it. As I stated, it will be a major mess. Tell them if they don't believe us, to buy a roll and try it. I can't see how monokote can be cheaper than paint. Thats kind of strange. You must be having a pro paint it.

If you go with monokote, research the windex method on here and use it. It is the only way you will get it done without totally trashing covering and possibly harming the glass.

Hi!
Monokote will not work but Oracover will if the fiberglass fuselage is sanded first.
I have covered fiberglass surfaces with exellent results for years but as I said ...Oracover or Solartex or even better Oratex is the material to use.
Here is some pictures of my Marutaka covered my DC-3 covered in small pieces of chrome Oracover.
Regards!
Jan K
Sweden

I'm curious, how big is this car? MG sized or Caddy sized? There are many different options with paint such as single stage or BC/CC, enamel or urethane. I can't imagine 10 to 15 pounds of paint being that big of an issue. $1000 is too much for paint unless you are buying paint guns, air hoses and a compressor to go with it.

It is 1.8m X 5m. As for the cost of getting the car painted, I don't believe it myself, but thats what one of the senior members on the team said it would take to get it painted. Now that figure was based on the previous car which had a lot of bondo work done (Bondo=HEAVY!!!). So, that could have been where the money went.

But, I think I am going to get some Monokote at the lhs and try it on a spare part of the car. I am almost positive it will not work, but at least it will prove my argument. And then I can use it to cover my new plane.

And as for the 10-15 lbs of paint, it is a big issue on a solar car. The efficiency of these things blow your mind. The extra weight will require more energy to accelerate. Our car will not weigh more than 700 lbs, which moderate for a solar car.

Ok, here are some figures for ya. 1 Qt. DuPont ChomaBase weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz. with the can (approx. 6 oz.), 1 Gallon of 7500S clear with activator weighs 8 lbs., you onley need about 2 Qts of clear for that sized car = 4 lbs. For get any ripples or waves, it isn't a show car, 1 qt 1986S velvaseal primer should give a good even coat=1lb. 10 oz. All up weight approx......8 pounds.

Find a body shop who will donate their time (such as myself) in exchange for a little free advertising.

Shoot, you could paint it with krylon for a lot less than you could do it in monokote! Your friend isn't talking with facts. If you take it to a body man, sure its going to cost a lot. If you can cover it, you can paint it.

Sand it, prime it lightly, paint it lightly for color and go. A grand for paint on that would be ludicris. Monokote would be a nightmare. Orocover like stated would better, but it isn't something I would try on something like that!

Hi Hatty,

After all the good thoughts here vis a vis painting and Moneycoat if you decided to try the Monocoat please video the process and post in the humor section.

A well applied painted surface can often be of less weight than a film covering.

Why didn't you just put some pigment in the finish coat of fiberglass?

Cheers,

Colin

hahaha. I will make sure I do that. At least take a lot of pictures. I am sure this will be funny if we end up doing it. I will show the guys on the team this forum and show them that everyone is against it. Thanks for everyone's input.