What's up with monokote? I am in the process of covering my Brio wings with white monokote. The result is terrible. I have used this stuff ever since it came on the market,and altho there were occasional glitches,I never had anything like this.
It doesn't stick well,it wrinkles,it looks like crumpled tinfoil.It was applied with an iron covered with a coverite sock.Various heat settings did not improve the results.To bring a long sad story to an end,I went over to my flying buddy's this A.M. His white monokote job was fine. Upon examination of the back with the film backing still in place,mine has millions of tiny air bubbles. It almost looks pearlescent because of the bubbles. His backing had no bubbles at all between it and the monokote.
One of my rolls was purchased two years ago,the other just a few weeks ago.
I think I will have to redo my wings. Shoulda never have gone this far without checking it out.
Perhaps Ultracote is the answer.

Dave

Hey Dave you are not alone. Earlier this month there was a boatload of complaints about Monocote on the NSRCA discussion list. You can check it out at this link. Go into Feb. archives.
http://lists.nsrca.org/pipermail/nsrca-discussion/
I have had similar problems and have decided to go to Ultracote. Mike

Hi Mike: Just finished stripping the top of the wings of all white monokote. My LHS has a good supply of Ultracote so will visit him tomorrow.

Yes,I saw the postings on the NSRCA list re mono complaints.

Dave

Dave,

I use MonoKote often and never have problems with white, orange, red, yellow, blue and sliver. I find that of all the film coverings it gives the best “paint like� finish with the least amount of effort. Never worry about it coming unglued like the other films.

I think that this may be a fairly new developement.

I've experienced the same. I had one old roll and one new roll of metallic green. The old had the same properties monocote always have had. The new one didn’t stick, didn’t shrink and when increasing heat in an attempt to solve the problem all it did was bubble. Frustrating.

What was the conclusion drawn at the NSRCA list? Was this a temporary glitch in monocote production or a permanent change of their "formula"? The roll I got was completely useless so I hope they fix whet ever problem thay may have.

One person reported that they changed factory's for producing. The results you reported seem consistent with the reports. Look on the link above and you will see. Mike

why don't you try oracover ?

Is Oracover just another name for Ultracote??

Dave

Oracover and Ultracote are the same product. We did some testing and found that Ultracote weighs 10% more than Monocote. True that Monocote has a slightly higher gloss level. It's also pretty well excepted that Ultracote is easier to apply. Mike

From Top Flite regarding MonoKote question today. I’m not having any problems at all and I use MonoKote often:

Thank you for your recent e-mail. No, we have not been having any problems that we are aware of. It has also come to our attention that some of the new irons do not get hot enough to activate the adhesive. We suggest using the Top-flite sealing iron.

I hope you find this information helpful. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at this email address. (Please be sure to copy all previous emails into any future questions.) You can also reach us 217-398-0007, or via fax at 217-398-7721.

DID YOU KNOW that our web pages now all contain FAQs? (Frequently asked
questions) Please drop by and take a look! We hope you'll find the information helpful and valuable to you.

Sincerely,
Eddie W.

They have had similar problems in the past (late 80's and early 90's) One roll goes on like soft butter and the other like trying to use tinfoil as mentioned. I even brought representative samples to the Top Flight booth at the Wram show one year and was basically told the same thing. The products meet specs it was just me who was applying it wrong. Even though I demonstrated the difference to him (I believe his name was Christiansen or something like that). Back then I was using a gun and cotton wads to apply the monokote and it was not a method that they used or reccomended. For all I know I gave them the idea when he saw how nice the "good" stuff went down.

Although Monokote is definately the nicest material as far as colors and gloss goes I have tried most of the other materials and have not seen the inconsistancies that show up with monokote. Of course I used more monokote than all of the others combined, so maybe I was more likely to find problems.

Stuart

DID YOU KNOW that I'm having the exact same nightmare as we speak? Top Flite iron my rear end. This is a BAD BATCH. I just hope I can work with it.

-Mike

Hey Mike,

This "Bad Batch" covers the nation!! I have given up the battle with moneycote--switched to Ultra Coat.

Jim Oliver

Unless you are covering a piece of crap that you do not want to fly too much or care how it looks, DON'T... You are just asking for trouble and potentially ruining a lot of hard work. I would rather toss the material and find some older stock or change brands. You can probably find old stock in a local hobby shop. I suspect the monokote at my local shop has been there for a year or more All those ARF's.

I've had this problem before. I just don't like it. If I didn't have over $150 invested in freakin monokote, and being somewhat out of time, and weight being extremely critical, I would use Ultrakote.

-Mike

A friend had some that had an extra backing on it, couldn't figure out why it wouldn't stick and think it wrinkled, after removing the second clear it worked fine.
Steve Maxwell

I find that by sealing one or maybe two edges of the MonoKote and then gently pulling the far side while heating, the stuff will stretch as you pull. Then lower it onto the far side and the heat from the gun will have the film ready to stick. Then move a couple inches along the project and repeat. MonoKote applied in this manner has never wrinkled. I'll grant you that it takes some practice and maybe some talent.

ultracote and oracover are in the same class of product but not exactly the same product.

When we buy Ultracote here in the US and unroll it the backing is machine printed with the name Oracover and the codes for its' manufacture.

I used to use cotton ball and heat gun, but most recently for the Ultracote on my Brio , I used a sock over the iron. Sure you've seen the writeup "by the numbers" but I have some photos of covering with Ultracote there. If this is helpful. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_37..._2/key_/tm.htm

Facts about Top Flite Super MonoKote:

In order to clear up some of the misconceptions that have been surfacing lately concerning Top Flite Super MonoKote, we would like to clear the air.

In no uncertain terms, let us state that the manufacturing process of Super MonoKote has not changed since the introduction of this product back in the 60's. The basic formulation has only been changed as necessary to comply with the ever-evolving EPA regulations where some specific solvent and pigment compounds have become banned substances. As such, a substitute formulation has sometimes become necessary. In every such case, Hobbico has worked with our vendor to minimize the impact on any products other than the specific color(s) affected by the EPA regulations.

We are sure that the film vendors like DuPont and Dow Chemical and such have also been regulated by the EPA in what specific chemicals and processes they can use in the making of the films used for this product. Our specifications to our vendor state that the films are still the same films always used, with the same high clarity and surface finish, plus shrink properties, as historically used.

Therefore, it is possible that the application parameters and techniques have evolved very slightly. For example, more heat and a bit more pressure are typically needed with certain colors in order to achieve the award winning finish that MonoKote is known for. The bottom line, however, is that Top Flite Super MonoKote is still the best heat shrink covering on the market. Super MonoKote is still made by the same supplier with the same specifications that have always been used.

As always, when a roll of material does not perform up to the user's expectations, we would like to receive a sample of the material and welcome the opportunity to try to make it right with the user. We're modelers too, and use the material here in the development of our own new airplane products, as well as our own kits, ARF's, and other modeling projects. If something is going wrong with a certain batch of a specific color, we want to know about it so we can correct the situation.

White ...Purpel ....and cicrcus pink + white!!!!..and Cub Yellow ..same problems with all

See.. guys it's YOUR fault for not "evolving" with the product as it becomes less user friendly. I have many rolls of Monokote in my shop but after hearing that it's MY fault that my latest project did not turn out well.....I guess it's time for Ultracote for good. I bought a few rolls of Ultracote and have been very pleased with the results and have not needed to "evolve" in order to use it.

.
.
.
Same here. . . Ultracote all the way. . . .
.
.
.