I have finished my new Cessna 182. I am considering to paint or to use monokote. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Oren

I have just spent the last two days painting two planes - I am not done yet - color goes on tomorrow. I started these planes a while ago and put them away because of the painting. Even though both will look good - I vote for Monokote.

Dan

The nice thing about iron-on covering (Ultracote prefered here) is that you can do it in your living room even if it's raining outside.

The Living Room phrase got to me - my buddy just finished covering his Edge in his living room - he set up an 8 foot table - watched TV - ate snacks - and covered. Then he noticed - no *****ing or nagging - the divorce was final. He called me to brag - I told him to stuff it.

Dan

I covered my top flite with monokote. I like working with it and the trim is much easier. The real scale guys like to paint. I painted my Ryan STA over Stitts covering. It came out ok but you do have to go outside and have a good day (no breeze, good temperature, no high humidity, etc.) or go to a paint room.

Here is a picture of the full size that I used for the paint scheme.

The way I see it is this:

If your planes usually last less than 1 year and you don't mind wrinkles and bubbles in your covering, not to mention covering pulling up after the oil gets under it, then I would say Monokote is for you.

On the other hand:

If you have planes that are several years old and you want them to look good for a long long time then paint is the way to go. I have a friend with planes that are over 20 years old (painted) and they look as good as new.

Monokote is fast and easy but doesn't look good for long without alot of maintenance. Paint takes more effort in the beginning but requires no maintenance.

Either way, keeping a plane looking good takes some work!