Consensus for best plastic covering material

Hi All,

>If this thread has been beaten to death, please forgive me.<

Is there a general consensus for the best plastic covering material?

Thanks,
Henry
Superclown

I like Ultracoat, for me it shrinks better then Monocoat and is stronger than Solar film wich are the only 3 my hobby shop sells.
Good Luck
Dwayne

>Hi All,
>
>>If this thread has been beaten to death, please forgive
>me.<
>
>Is there a general consensus for the best plastic covering
>material?
>
>Thanks,
>Henry
>Superclown

Yes. MonoKote, hands down the best.

Only goat-ropers and perverts use any of the cheap imitations.

Does your "Search" function not work? Too bad, there is a rich history concerning the answer(s) to your question on this site. There are even hugely long and detailed instructions on the use of plastic film.

Dan

For ease to use and quality Monocote the one. Easy to put on and easy to fix. A little care taken to apply and great results.
Cheers

I've had very good luck with Monokote, and also light weight Econokote. Is Econokote still available?

The others all seem to work well when directions are followed, but the biggest color selection stocked by most hobby shops, has been Monokote. Reason enough for me to continue using that brand.

Bill Adair

>I've had very good luck with Monokote, and also light weight
>Econokote. Is Econokote still available?
>
>The others all seem to work well when directions are followed,
>but the biggest color selection stocked by most hobby shops,
>has been Monokote. Reason enough for me to continue using that
>brand.
>
>Bill Adair

Hi Bill,
Econokote is still available at least thru Tower. I was just looking at some and found that the weight and tensile strength is listed as the same as Momokote. 25,00 psi and .2 lbs. per square foot.

Dave Breckenridge

I would have a tough time choosing between Monokote and Ultracoat.They are both what could be said as the upper line of plastic covering.I think that the Monocoat has more shine but I find ultracoat more forgiving as you can heat it and remove it if you are of alittle off ect.As for monocoat once you have stuck it down good luck removing it.With monokote you can use trim solevent to apply trims or to make up a multi colored wing sheet that has about 3/16" overlaps.Ultracoat can be ironed over it's self with out much for bubble problem's.Lot's of good things for each.Tough call.

Dave,

Thanks for the info.

That may be correct about both coverings being the same weight.

I used Econokote on a foam wing that I sheeted with 1/16th balsa, because it was said to work at lower temperature than Monokote. For some reason I got the idea that it was also lighter.

Bill Adair

Depends on what you are covering, or should I say, wrapping? If its beef steaks, then any of them are as about as good as saran wrap..but for airplanes......none come even close to silk and dope.

My experience with Iron on coverings goes back to my R/C sailplane days, when alsmot all wings were open frame, D-tube wings that relied on the covering for some stiffness, and could be called stressed skin designs. I remember seeing guys using all sorts of other iron on coverings that were less expensive than Monokote in order to save a buck or two. That was how it became to be called "MoneyKote". Some even tried the early Coverite fabric coverings hoping to gain some extra lift because of some turbualtion effect from the veave of the fabric. Most of these airplanes could not be flown to any sort of high speed, because of wing flutter. Many would flutter even on a cafeful winch launch. Stripp the covering and replace with Monokote, and no problem.
They all have their characteristics that you have to get used to, and have their place in the hobby. Best advice I can give you is to try them on simple models and develope your own opinion, keeping in mind what you read and hear.
For my money, it's Monokote, but I wish they would make it in some checker patterns like Ultracoat does.
Good luck and have fun,
Dan McEntee

We've used both Monokote and Ultracote and for those like Paul and me with less experience and less skill when it comes to covering, we'd say Ultracote is much easier to use and to get nice smooth results around curves and wingtips. Certainly seems to hold up as well or better than Monokote, too. Kevin Ferrell

I'm trying to use Sig Aerokote right now, and I'm not happy. This stuff is so heat sensitive it's treacherous. The only place I can use a heat gun is on the open bays, and that's not easy. It sticks well to itself, but then the seams want to curl up. I think I'll use what I've got left for beater repair, and go back to Monokote or Ultracote. Sure thought I got a good deal with the Aerokote, as the rolls are larger for roughly the same money as Monokote; I guess you get what you pay for. ........... Glen

Adding to my last post, I've finished covering with Aerokote, and it is horrible! I'm going to re-cover it with Monokote, but first I'll fly it (a Twister) to make sure it is trimmed OK. I'll just put a paper bag over my head so nobody will know who I am......Glen

I've used this material once (the $1 sample roll Sig offered with new product announcement) on the sheeted areas of a sailplane wing, and when it ran out, I finished up with Ultrakote. Couldn't tell the difference when using an iron to apply/shrink.

I think picking the 'best' covering is closely related to choosing spouses, it depends on what characteristics are more important than others at the time of choosing. Rigidity? Monokote. Overlapping colors on sheet? Ultrakote. Each of these two is 'best' at the mentioned characteristic. Solid single color over sheet? Maybe the manufacturer whose covering is most opaque. Or lightest. Each can be 'best' for that one chosen application.

Looking for keyboard wars? Try asking what's the 'best paint'.

Peter Havriluk

Phil's "SLC" covering.

Anyone remember Baluch Film? I still have a roll. The most ridiculously strong covering you'd ever come across. So strong I remember it bending the ribs on someone's Shadow when he was covering it.

We've used both Monokote and Ultracote and for those like Paul and me with less experience and less skill when it comes to covering, we'd say Ultracote is much easier to use and to get nice smooth results around curves and wingtips. Certainly seems to hold up as well or better than Monokote, too. Kevin Ferrell