covering material?

I really like Ultracote Parklite. It isn't as strong as say Monokote and EconoKote, but it is very lite. I also like "New Stuff", and it comes in different strengths/weights. Both do very well over foam, with out getting to the foam melting point.

oldguy

a lot depends on what you need, weight of the craft, strength, and time to apply

I have not found a personal favorite as there are way too many options now...when I was a kid it was silk n dope or tissue and dope

I have tried many of the newer modern shrink coverings and am still looking

withing each brand are some real good and some real bad stuff

I really wish back a few years ago when I asked the exact same question there would have been a "this is by far the best stuff" response

For some planes dope and colored dope works best on polyspan, or silk, or silkspan, or tissue

some swear by ultra cote, coverite, monocote, econokote, orakote, coverite lite, Esaki tissue, Dave brown Skyloft, polyspan, brodak plastic, dharma silk, and if you ask about each there are folk who love and hate each of them

For me, it is doculam. This is only because of the usual short lifespan of my models...... Cheap, very cheap!

stuntflyr wrote:I like Oracover the best. What are you covering, a wing only, RC model, 1/2A control line?
Chris...

I should say that I have only used monkote, it's the only one I have used.I'm covering control line 1/2A &  .15 size ships at the moment.What is Oracover?
Cheap?

akjgardner wrote:I like coverlite on my half A planes

I know if money wasn't an issue, I would buy what was the appropriate to the size of plane, strength.But I need an overall covering film, i'm a tight??? and on a budget.
thanks

duke.johnson wrote:I really like Ultracote Parklite. It isn't as strong as say Monokote and EconoKote, but it is very lite.  I also like "New Stuff", and it comes in different strengths/weights. Both do very well over foam, with out getting to the foam melting point.

thanks Duke, will look into the ultracote parklite.Thanks

fredvon4 wrote:oldguy

a lot depends on what you need, weight of the craft, strength, and time to apply

I have not found a personal favorite as there are way too many options now...when I was a kid it was silk n dope or tissue and dope

I have tried many of the newer modern shrink coverings and am still looking

withing each brand are some real good and some real bad stuff

I really wish back a few years ago when I asked the exact same question there would have been a "this is by far the best stuff" response

For some planes dope and colored dope works best on polyspan, or silk, or silkspan, or tissue

some swear by ultra cote, coverite, monocote, econokote,  orakote, coverite lite, Esaki tissue, Dave brown Skyloft, polyspan, brodak plastic, dharma silk, and if you ask about each there are folk who love and hate each of them

Well Fred, I quess you just about covered it all.God Bless and goodnite.C/L 1/2A,.15 size ships.
thanks.

NEW222 wrote:For me, it is doculam. This is only because of the usual short lifespan of my models...... Cheap, very cheap!

Hey new222, your the guy i'm looking for,I don't have 1 original plane, they have all flown to their disstruction, a lot have morffed into other flying craft.What is doculam, and where can I get it?
thanks Jim

Try doing a Google search. I just typed in Doculam and results #3 and beyond were all model related. I would love to help you, but I am in Canada and got mine from a laminating supplier/repair shop. If you look up 'laminating' in your local phone book, a few things may pop up. Being relatively cheap, approximately 500 feet for around $25 and is I believe 20" wide. Only thing though is it is clear. However, you can apparently sprat paint the 'stick side' and put it on like any other coverings. Or, put it on, give it a light scuff and paint it with your favorite method as well. Comes in various thicknesses as well, and I have the 1.5 mil I believe. But if you find a local spot that does laminating they would probably give you a few feet to try, and even may save the 'end of the roll' for you..... Another bonus is that it does not get affected by heal like other film coverings do, and the stuff I have requires a good deal of heat too. Hope this helps a bit. If you have any further questions, I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

Oh, and just another thought. Most large scale printers, drafting companies, etc may have the stuff too.

I personally found Doculam to be very inferior. It will puncture very easily on framed surfaces just flying on grass. I use it on solid foam wings for combat. It's glue fails due to fuel residue and a strip of packing tape is needed to properly seal against fuel creepage. If a clear covering such as Doculam is needed or desired, Phil Cartier makes a far better product which is SLC (Super light covering) by the yard. Phil does have a website Corehouse products. Phil can sometimes be a little slow to return e-mails . He used to send samples and still may do so. Ken

Here is a picture of my 1/2a Ringmaster covered with doculam.

Silkspan or silk and dope. I'm old school.

ARUP wrote:Silkspan or silk and dope. I'm old school.

I myself am new to this process, and am actually liking it.

Silkspan and dope makes a beautiful model. And I've seen polyspan and dope that looks better than a new car.

i like using clear sticky back plastic google it if you don't know what it is! it costs like $3 a roll it works well!

Super light, and pretty cheap: Plastic gift wrap from the dollar store put down with 3m spray glue. It is heat shrinkable.

I have read about others doing this but not tried it myself.

I did price it out and the cost is pretty low, the expense is the glue. A roll of wrap is $1, and comes in all kinds of clear, opaque, and metallic colors.

I am not sure I would put it on anything other than rubber power, and I haven't built anything rubber power in a while.

Phil

NEW222 wrote:Try doing a Google search. I just typed in Doculam and results #3 and beyond were all model related. I would love to help you, but I am in Canada and got mine from a laminating supplier/repair shop. If you look up 'laminating' in your local phone book, a few things may pop up. Being relatively cheap, approximately 500 feet for around $25 and is I believe 20" wide. Only thing though is it is clear. However, you can apparently sprat paint the 'stick side' and put it on like any other coverings. Or, put it on, give it a light scuff and paint it with your favorite method as well. Comes in various thicknesses as well, and I have the 1.5 mil I believe. But if you find a local spot that does laminating they would probably give you a few feet to try, and even may save the 'end of the roll' for you..... Another bonus is that it does not get affected by heal like other film coverings do, and the stuff I have requires a good deal of heat too. Hope this helps a bit. If you have any further questions, I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

I found
This stuff is on the auction site :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201275405237?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Have not bought or used it, but this is where my search for "ducolam" ended.

S&H is 18.84 that's Hi I see your in Arizona I don't know your zip but if you cant find it local these people twice as much and shipping is free to Me ... http://shop.factory-express.com/GBC-Standard-4-to-27-Wide-Roll-Film-p/film000.htm?1=1&CartID=0 you may could get a test piece from them if you talk nice lol Eric

I am always interested in covering materials - even more so since my disaster using silk and dope on the P51.

I am fundamentally a tissue/silk/nylon and dope follower. But these are no longer materials that are easy to obtain. Every model shop (and there were many of those) stocked tissue in light weight, medium weight and heavy weight grades in a multitude of colours. Coloured dope was plentiful together with fuel proofer.

I have read the comments and see the names Coverlite, Monokote, Ultracote, Econocote, Polyspan and Silkspan - none of which are available in the UK.

The only name I see that is available is Oracover. A German production.

https://www.oracover.de/downloads/Product_Information/Product-Information_2010_engl.pdf

They have a phenomenal range of coverings but here stockists and the range available is limited. Hardly surprising as I cannot imagine any hobby shop being able to afford and display the full range.


Here, in the UK, the most common coverings are produced by Solarfilm. Unfortunately, saying that you use "Solarfilm" is like saying you use "Oracover"

http://www.solarfilm.co.uk/default.aspx

Solarfilm have a wide range (not as wide as Oracover!) of coverings the most commonly available (just to confuse everybody!) is Solarfilm.



It is nice a light, easy to apply and this is the one I use the most. But there are disadvantages - it imparts no strength to the model as does doped finishes. It is not easily removable or mistakes in applying easily corrected. The colour and the glue seem to be as one. Reheat to adjust and the colour gets left behind.

For modern park fliers (electric) and normally light weight tissue covered jobbies it is fine.

A pal of mine uses it instead of paint over a doped and tissue finish. It is very light.

However, it is not fuel proof.

I also use Solartrim (by Solarfilm) for trimming. This is fuel proof but does not stick to all Solarfilm products.



Supershrink (by Solarfilm) is fuel proof



Here is another think to be wary of - some coverings claim fuel resistance but are not resistant to model diesel fuel and/or petrol and/or high nitro fuels. The term resists does not necessarily mean "fuel proof".

World Models (China) also produce Toughlon and Lightex. I have used Toughlon and it is definitely high nitro and diesel proof. Most ARFs build in China are covered with this. There is only one outlet for it in the UK but I am sure it goes by other names around the World.

I use two tissues. One supplied by vintage model kit and plan producer - Ben Buckle and StarSpan.





The Ben Buckle tissue is the better of the two - it stays strong when wet but they both border on heavier that what I remember as medium weight.

We use nylon quite a lot here but I can only find one weight. It is distributed widely by Flair Models



It is available in White, White and White. Nylon is not easy to dye.

The silk I used came from the USA.

I came across this SIG product in the UK but it was hellish expensive. £17.50 - SIG Koverall



It promises to be good but hasn't been mentioned in this topic. Sounds ominous - I had high hopes of this.

I am nervous of using new coverings on old model designs. Quite a few rely on the covering for strength.

Here's a link to the laminating film I use "new stuff".
https://alofthobbies.com/new-stuff-laminating-films.html
They have great stuff on this site and great prices.

Doculam - I just bought this, enough for an eternity of covering.

http://www.usi-laminate.com/store/wpbec_viewItem.asp?idProduct=505