Covering film prices! Are you freaking kidding me?!

[Turbojoe]

I'm thinking a new thread needs to be started "covering" the application and painting of Doculam. I've always shied away from painting covering with two or more colors because I didn't want to risk pulling up the paint when removing the tape. I'm really hoping for that those of you that have used a lot of Doculam will start that new thread. I've been fairly well stocked and haven't had to buy any covering for a few years and I'm dead sick after seeing the prices of covering now. Doculam and spray paint appear to make MUCH more sense!

Joe

 

[rockyboy]

I'm thinking a new thread needs to be started "covering" the application and painting of Doculam. I've always shied away from painting covering with two or more colors because I didn't want to risk pulling up the paint when removing the tape. I'm really hoping for that those of you that have used a lot of Doculam will start that new thread. I've been fairly well stocked and haven't had to buy any covering for a few years and I'm dead sick after seeing the prices of covering now. Doculam and spray paint appear to make MUCH more sense!

Joe

I love that idea! I have some material for my vinyl cutter that's self-adhesive stencil too - would be interested to give it a shot with this!

 

[TooJung2Die]

I have some material for my vinyl cutter that's self-adhesive stencil too - would be interested to give it a shot with this!

I got some clear shelf paper from the dollar store to use for airbrush stencils and masking. It's not paper, it's a flexible clear plastic sheet with a removable adhesive back. You can use the opaque shelf paper too but the clear makes positioning it on the airplane easier. Works fine in vinyl cutters and it's very inexpensive compared to the retail stencil sheet. I'm always looking for cheap alternatives. It also works great as vinyl transfer sheeting. The adhesive grip is less than the vinyl adhesive so it peels off easy leaving the vinyl behind.

Getting paint to stick to doculam is an issue many people complain about. I read that the matt finish doculam is better at having paint stick to it. Wish I knew this before I bought a 500 foot roll of the glossy film. I've used blue painters tape and was able to peel it up without removing paint. There's an RCGroups thread about doculam that's been going since 2004. Google "doculam discoveries!". There's over a decade of tips in there.

 

[Bricks]

One thing you have to watch with Doculam is it does not shrink as much as other coverings but it will pull a lot harder when shrunk, in other words it can warp your airframe just keep that in mind when shrinking and it will shrink with lower temperatures. Being it does you can cover foam with it.

Everything you wanted to know about Doculam, this is a long thread and does get sidetracked once in a while but it was started way back in 2004 so doculam is nothing new.


https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?274520-Doculam-Discoveries!.

 

[TooJung2Die]

Doculam is it does not shrink as much as other coverings but it will pull a lot harder when shrunk

What weight of doculam are you using? I find the thinnest 1.5 mil film has less shrink pull than ordinary tissue paper. I used the 1.5 mil on a couple of Guillow's tissue kits and some old timer tissue kits. It's a great replacement for tissue and much tougher, more puncture resistant. No issues at all with it pulling too much. Then I covered another model with ordinary gift wrap tissue paper. I was surprised how much stronger the tissue paper shrunk.

Everything you wanted to know about Doculam, this is a long thread

That's the one I was talking about. Thanks for the link.

 

[Willy Nillies]

The 1.5 is what we've used with great success. The only issue is getting paint to stick sometimes. We've found that use of a scotch bright pad to roughen the surface is the trick. We've also experimented with using sharpie markers and does a really neat job of making transparent colored covering. Use the big wide chisel type. It takes a little bit more work than pre-colored covering, but if you are on a budget and have some time it IS great stuff!

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

 

[Bricks]

I my self have not used a ton of Doculam as I have a stock of about 80 rolls of different coverings and 50 trim sheets picked up from different swap meets etc with a grand total of about $80 tied up in it.

Where I use doculam the most is on foam airplanes covering them with doculam makes them less susceptible to small nicks and bumps on these i use the 1.5 mil they do make a 1.3 but have not used it.

 

[ACE62]

Where can one purchase this laminating film?

 

[rockyboy]

https://www.laminator.com/school-laminating-film.html

Specifically look for the matt finish rolls - they are sadly more expensive, but the gloss don't seem to take paint very well.