Covering film prices! Are you freaking kidding me?!

[Turbojoe]

I had written a very long ranting post about this and the blood sucking R/C suppliers but deleted it before the moderators did. I had looked earlier in my covering stash and decided I needed to stock up on a few colors. Then I looked at current prices!

Argh! Argh Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh!

Joe

 

[OliverW]

I had written a very long ranting post about this and the blood sucking R/C suppliers but deleted it before the moderators did. I had looked earlier in my covering stash and decided I needed to stock up on a few colors. Then I looked at current prices!

Argh! Argh Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh! Argh!

Joe

For your Willy nillies kits you can buy there covering packs which is $5 to cover the whole plane. You don't get much reserve but it is a good deal

 

[Turbojoe]

For your Willy nillies kits you can buy there covering packs which is $5 to cover the whole plane. You don't get much reserve but it is a good deal

Yep, I ordered some red and white from Doug for the first Eaglet 250 kit I ordered but I have at least 8 other "in process" larger park flyer size builds and a dozen or more unbuilt kits that will need lightweight covering film in sizes that Doug offers won't even begin to cover. I'll need full rolls.

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

Yep, I ordered some red and white from Doug for the first Eaglet 250 kit I ordered but I have at least 8 other "in process" larger park flyer size builds and a dozen or more unbuilt kits that will need lightweight covering film in sizes that Doug offers won't even begin to cover. I'll need full rolls.

Joe

Have you asked Doug about the possibility of purchasing full rolls from him? I’m pretty happy with the quality of the covering used on my Cub.

 

[Turbojoe]

Have you asked Doug about the possibility of purchasing full rolls from him? I’m pretty happy with the quality of the covering used on my Cub.

We'll see once my Eaglet 250 kits get here with the red and white covering (for only one kit). If it's the stuff from HK then no . I already have 4 rolls of it in different colors and while the HK stuff works it's just not Solite or Solarfilm or any comparable variant thereof. I'll reserve judgement on what Doug sends until I get it though. Yeah, I'm pretty picky when it comes to covering material even though I suck at using it.

Joe

 

[planebreaker2000]

Try these guys I have had really good luck with them. It is the same as hobby kings
http://www.valuehobby.com/accessories/covering.html?limit=all

 

[Turbojoe]

Try these guys I have had really good luck with them. It is the same as hobby kings
http://www.valuehobby.com/accessories/covering.html?limit=all

Thanks but those guys have been on my no buy list for several years now. I bought a motor for my 500 heli from them and it threw a winding on initial spool up. They completely blew me off for replacement. I STILL have that P.O.S. motor and not at all sure why........

Joe

 

[TooJung2Die]

Argh!

I empathize with you. How about lipo battery prices too? I got lucky and bought a big box of full and partial rolls of film from someone getting out of the hobby. That, and I have a huge roll of document laminating film that I'll never use up in this lifetime. The doculam is a great covering material, is very economical and is made in several weights. It's crystal clear but is paintable. Look up laminator.com if you're interested.

 

[Turbojoe]

I empathize with you. How about lipo battery prices too? I got lucky and bought a big box of full and partial rolls of film from someone getting out of the hobby. That, and I have a huge roll of document laminating film that I'll never use up in this lifetime. The doculam is a great covering material, is very economical and is made in several weights. It's crystal clear but is paintable. Look up laminator.com if you're interested.

I haven't had to look much at LiPo prices. I have one of those cube type refrigerators that I store all of my 1300 mah and smaller Li Po's in and the entire back of the big fridge has most of my bigger batteries. Boy, if one pack decides to fail my house will go up like a Roman candle!

On the Doculam subject back when Doug Binder still owned Mountain Models he included Doculam with every kit and I have piles of the stuff as I bought and was given dozens of kits from him. I still have not covered a plane with it because I didn't want to have to paint it. A few years ago I built some test boxes, covered them in Doculam and painted them. They turned out OK. Maybe I should revisit that method sometime soon.....

Joe

 

[TooJung2Die]

Nothing wrong with the bare bones look. Only half of my doculam covered airplanes got paint.

 

[Willy Nillies]

I like using doculam... especially the really thin stuff (can't recall the mill right this second). Paint sticks very well if you clean it good.

SIncerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

 

[Turbojoe]

I've got a couple of kits that would look good "in the bones" and used as display only. Clear Doculam would be very good for protection on them.

Joe

 

[TooJung2Die]

I like using doculam... especially the really thin stuff (can't recall the mill right this second). Paint sticks very well if you clean it good.

I got the thinnest standard doculam; it's 1.5 mil (38 micron). It shrinks well and will also stretch over compound curves. I also have some 1 mil clear film I got from a club member. I was told it was intended for sealing yogurt food containers but it looks and acts the same; just lighter. For painting I found multi-surface acrylic shot from an airbrush works well. Cleaning it good before painting is important. I haven't found a solvent that affects it yet. Even acetone won't touch it. I haven't used model airplane film in so long I'll have to learn what temperature to set the iron at all over again.

 

[rockyboy]

I've been lucky enough to pick up a bunch of covering at swap meets and through one clearance sale, but agree the current prices come with serious sticker shock. I haven't tried the doculam stuff yet but really need to - there are definite advantages to painting from a color scheme perspective!

 

[Hondo76251]

I empathize with you. How about lipo battery prices too? I got lucky and bought a big box of full and partial rolls of film from someone getting out of the hobby. That, and I have a huge roll of document laminating film that I'll never use up in this lifetime. The doculam is a great covering material, is very economical and is made in several weights. It's crystal clear but is paintable. Look up laminator.com if you're interested.

Great idea, I haven't tried that yet...

Clever handle BTW...

 

[TooJung2Die]

When you find a material that works well and is affordable you want to let others know. Like Flite Test did with dollar store foam board. That's how I feel about document laminating film for covering. Here's an old timer I covered with 1.5 mil doculam. I painted it with flat acrylic and give it a light coat of Krylon crystal clear. There's only one very light coat of very thin paint on the wing, two coats on the fuselage. You can clearly see the balsa wood grain. Unless you look very close you'd think it was covered with tissue. A few more coats and the paint would've become opaque if that's your preference.

 

[rockyboy]

When you find a material that works well and is affordable you want to let others know. Like Flite Test did with dollar store foam board. That's how I feel about document laminating film for covering. Here's an old timer I covered with 1.5 mil doculam. I painted it with flat acrylic and give it a light coat of Krylon crystal clear. There's only one very light coat of very thin paint on the wing, two coats on the fuselage. You can clearly see the balsa wood grain. Unless you look very close you'd think it was covered with tissue. A few more coats and the paint would've become opaque if that's your preference.

View attachment 153750

That looks fantastic! I need to get a roll of this stuff.... how is it for shrinking?

 

[Turbojoe]

When you find a material that works well and is affordable you want to let others know. Like Flite Test did with dollar store foam board. That's how I feel about document laminating film for covering. Here's an old timer I covered with 1.5 mil doculam. I painted it with flat acrylic and give it a light coat of Krylon crystal clear. There's only one very light coat of very thin paint on the wing, two coats on the fuselage. You can clearly see the balsa wood grain. Unless you look very close you'd think it was covered with tissue. A few more coats and the paint would've become opaque if that's your preference.

Dang, that looks amazing! Maybe I should try it on the Q-Tee or the Mini Telemaster when I get around to finishing them. A faux tissue finish would be perfect on either (or both).

Joe

 

[TooJung2Die]

how is it for shrinking?

Shrink is not great but not as bad as the Hobby King transparent I have. If there is any compound curving to the surface you are covering you can't rely on the doculam to shrink enough. But that's not an issue because it stretches over compound curves very well. For flat surfaces and simple curves you can shrink with an iron. For compound curves use a heat gun and it'll stretch over almost anything. You can use higher heat than regular film to shrink it which makes using a heat gun less risky to burn through it. I covered the top of this wing and the wingtip with one piece of film by shrinking over the ribs and stretching over the tip. No wrinkles at all.



Same wing immediately after two very light coats of very thin acrylic. You can see how smooth it came out.



I watched this guy covering a wing before I bought a roll of doculam. He's using 4 mil film that's more like regular weight model airplane film.

Pretty good for a quick-n-dirty cover job.

 

[Turbojoe]

I built and covered some test boxes from 3/16" balsa a few years back and covered with Doculam. Pretty sure I painted on the inside to see how it would hold up when heated to adhere and shrink. I just found those boxes and they're still nice and tight. Trying to take pictures but I think my camera battery finally took a dump. Trying to get it to take a charge now. From what I'm seeing so far from my test I'm pretty much sold and will have to use some of those rolls of Doculam I have that Mountain Models used to include in kits.

Joe