COVERING?

[nhk750]

As I draw closer to the time of covering my T-Craft build, I have been researching types of covering. So far, Ultracote, Monocote, and the Hobby King Brands have sparked my interest. The Ultracote is the heaviest, Monocote is lighter, and I cant find specs on the HK brand.

My goal is to have a White base covering with checkerboard covering under wings, then some decals and strips on top of wings, bla bla bla. I need the covering to be easy to apply and go around curves well. I dont think weight is that big of factor though as this plane will be overpowered.

Any suggestions? I know TexMechs mentioned the HK stuff and used it on his last build, but I'm not sure how he knew it's specs.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

Besides weight, other factors to consider are cost, durability, ease of application, and color.

The heavier the covering, the harder it'll be to wrap around curves but the more it'll stand up to hangar rash and resist puncturing. Monokote and Ultracote are pretty expensive which is one of the main reasons I tried the Neucover stuff from HK and I'm satisfied with it. I covered the Bird of Time and the Sig Four Star with it.

I've got some rolls of Monokote, Econocote, and Neucover if you want to sample before you buy.

 

[rockyboy]

I haven't used Monotkote yet, but I'm really happy with how easy it is to work with Ultracote. Great results on my Cuda I just finished up - good curve handling, very strong, and the opacity is so solid that with white over orange, or vice versa doesn't have any bleed through.

 

[Joker 53150]

I've used a little bit of everything, and have multiple rolls of "whatever brand" in my stash. While some are better at curves than others, for me the big factors are price, color, and availability. I'll use the Hobby King stuff any day, it's been good so far. Note that they also sell the checkerboard design you are looking for, so that could save you a lot of time/effort in your covering job.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

Interesting chart for weights. But this only answers the weight question and nothing else.

https://www.homefly.com/reference/Covering%20Weights.htm

 

[nhk750]

Thanks, looks like the Ultracote is one of the heaviest. I may try the HK stuff, I really want the checkerboard design stuff and they have a good selection.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

Best part about the HK stuff is you get a ton of it. I can't remember how many feet come on a roll but it just doesn't seem to end.

 

[Joker 53150]

True, longer rolls and lower cost. Quality is fairly good from what I've seen so far.

 

[nhk750]

Funny, I cant find the name Neucover anywhere on Hobby King's website, but I did find it on Value Hobby. I believe the Hobby King stuff is probably the same? I am going to order a roll of red and white checkered and a roll of white. That should do my T-Craft with plenty of extra. I'm going for this color scheme. I counted out the squares and measured my wing and it should match pretty close to the real airplane pictured. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/covering-film-grill-work-red-white-xl-5mtr-405-1.html

 

[roversgonemad]

I really like Ekonokote. I think it's a little friendlier to use. It does compound curves a lot better than Monokote. It also takes lower heat to apply and shrink.

I also like the SIG aerokote lite. It's very opaque and is pretty easy to apply. It's not cheap, but it works well. You do however, have to order it from SIG.

For all around value, I like the Ekonokote.

 

[RCMAN]

Dude that is going to look way cool! I use Monokote but Im old fashioned. I looked at a roll of Ultrakote once and it felt like a lead weight compared to a roll of Mono. I have heard good things about the HK stuff too.

 

[nhk750]

Covering weight

I found this on the internet, interesting.

WattFlyer RC Electric Flight Forums
Sky Sharkster

09-16-2006, 02:30 AM
On an earlier thread I posted some links for covering weights, they were compiled by independent testers (listed
below) using a variety of measuring standards like Oz/sq/yard, Gr/Sq/Meter, etc, making it hard to compare
them accurately. Well, I sent'em all through the online converter and changed them all to "Grams per Square
Foot". Why? Because it's easy. Most kits and plans (in the U.S.) supply wing area in square inches and we all
know that 1 square foot= 144 square inches, right?
Anyway, here they are, lightest to heaviest from the top. Some of the sites differed by a small amount so I
converted those to a "Range" and for a couple of samples there already was a "range" of weights, since some of
the colors are heavier than others. For further descriptions see the links on the earlier post.
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10278

Weights in Grams per square Foot.
Produce Bags (Thin Plastic, From Target) 0.53 (See Post # 18, 24)
Japanese Tissue 0.650
Risteen Microlite (Corsair Blue) 0.81 (See Post # 20)
Risteen Microlite 0.90-0.95 (see post # 15 + 20)
Esaki Light Silk (Clear) 0.97
Risteen Microlite (Light Yellow) 1.1 (See Post # 20)
Saran Wrap (11" x 12") 1.29 (See Post # 18)
Ripstop Polyester 1.575 (see post # 15)
Coverite MicroLite (Transparent) 1.889
Nelson LiteFilm 1.950
SoLite 1.950
Airspan 2.119 (Mfg listed weights 2.229-2.601)
MicaFilm (Transparent) 2.332
LiteSpan 2.674-2.787
Light Colored Japanese Tissue, 2.749 (3 Thin coats Nitrate Dope)
Coverlite 2.803 (See Post # 10)
Colored Micafilm 3.247-3.716
Hanger 9 UltraCote ParkLite 3.37
Ultracote (Transparent Lite) 3.4
Light White Silk, 3.572 (5 Coats Thin Nitrate Dope)
Fibafilm 3.874-3.901
Micafilm (Red & Yellow) 4.0
Sig Coverall (White) 4.3
Polycover (Transparent) 4.355
Sig Supercote (Silver) 4.8
Ultracote (Transparent) 5.0
Colored Skysail, 5.087 (4 coats 50/50 Butyrate Dope)
Solarfilm 5.109-5.574 (Mfg Listed weights 4.645-6.038)
Black Silkspan, 5.216 (5 Coats Thin Nitrate Dope)
MonoKote (Colored Transparent) 5.307-5.5
Solarspan 5.574-6.503
Econokote 5.670 (See Post # 5)
TowerKote 5.670 (See Post # 16)
Aerofilm 5.574-5.669
MonoKote (Red) 5.8
SIG AeroKote Lite 5.8-6.0 (See Post # 27)
Monokote (Metallic Platinum) 6.0
MonoKote (Black) 6.0
Ultracote 6.503
Solarfilm Matt Polyester 6.503-7.432 (See Post # 12)
Polycover (Opaque) 6.533 (See Post # 7)
Ultracote (Cub Yellow) 6.6
White Japanese Tissue, 6.879 (4 Coats 50/50 Butyrate Dope)
Colored Nylon, 6.898 (6 Coats 50/50 Butyrate Dope)
SolarKote 6.967
Coverite Black Baron Opaque 7.087 (Mfg. Listed Weight)
Coverite 21st Century Film 7.276-10.4
Mokokote (White) 7.3
MonoKote (Yellow) 7.5
White Super Coverite 7.559
SIG AeroKote 7.9 (See Post # 27)
Ultracote (Pearl Yellow) 8.2
SolarTex 8.361 (Mfg Listed weight) 7.896-8.825
Coverite Colored Super 8.504
Superfabric 8.552-11.024 (See Post # 25)
Coverite 21st Century Fabric 9.638 (Mfg Listed Weight)
MokoKote (Florescent Orange) 9.4
GlossTex 10.683-11.612 (Mfg Listed weight) 10.683-12.077
WorldTex (White) 13.3