grumpE

My Feedback: (6)

Howdy,

Any advice on the "shelf life" of covering materials. Made a huge score at a sale. In the treasure chest is a box of opened and unopened roles of covering. Some very new, others at least eight years old. Was always stored in a climate controled environment.

Ideas or comments on usefuleness and how to tell if it is no longer useful (if that happens)?

Thanks to all!

GrumpE

BobPhx

I have personally used Monokote that I had left over from 15+ years ago. No problems.
I live in AZ, so it was always kept dry but not always cool.

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

I'm here in WA and I used a roll that was over 20 years old and no problem but they changed the hue over the years and when I had to patch it it didn't match, bummer!

J_R

Yep. The color seems much more consistent now then it used to. Some of the solids in the older stuff appear almost translucent now, next to the new stuff.

CafeenMan

I have some Monokote (opaque) that is probably 15 years old and seems fine.

BUT! I also had some transparent monokote from the same time and it crumbled apart in my fingers (three different colors) when I pulled it from the box. So I guess at the least the transparent colors do have a shelf life.

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

HMMMMM strange. I built a small 1/2-A back in '82 and covered it in transparent monokote and it's holding up just fine and the plane has a gazillion flights on it...................................well maybe not that many but it has a bunch!

CafeenMan

GrnBrt - I had one plane covered with teh same stuff and it held up fine. It was just the rolls. Maybe there's a long term chemical reaction between the backing sheet and the glue or something. I don't know, but it did happen.

grumpE

My Feedback: (6)

Yes it appears the stuff reacts differently once it has been applied. I just acquired several planes along with a bunch of building material. As I said the bulk covering seems to be in brand new condition and I know some is greater than ten years old. Two of the planes are roughly the same age and the covering is crumbling off the airframes.

The previous owner was very particular so I know he did not abuse them. Guess it just varies. Anyway, I have abunch to "test".

Thanks for sharing your experiences,

GrumpE