JAkridge

What is the best paint and what type + method to place it will have the best lasting effect.

Thanks for any help...

JAkridge

is it that hard ??

Steve Collins

My Feedback: (8)

I would not paint monokote to achieve a camo scheme as no paint sticks really well to monokote for very long, especially when you have to reshrink the monokote to get rid of wrinkles. I would use the monokote flat colors. This actually works out pretty well. I used the flat tan and flat olive drab on a Great Planes F-4 and it looked really good. Flat Olive Drab and flat gray would also look good together depending on the camo scheme you are looking for.

On my Great Planes F-4, I covered the entire upper surfaces with the tan and then cut the Olive Drab into camo patterns and ironed the OD onto the tan. Far less tedious than trying to match up patches of both colors.

tiggerinmk

I've got the monokote covering books, and the guy suggests making a camo panel by cutting the pattern and sticking the pieces together with trim solvent. You then apply the completed panel. The whole thing I think is done over a clean sheet of glass with the backing removed. Sounds like a lot of hassle to me.....

One of the magazines a while back (MAN?) had an article where they resprayed a Fokker Triplane green and orange over the original monokote. Might be worth a look......

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

It's not.

For a really realy crisp job, time taken will always yeild great results.

I'm a big fan of the 'glass method'. it's easier than you'd think!

Painting on teh monocoat requires teh surface to be scuffed up before trhe paint is applied. And as stated, I bet it will peel / flake off after a while.

scott7x71

I've just tried out the new Krylon plastic paint on test piece of stretched monokote. I will be re-shrinking it, putting a fuel soaked wrag on it (for the raw fuel test), and holding it behind the exhaust of a running engine (for the hot oil test). I will post my results once I'm done.

The new paint Krylon is touting supposedly bonds VERY WELL to plastics. Since their add shows lawn furniture (the flexible plastic chairs) being painted with it I figured it was worth a shot on Monokote.

Regular paint just doesn't get it done. It looks real nice until you have to reshrink, then there are the fuel-proofing issues. If the paint isn't fuel-proof on it's own, it will peel smoothly off once the fuel gets down to the covering under it. Thats why I'm testing the Krylon, I like the possibilities that paint opens up but I'd like it to last longer than 4 flights.

JAkridge

Has anyone tryed the new lusterkoat Paint ???? It's for painting Monocoat, So they say..Like to hear from anyone who has tried it.
Thanks
JWA

Gordo-ProBro

Well, I guess this is a good place to moan. I've been wanting some cammo too, why doesn't somone do cammo colored film> If they can do checks and Carbon Fiber Patterns, surely they could do Cammo?

tiggerinmk

Well, it's a bit of a limited market and there's lots of different types of camo..... probably not feasable...

scott7x71

Tiger is right. There are too many types of cammo. The variances of model/type, year of production, country, and theater make it difficult to produce the right pattern, color, and scale to include a decent range of planes.

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

Not to mention, the printing wheel. checks and dots are easily repeated, and only require a small printing roller. How would you do a camo scheme? would it repeat? all the rolls would be the same! and to orinetate the camo patter on surfaces, I could see a roll per panel!! 4 rolls per wing, 2 per fuse! with a lot of waste!

glass method. HAND DOWN!

My 'SloW Poke' is a good example. these thumbnails don't really show it, but you can see the idea in the associated videos on our site..

c550

My Feedback: (16)

This method worked well for me on a TF P-47. I monokoted the cammo scheme, and then I used lustercote paint with a mask to soften the demarcation lines. It has held up well and looks good.

Regards,

Dave

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

Painting Monokote:
I've painted it with perfect and luster kote and the luster kote wins hands down! By the same token I find that I must take great care when using luster kote on canopies that it does not deform them. Because it attacks the plastics and for a good hour after painting the plastic is very easy to reform. I used frisket paper with luster kote once and found the frisket very hard to remove, it would stretch and never pull off the surface it was protecting. When it did come off it would leave a large amount of the adhesive. Most of this painting was on 704 Scale combat models those that are still around the paint has held up nicely.

Chevron Perfect Paint with plasticizes I have done two test panels of. One was aged two months and the other was tested right from the paint drying. The freshly dried paint would not ringworm but when 10% nitro fuel was droped on it lifted right off with the cleaning rag. The aged test panel would ringworm and the fuel had no affect on it, even over the ringworm.

If you as warbird people want a product that will give a metal like finish and be paintable we should push tower to make "Silk Spun Coverite" again. Looks just like silk span, tuff as nails, and accepts paint extremely well. I have a 15 year old Ziroli Corsair covered with the stuff then painted and it has stood the test of time.

Good Luck

Joe

Azcat59

I sprayed camou on my Spitfire.....covered it with Ultra Cote grey first. U/Cote is not as shiney as M/Cote and paint will adhere better. Since the bottom of the plane is grey anyway, I was half done by the time I got it covered. I wiped it down with 70% rubbing alcohol, then shot the sand-colored Formula-U on. That is a poly-urethane, used to be sold by AeroGloss, and the later bottles I got are sold by Midwest. I shot it with my compressor and "air-brush". Then when dry, I shot the green patterns on with the same gun, leaving the edges a little "fuzzy". It has held up well. The paint if fuel proof, at least within reason (like ok with 10-15% nitro).

This is a fairly fast and easy method, unless you are into serious scale modeling, in which case you wouldn't want any type of film covering on the plane. Glass cloth, primer, etc. instead.

Clair

scott7x71

Krylon test is done! I will try to get the results and pics posted soon. I can tell you I was shocked. The paint works.

gunny11

My Feedback: (6)

I use krylon for my gas planes. It's gas proof, but you didn't mention if you were testing glow fuel or gasoline.

I have used monokote for 20 years. I,ve got it down to a science where my models will never wrinke because I use balsa rite. (makes monokote stick permanently), BUT...(read on). My .60 size spitfire is now 2 yrs. old. I covered it all in tan then scuffed it with 000 steel wool. I then used lusterkote olive drab to paint on the camo and added my decals. I then steel wooled the paint after 48 hours, cleaned it and sprayed lusterkote flat clear over the whole model. It really looks awsome. Now here's the BUT part.....

Problem #1------Either lusterkote made a very large bad batch of flat clear or they have changed something in their formula. Because now the flat clear only in the areas of the sprayed olive drab has slowly turned to dark brown to almost a blackish green. This has also happened to a friend of mine just last year. I have another model thats 10 years old and have no problems at all with this discoloration. Now I know for a fact that something has changed in top flites formula because I had cracked up the tail of the 10 year old model, re-touched up the olive drab and re-shot some flat clear over the area. Well guess what, that area is now turning color too. The "turning black" color over the dark olive drab IS the only areas affected. Not the lighter tan color. My friends plane too, only over the painted areas with olive drab and not over the painted "lighter color" yellow. Doing some tests I have discovered the problem is related to the suns' rays.

Problem #2------Unlike glossy surfaces, flat colors absorbs and retains the suns heat. Creating another problem. The covering will wrinkle badly. Yes, but what about my "never wrinkle" balsa right technique? Well, as the surfaces are extra hot now because of the flat clear, the balsa right "boils" so to say and "gasses", compounding the wrinkle problem.

To solve this problem of my 2 year old spitfire, I simply put a tarp or an old bed sheet over the entire model between flights. Now no discoloration, gassing or wrinkles.

Hope I can be of some assistance [8D] I'll post some pict's. of this later. Stay tuned.

gunny11

My Feedback: (6)

here are the pictures.

scott7x71

It was tested with 15% nitro fuel Gunny. So far the paint is holding up a lot better than I expected. I've shrunk the cover two times since the paint was applied and it hasn't popped of yet.

gunny11

My Feedback: (6)

Did you also test the crystal and satin clear spray from krylon? Because If top flite did'nt solve this problem, I wont use their clears'. I like krylon, But did'nt think it was glow fuel proof.

JAkridge

Well guys I used all I learned here and gave it a go. Its not the cream of the crop.. But it works for me.
Thanks for the input.
And here a few pics of the final product.
JWA

gunny11

My Feedback: (6)

NICE[sm=thumbup.gif]

Bule

I was made some samples of painted monokote:

1. you need to sand all the surface with a 320 grit sandpaper, and after with 400 grit, getting an opaque surface,

2. then I used dupont universal primer 40S,

3. Apply dupont automotive custom mixed basecoat, with a flexing additive

4. Apply polyurethane clearcoat (Chromaclear), with flat base, and flexing additive.

5. When it is fully cured, it can be stretched to get out the wrinkles that formed due to temperature changes,

I have painted an entire plane with Chromallusion Color, that monokote doesnt offer.


Raul
Ps. the names of products that I used here, I dont know if they are the same in the US, They are called with this names here in Mexico.

BULL-RCU

My Feedback: (15)

I hope people add to this... I just baught a GP DR-1 Fokker and want to change the color( don't want the typical red). I read the articles in rc mag... about latex paints, but cant see how it will hold up. It will be next month when I start and hope I find tons of info... Thanks ALL

tiggerinmk

In the July 2003 issue, MAN printed a 3 page article on changing the color scheme of a GP DR 1. The new scheme was in orange, red,white and green.
Unfortunately, the article is not available on-line at their web site.

FHHuber

Spraying the correct paint on top of monokote... no problem. The wrong paint and it does flake off.

The Triplane in my Avitar (at this time at least) was sprayed appx 20 months ago with Lusterkote. The Monokote under the blue and green is the GP ARF's original red.