RCdad29

I recently bought a couple rolls of neon Monocote for my first attempt at covering with it.

I was dissapointed to note a small sticker that you had to peel off where the roll was secured that basically indicated that the color would change in sunlight, exposure to fuel, or adheasives. It goes on to state that to avoid these problems you should select a different model of their Monocote products (e.g. - Not neon).

It doesn't seem that the traditional Monocote products come with a similar or strongly worded warning. This is a pretty big bummer as I'm trying to make this job turn out as best as possible being as it's my first time with it. I'm just learning to fly, so I'll probably be re-covering at least sections at some point , but I'd hoped not to have it mandated by atmospheric conditions, etc.

It also seems more sensitive to heat than traditional Monocote. It goes from not sticking to burnt in a flash. If you overheat it a little too much, the color cracks (separates) and is pretty ugly where it happens. I haven't had that happen with the regular stuff yet.

Anyone have any experience with this stuff? I'd especially be interested in any long term experience.

Thanks,
Kent.

turbojoe

My Feedback: (8)

Oh, great. And I just bought a roll of neon green because I thought it was gonna look cool. Didn't know about all the disclaimers on it.

stevezero

My Feedback: (11)

The other downside to the neons is that is weighs more than the traditional opaque monokote. Metallics and pearls also weigh slightly more as well. Transparent colors are the lightest. Not sure if weight is a factor for you, but it does add up on weight sensitive planes.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I did one of my old trainers in neon green and orange 3 or 4 yrs ago. They both faded pretty quick. Its pretty heavy and a little bit of a hassle to put on. Wont be using that stuff again.
Edwin

phughes

If it is a trainer, and your first covering job don't worry about the fading. It will fade a little but evenly, thus it should look the same all over. I think the reason they put the disclaimer on the rolls is that they want to set the right expectations for modelers. I have used both Ultracote, and Monocote neons and have been satisfied . . .their seams do not disapear as easily as the other solid colors, and they do react to CA, but all in all don't worry too much about it. Have fun with the airplane and if need be recover it evry three or four years.

Ron S

My Feedback: (2)

A long time ago, I had a Midwest Hots that was covered in zig-zag Black and Neon Pink. I thought it was pretty cool! Couldn't tell the top from the bottom, except the canopy!

Then, one day, I was spinning the heck out of the model, and I believe the switch or battery pack went out. It spun into some tall grass, and I couldn't find it.

Three days later, I finally found it. The model landed upright. All of the upper neon pink had turned into "Circus pink"! The top had basically faded to a pale shade from the summer sun. The lower shaded side was unfaded and still bright.

Moral of the story: Don't do spins with a neon pink model!?

seafury_fb11

It's not just monocoat. Anything "neon" will have the same problem. Even if you use a neon automotive paint, it will still fade in the sun. Neon looks cool but it's a maintenance nightmare.

As far as the monocoat goes, I used some neon pink on a Miss America P-51 I did a while back. It didn't want to stick as well as the regular monocoat. I had a really hard time trying to get it to stay on the wing fillets. Then after I flew the plane a few times and got all the oily residue on it - that was all she wrote. It didn't stay on well at all.

Russ.

nchrome

Well fellas I guess I'm just a little different. I did my Gee Bee in black and neon orang. Had no trouble making it stick and took at least a year before it realy started to fade but still looked pretty good until the servo tray came loose monokote and balsa all over the place and that was just the wings the fuse realy didn't get hurt that bad for how it went in(full throttle and in a landing run). Co uldn't possibly taxi in to the pit area.

turbojoe

My Feedback: (8)

I haven't opened mine yet so I think I'll just return it and get some more opaque. Neon costs almost half again as much so I'll put in a few bucks and get two rolls of opaque.

Johng

My Feedback: (4)

I knew about the fade problem and still love the stuff. It's great for adding trim that really helps the eye see the orientation of the plane. A huge plus is the fact that it seems to stand out really well right when you need it, during overcast or at sunset. As everything else is fading to grey, that stuff keeps standing out.

I've seen the fade - took over a year of regular weekly flying to turn it a kind of pastel version of the same color. It's the kind of thing where if you are picky about your covering, you'd be redoing it from wear and tear anyway.

RCdad29

Well ain't that just a kick in the pants!

The plane is an old Hobby Lobby Telemaster 66 that I'm restoring. and was a first kit building attempt by a friend of mine.

He drilled it a couple times, and broke the tail off at least once that I know of. Apparently it had also been through a basement flood at some point (sea plane? ). So, I'm really spending some time getting this thing back in the air. I got to thinking it's a bit of a Frankenstein monster, and then the name hit me "Telly Monster". You know, from Sesame Street? So the closest color match I can find is the Neon pink and Neon orange. Both of which at least some of you guys apparently have had trouble with .

Being as it's a telemaster, weight shouldn't be too big an issue. I should be able to keep fuel and exhaust off it pretty well, but it WILL be seeing a lot of sun...

I guess I should have done some more research before plunking down the (significant amount of) extra money for the neon. It is pretty thick stuff. The only disclaimer Tower Hobbies shows in their listing for it is that they can't accurately represent the actual color in print. Oh, well....

My brother-in-law has been in the hobby for decades, and swears by Tower Coat. I'll take his advise next go 'round for sure.

Thanks for the input,
Kent.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

My wife just covered her new Tiger II in Neon Pink Ultracote. Too soon to tell about the fade, (although I HAVE seen it on MonoKote) but as far as applying it goes, it went on beautifully.

Another bad thing about MonoKote is: If you decide to re-do it later, good luck getting it off!

Crash_N_Burn

It's probably not accepted in the R/C community, but I have found that waxing my planes seems to keep the color of the covering much more stable.

I have an old Eagle II, about 10 years old, that I coated with neon green mono coat and then waxed with "BULLET" a synthetic, UV protectant wax, and it looks almost as good as it did when it was new.

I try and hit them all every season and I think it helps greatly, especially with the cleanup at the end of the flying day.

Anyone else ever try this?

Johng

My Feedback: (4)

That is a fine idea. With all the UV protectants out there for cars, everybody should ba able to find something that will help. I bet there's even something that sprays on that you can do as a post-cleanup ritual.

phughes

I have been using the instant detailers for years . . .easy to use and the airplanes look great. Also forces me to take 10 minutes after evry flying session, and check the airplane over.

silvercloud-RCU

My Feedback: (1)

I have an uglystick that I did in neon green on the top and neon pink on the bottom 2 years ago the green is now mint green the pink is ok that idea with the uv protectant sounds like it should help but from now on neons are going on the bottom.the pink is real visible on the bottom.

Sense963

My Feedback: (10)

I built a Sig Kadet from scratch last year and decided to use the FedEx ground colors...neon green and purple. Looks cool, but I join the ranks of guys who will never use neon again. Stuff was murder to put on, and I used to have confidence in my ability to cover! The heat issue was definitely a factor, too. Stuff is pretty sensitive, and by the way...anyone interested in 2/3 roll of Neon Green monokote at a good price???

mrbonk

I covered my sport pylon racer (the one in my avatar pic actually) in neon-orange monocote. It's faded so much that the top of the wing actually looks closer to a regular yellow now. The colour difference between the upper and lower halves of the wing is really very noticeable. Fortunately for me, I really don't care. I only got the neon-orange by mistake (it's hell being colourblind sometimes.....). I didn't realise until I got home and looked at the sales receipt and wondered why the monocote was so astronomically expensive (well, more astronomically expensive than normal anyway....). I noticed that one of the rolls was heaps more than the other ones I purchased, so I went looking and discovered that the orange was 'neon'. I couldn't be bothered taking it back, so I just used it. The very first day I turned up at the field with it, the first thing one of the more experienced members said to me was 'You know that's gonna fade like a ***** don't you?' Oh well

RCdad29

Well, the consensous seems unanamous.

Most everyone seems to agree with at least one of these points that have been brought up:

Neon Monocote is not worth the extra money; and other manufacturers have a neon available that is easier to work with, and more resistant to fading.

As mentioned above, it's a bugger to work with, is far thicker and heavier than normal, and I've also found that the different colors require significantly different temp settings.

One good thing that's come from this thread is the suggestion from Crash_N_Burn to wax or "detail" the covered portions of the plane with a UV protecting automotive product. Thanks Dave (BTW-I LOVE your avatar....) I haven't been able to find any indication that doing this would be anything other than beneficial. This assumes of course you avoid "color restoring" ect. products which may contain dyes, abrasives, or harsh chemicals.

Thanks again,
Kent.

Crash_N_Burn

Thanks, Kent!

They tell me I look like one one of a trio that played in the movies and on TV many years ago......LOL

All you smart guys always put that look on my face!

Good flying, my friend.

lugnuts

I've used both Monocote neon orange on a fusalage and Ultrcoat neon orange on the wing of an Eagle 2 trainer, about eight years ago. The monocote turned into amustard like color while the ultracoat kept its color. I needed two rolls of covering to finish the plane so only one roll of each was available at the time. I can't seem to locate anymore of the the ultracoat neon orange. I don't know about the rest of the available neon colors, but the ultracoat neon ornge is holding up well and I'll use it again if I can find it .

lugnuts

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

The UV auto polish brings up and interesting thought in my mind.

The reason "Neon" colors look so bright, (Someone correct me if I'm wrong here) is that they have the ability to convert UV rays (which are invisible to the human eye) into light which IS within our viewing spectrum.

So if you coat a neon color with a substance that blocks UV light, (and the stuff REALLY DID block UV light) wouldn't the neon color immediately look dull?

Just one of those things to think about when it's too windy to fly

Thumper1

My one and only encounter with Neon Monocoat was on a Ultra Sport 40. Covered it in white and applied a complicated trim scheme using red, pink and blue Neon Monocoat. Plane was absolutely beautiful. Noticed fading right away. Contacted Top Flite about the problem. Their suggestion was not to fly it in direct sunlight, that's not an option in Eastern Washington. T/F guy didn't have an answer when I asked him if I should only fly it at night. Conversation ended when he said "It says right on the package that the sun may affect the color" I flew it for three years, it went from a very nice looking plane to a but ugly one. Ended up trying to dig it's way to china, almost made it.

visioneer_one

My Feedback: (506)

I do this with (some) of my fiberglass sailplanes - primarily the ones without gelcoated surfaces. I also have a couple of planes that were bagged using pigmented epoxy (yellow and red). One coat of wax per year.

I forgot to wax a spot on one wing which promptly turned brown after a few weekends worth of flying. Ick.

I never thought of trying this on monokoted/ultracoted power planes. I'd thought that whatever protective coating the wax laid down would quickly erode after being doused with nitro and Fantastik

phughes

There is a negative tone to many responses to this question. Is it the general consensus that consumers would be better off without the option of purchasing neon colored monokote? I have used the stuff . . .sure it fades a little . . . or maybe a lot. I just do not purchase it anymore. I have seen many "neon" type items from toys to street signs that fade after exposure to the elements as well, thus maybe the expectation level for the performance of the product is unreasonable on the consumer side. If the customer keeps demanding it the manufacturer will keep producing it. I think the sticker on the roll is more of a disclaimer stating that exposure to the elements may affect the color, thus if you are not willing to take that chance find another color. Look at most items that are left out in the sun. Most are affected in some way. Good luck with the covering . . .and as alot of people have stated here "know that this color monokote will fade." When that happens pull it off and start over again . . .or leave it and fly the heck out of the airplane.