Iron on covering

This is my two cents. I detest Balsarite and never found it to work as intended. I found that trying to thin it was quite difficult even though they didn't recommend doing so. In addition, it would cause wrinkles in the covering when in the direct sun. I found it to add a noticeable amount of weight when I used it on a entire full fuse model.

          To my knowledge it's still made. They offered two versions, a fabric application and a iron on version. One was merely thicker than the other. When I used it on certain iron on films, I found it to make a mess especially at the seams where it would creep out. Sig offers Stix-It and I've found the solvents in that material too aggressive which causes certain coverings to separate their color and bleed out making a real mess. I've also found the heat to prevent the covering from tacking immediately to the balsa and then it slides on top of it.

     A good iron on covering such as Ultracote or REAL Monokote doesn't require any additional adhesives. The new Monokote is worthless crap. Throw it out and don't even try and use it. It's not the product that revolutionized the hobby that many have used for the past 40 years. As like many other Chinese products, it's a cheap copy and the end user suffers from the lack of quality.

Placing dope under it in my opinion is asking for a compatibility issue. I've seen this when we've had old silkspan models with the covering all torn. Strip the open bays and Monokote the entire wing. I've never found the covering to attach as well as it did when you had new bare balsa. A good covering job isn't going to release. It will also prevent oil soaking better than paint does provided it's done properly.