Problems with Ultracote

[Steve Thornton]

I just ran out of Sky Blue Ultracote, and bought another role at the local hobby shop.  This second role did not behave like the first and seem to be reacting to heat more like Monokote.  My wife came out to the garage and said that one wing was a different color.  She was right.  I noticed that the two roles had different labels/instruction sheets and the backing was different.  I had to remove the new covering. I am using a TopFlite iron, and I am not too sure if I have it too hot. The temp selector is about the 10 o'clock position.  Anyone have this experience or any ideas?
Thanks 
Steve Thornton

[Balsa Butcher]

I can't address the possible change in Ultra-Coat material but the adhesion/shrinking issue may be due to the inherent differences between Mono-Kote and Ultra-Coat. The Ultra Coat adhesive is very heat sensitive, it softens at 200 but the film does not shrink. Shrinkage starts at 300 degrees. I use the Hangar 9 iron and apply the covering it using a 220 degree setting. The temp is then increased to 300 degrees to shrink it. The Hangar 9 iron will allow you to dial in those temps. Although the Mono-Kote iron has a heat control it is not calibrated for an actual temperature so there is no way of determining if the correct amount of heat is being applied. This may be causing the difficulties you describe.