MonoKote on Paint

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Is it possible to apply MonoKote over paint?

[Dan McEntee]

Is it possible to apply MonoKote over paint?

     I'm gonna say no. You might get it to apply, and may look OK, but the surface may be too slick for the adhesive to really bond and it will loosen and fall off pretty quickly. I don't think sanding it at all will help. It's more or less like trying to adhere it to smooth fiberglass. I don't think this applying Stix-It or any of the Coverite products will help either.

  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Dwayne Donnelly]

It can be done but be careful with the heat it will cause the paint to soften and get all over  your iron and make a big mess, I've done it with a trimming iron but it aint easy.

[fred cesquim]

Is it possible to apply MonoKote over paint?

yes, itps possible. the yellow and red on the rudder are monokote over polyester and then a clear coat over both
itīs tricky as the heat melts paint, you ned to use low head and be careful no to touch the paint with the iron.

[Leonard Bourel]

It sure can be done I just spent a whole morning removing iron on covering from a tail section that was originally painted. Have at it but I hope you never need to remove it!!

[Steve Helmick]

Instead of heat, use TF Monokote Trim Solvent. I'd suggest scuffing the paint first. The trim on my ex-Norm Whittle "Eagle" is monokote over epoxy, with no topcoat. Using heat would bubble the paint, IMO.  Steve

[Tim Wescott]

My experience is yes, but only if you're going for flyable, not good looking.  At least for Monocoat over Rustoleum Gloss Protective Enamel.

It really depends on the paint, and on the covering material.  If the paint melts at a higher temperature than the covering grabs -- you're in like flynn, enjoy the result.  Otherwise -- ewww.

Ultracoat works pretty well over Gloss Protective Enamel, if you're careful to stop when it's sticking and be very careful about how you shrink it.

I like Steve's suggestion of using trim solvent, if you are, indeed, just using the stuff for trim.

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

It's open bays which are now brittle silkspan.  I'm pretty familiar with the method of using trim solvent, to the point that acetone is known to serve.  I had the idea to use the acetone near the edges, but iron heat further from the edge.  And I can calibrate my iron and technique experimenting with the bay cutoffs.  I'm thinking of sealing the edges with a masked finish epoxy brushed line about 1/4" wide. 

[Steve Helmick]

Some, if not all, of the Utah stunt guys often use monokote over doped silkspan. Maybe one of them would comment and give up their techniques? A search on Stunt Hangar might also turn up the 411, but not the official SH search function...that's pretty useless from my experience. There's a way to use Google or DuckDuckGo and search only on Stunt Hangar, but I can't say I remember how to do it.   

IIRC, the early solution to baggy covering/creep...and TF recommended method...was to apply over doped silkspan. But  that was only over a few coats of clear, and I doubt it would work real well with the usual 50+ coats most use. I'd bet that "gassing off" of the clear would matter a lot.

I admit to being dubious about using acetone on most any kind of paint as a replacement for Monokote Trim Solvent. I'd like to know what that stuff was, if anybody knows. Definitely would test on an old model before trying it on a new one. Steve

[Phil Spillman]

Peter, I've put mono coat over clear dope to fix an old beater Ringmaster wing and it worked out fine! George Aldridge once told me to rough up the mono coat with a Scotch Brite sponge before painting over mono coat! That worked too going the other way!

Phil Spillman