Quote Originally Posted by jiott View Post
I have no experience at all with Oratex but I have one serious doubt about it that only time (about 20 years) will answer. That is the UV protection. The Polyfiber system has you put on 3 cross coats (that's 6 coats) of the UV protecting silver Polyspray until no light shows thru with a 60 watt bulb on the other side to give the all-important protection against UV rotting the fabric. Oratex claims built-in UV protection, but we all know that a finished plane covered with Oratex show light thru it similar to the old tissue and balsa models I made as a kid (slight exaggeration here). How can their "built-in" UV protection be much good with that much light transmissibility? Polyfiber is well proven for about 20 year+ life. Oratex hasn't proved much beyond a few years, so in my opinion the jury will still be out for quite a few years to come. FWIW
Oratex has been used in Europe since 2002 or 2003 - quite a few more than "a few years". I have not heard of any UV protection complaints or issues to date.

Thought to ponder: Most sunglasses these days have UVA and B protection of 99.9 to 100% and I can see through them pretty well (light transmissibility), much easier than I can through Oratex! Hmmm - think about it.

Also not seen mentioned here yet - Oratex can be peeled back if repairs or access are necessary and re-applied in lieu of full replacement.

If we all waited 20+ years for something to be "proven", innovation and progress would be stifled by around I'd say.....20+ years!

I think the question really comes down to: Do you like the look of unpainted Oratex (if you're going to paint it, you're not really saving anything) or are you comfortable doing lots of painting and will be satisfied with those results? Either will serve the utilitarian purpose.