Would you care to share the source of your information on the similarity of Oratex and heat shrink tubing? Oratex says it is a polyester. I got the following from a cable site on shrink tubing. Doesn't sound the same to me but I'm not a chemical engineer, so if you have better knowledge I'd be glad to learn from you. "
What is heat shrink tubing made of?
Heat shrink tubing can be made of any one of a range of thermoplastics, including polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride (PVC),
Viton® (for high-temp and corrosive environments),
Neoprene®, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) and
Kynar®. In addition to these polymers, some types of special-application heat shrink can also include an adhesive lining that helps to bond the tubing to underlying cables and connectors, forming strong seals that can often be waterproof. Another material that is sometimes added to heat shrink tubing is conductive polymer thick film, which provides an electrical connection between the two or more
conductive objects that are being joined by the tubing – without the need to solder them first."
As far as painting is concerned, you don't have to paint Oratex although it says if you want to you can (for example adding swirls or stripes or characters, etc.) They say they have some paint that matches color well. One still has to paint all the junk you bolt on like fairings, cowls, gear legs, etc., and if you use two-part paints you likely are still dealing with haz mat materials, although not nearly so much. Likely don't need a huge paint booth, that's for sure. It's quite likely that with some kits you are going to have little surfaces that don't get all covered with paint as it would if you painted the entire airplane with a gun. I'm talking about little hinge brackets and so forth on the fuselage, unless you paint the fuselage the same color as the fabric you are going to cover it with. Maybe you do that but if you buy it powder coated the chances the powder coating color is the same as the Oratex fabric color may not be high. All I'm saying is the painting question is not quite as straight forward as one might think initially, especially if you want a show plane. I agree the gloss factor on Oratex is a question of personal preference. The Oratex color is a coating so if you abrade it enough you can take the color off, but it's tough as all get out so that would take a pretty severe rubbing.
You can use straight tapes rather than pinked edges.
