I have painted the faded rubber strip on the side of a couple of Cobras. Mask it off with 2" masking tape then aim the spray can down wile holding a peace of cardboard to catch any over-spray on the bottom. Ace rattle-can in red or blue...........makes the old girl look new again!

Another Cobra trick...........lifting the fuselage tail was killing my back.. The tail weight is a function of fuselage saddle location, so I moved the saddle aft about 3" and lifting the tail became much easier. My saddle is held in place with 2 arms that go up to the forward lift fittings........I shortened these arms and re-drilled the pivot holes at the saddle. Good idea to re-check nose cone fit.
JJ