Paint Schemes

I sat down today and started working on a paint scheme that will integrate with the polishing that I want to do. I went through this with a friends 6A and before we decided he had a dozen different schemes hanging on the wall. It took over a year to narrow it down the the final design.

I sat down today and let the pencil go. I had a design that I really like within about 10 minutes. Somethings got to be wrong, it just does not happen like that. I am not artistic in any way and I am really a picture person. I guess that I really confused myself with the artistic efficeincy of the exercise. Now for the color. I hope to have the same luck.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

That is Exactly how it works...

When I begin a project, I usually have a very definite image of the entire thing, from beginning to end. I know how it will work, what it will look like, and I already know all of the details. Production is simply a matter of writing it down...

But the way my RV-8 would end up remained a mystery - through the planning, through the building, even through the first flight - I built it on faith more than anything else. I was CALLED to build it. I struggled with paint designs for a long time, and collected every picture, every idea that I could. Still, nothing came, until one day - it just appeared. With all the computers and software ad pictures I had available, I grabbed a couple of colored pencils, a blank three-view, and sketched it out.

And the Valkyrie appeared.

Yup....That's exactly how it worked for me!

Congratulations - you've found your muse!

Paul

I did up a scheme for one of the VAF members a short while ago who asked for a little help reworking his idea. I have a bit of an artistic background but as Paul Dye says just think about it a bit than start sketching ,it's only paper so you're not out much if you don't like it.

RV 8 Fuselage

Yes there's something wrong with that!!!

I've been flying for a year, and thinking of a paint scheme for several years. The Rocket is due to the painter any day now and I still don't have a scheme picked out. I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll just paint it white and fugetaboutit.

No Pressure

I spent eight years developing the color scheme for my plane. I made a copy of the 3-view drawing of my airplane and did many many many drawings, then copied the drawings I liked and colored them in with colored pencils, crayons, various pens, to get it right. Then I used the 3-view scale to get the dimensions of every feature of the color scheme. Then I made up full size patterns and took them to the hangar and taped them on the airplane to see that they were correct for fit and appearance. I found that the wing design worked well but the horizontal stabilizer and elavator desigh was way off. I was able to modify the stab/elevator design at the airplane and make a new full size pattern right there that was exactly what I wanted. The fuselage and landing gear fairings were not right and they were so bad that I had to go home and work with those designs from scratch. The RV-6A is a fairly small plane you think but at this stage I was near my scheduled delivery to the painter and I needed acceptable full size patterns. This meant taping together many small pieces of paper for several fuselage ideas and spreading them across the kitchen and breakfast area floor for full size comparison. The best three we took back out to the airplane for the "tape on and look at it" check. One was close but the tail end needed to be modified to make it right. We were luckier with the wheel fairings, a theme compatible design surfaced during my thinking that was obviously just right and the full size pattern check was good. I made and revised a 32 page power point presentation to describe exactly what I wanted and made it and the full size patterns part of the contract for the painter. He had color chips but not for the Imron paint I wanted to be used so I selected the colors from his chips but told him I would get the exact Imron color numbers and get them to him. The aircraft painting company I used is Gray's at the airport in Ozark, Arkansas but the Imron paint dealer that I located was in Springdale, Arkansas. There I was able to get the exact shades of colors I wanted and I e-mailed them to the painter. I had previously designed the color scheme for my Piper Archer II in red with silver and black trim. I came out very well based on extensive youthful experience designing color schemes for my control-line aerobatic model model airplanes. The one thing I learned from the Archer painting experience was that metalic paints (even Imron) oxidize much worse than solids, especially if they are not clear coated which I chose not to do because of automobile experience with clear coat delamination. On the RV-6A I chose to go with all solid colors (no metalics) and clear coat. The resulting paint job was spectacular to me but it won nothing whatsoever in it's show year. I still feel that it is a special beauty everytime I look at it. That is the most important thing. I have looked at other paint jobs and seen some spectacular work, like Paul Dye's RV-8 you notice the beauty of the complete airplane the clean flowing lines, the color selection, the purposeful but artistic vertical tail image, all result in a something you want to look at and appreciate. A lot of RV color schemes I see are complex and gaudy with no redeming qualities but you should never be intimidated into straight line designs from the RV paint scheme tool box without trying some original ideas on paper.

However, it sounds like you have designed a scheme you like and that is critical. You should not throw away a design that you truely like because you feel it came to easy. If you are not comfortable with it then you should continue to work with it - don't "settle" but if you like what you have come up with and you change it you probably will regret it.

Bob Axsom

I guess I'm a flake....I have my paint scheme (provided I don't change my mind later) but I don't have the plane to put it on. I'm working on it though.

Cheap Color Scheme Program

I stumbled on this cool site: http://www.airplanecolor.com/

Had hours of fun "painting" and "flying" a CAP on the demo download. For $10, I ordered the RV9A program to test schemes for my -10. You won't believe the colors I picked out. Nobody will miss this one. Shock and awe!

This will reduce the resale value but it doesn't have no sissy white on it.

polish and paint?

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Painted fiberglass integrated with polished alum. Just saw a pic from Arlington? of a Canadian RV that got my gears turning. Anyone have any thoughts on how you'd do this? I'd guess you'd polish then paint? My conceptualizations would have the paint going onto the alum. in places. I need to draw out some ideas before I change my mind.

Just wondering - do people get pissy over others borrowing (stealing?) ideas / schemes / entire paint jobs from other planes, or even other RV'ers?

PainterJohn said:

I love the way polished aircraft look with painted stripes, really cool!!
I know of a coating that is applicable with a conventional paint gun, that looks like CNC machined aluminum. The same company offers a coating that looks like chrome, or polished aluminum, both systems are VERY expensive, but look REALLY cool... and no polishing, which is a plus.
Just think a completely polished RV... cowlings, wheel pants, wingtips EVERYthing gleaming in the sun!

Click to expand...

What company? Do you have a link / phone number / address ?