Additional paint prep for QB kits??

I have been checking out different paint shops for quotes. Yesterday, I was asked whether I had a quick build or standard kit. He said he charges more for the QB paint job. The reason he gave was that "the QB have some additional oil on the skins that is applied in the Phillipines and it takes more work to prepare for painting". Has anyone else heard of this? Maybe I've missed some posts on the subject, but this is the first I've heard of it. Any comments would be appreciated. thanks, Jack

QB Coating

Jack,

They do put a coating of some type of oil on the Q/B. Someone said it was WD40. If you do not get it all off the paint will not stick. I saw one job redone because they did not get it all off the first time.

Mike Crowe

Yes, there is an oil film on the QB parts. Mine had it. I used a lot of lacquer thinner and MEK to clean it numerous times before I painted my plane. It was all cleaned at least 4 or 5 times with two or three washings each time. I haven't had any problems with paint coming off yet.

Roberta

Yes, I was told that the parts are sprayed with a corrosion proofing oil before oceanic shipment to prevent corrosion during the long tropical voyage back to Oregon. I would rather the oil spray, which may be annoying to clean off, than watching corrosion develop as I work on assembly. I believe the inside of the structures are also coated. It might be worth washing the interior with fresh water to flush away any salt residue remaining from the passage.

Cheers, Pete

This could get out of hand where, all of a sudden, someone says they "talked to a guy who talked to a guy who talked to a guy" and supposedly finds out that QB kits aren't even insurable because they corrode to dust within 5 years because they're splashed in salt water on the way over (jeez, did I just start a rumor?).

So in order to produce some helpful information to QuickBuilders, shouldn't someone pick up a phone and have the discussion directly with a Van's rep and find out EXACTLY what procedure is followed before shipping from overseas? And if a protective oil is sprayed on the kits, exactly what IS it that's sprayed?
Additionally, what about finding out what kind of containers are used for transocean shipping?

I've shipped a car overseas before, and it went into a sealed container before it got loaded and the seal wasn't broken until it was unloaded. Not even sea "air" should be a factor during shipping so let's not get carried away with this.

At the same time, if there is something that QBuilders should know about an additional step required before painting, it would be nice if it was known exactly what that extra step is. Just "wash it a couple of extra times" isn't as helpful as knowing exactly what and why that needs to be done.

Jeez Vern,

Don't get your shirt in a knot here. I didn't get this info from my Grandmother's uncle, I got it from Van's. I was not given the specs of the oil, so, go ahead and ask. From the Philipines it could range from used motor oil (unlikely) to some special oil shipped there by Van's. Inquiring minds seem to want to know what it is.

Whatever it is, it seems to do it's job from the QB's I have seen, and it must be removed in order to paint from the exterior surfaces. Perhaps it's not that important. I've also been told that there is some kind of wash primer applied before the oil spray in the Phillipines that is almost colorless.

Cheers, Pete

The real Skinny on QB Kits

OK, just to clear the air here and lend some veracity to the following info, I have just come back from Van's yesterday hauling my QB wing and Fuselage kits. I looked at a number of QB fuselages in the warehouse that were being readied for crating. (Mine was already in the crate.) They all seemed to be of good quality in the riveting, and all of them were coated with oil. I asked what the QB kits were coated with when shipped out of the Phillipines and I was told that the exterior surfaces were coated with a spray of WD-40 and the interior surfaces were coated with a Sherwin Williams primer that is almost, but not quite, transparent. I examined a QB fuselage that was out in the open very closely and found this to be true.

Today, I opened my wing crate and found that all of the above info was true for my kit also. The outer surfaces of the wings were oily to the touch and the inner surfaces were obviously primed, but not oily.

I hope this clears up that little mystery.
Cheers, Pete

Wd-40

And what does WD-40 stand for? Water Dispersant 40 days - so they are using the right stuff! Many computer stores sell good degreasing stuff.

Wd-40

Actually, for the true trivia folks out there, WD-40 doesn't mean "water dispersant, 40-days".....

In reality, it stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt/try.

This is from the WD-40 website: "It took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40?which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try?is still in use today".

Just in case someone ever sees this question in Trivial Pursuit (it is in some versions)