Panel Paint, Or?

It is time for me to put some kind of coating on my RV7A panel. I plan to make it either a dull Black, or maybe go with my Medium Grey interior color. I have ruled out powder coating after researching some on it. They want to coat the back side of the panel or charge alot more money to mask it off with high temp tape. So I am thinking of just preping the aluminum as normal with etch and alodine etc. and go with a good epoxy paint, but I am interested in learning about other options. I have heard of one person using what sounds like undercoat spray for under our cars with good results. Hammerrite spray cans I have heard of also. I am concerned about chips around countersunk screws that I will probably have in and out several times. Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome.

What about a vinyl "sticker" that labels all of your insturments and maybe even adds graphics? Somebody listed a company that specializes in vinyl graphics for RV exterior. Why not put one of these on the panel?

http://www.freedomsign.com/

I am not associated with this company, it was just something I have been thinking about doing.

I used Rustolem "Accents" Boulder Gray in a rattle can to paint my panel and some interior parts like the heater box, canopy frame, and some parts above the upper longerons. The rest of the interior was left with just the primer wash on that was done as a QB or left bare. I covered the floor and the sides (between the ribs and longerons) with padded "squares" of fabric or carpet. It's holding up quite well and looks nice after a year of flying. Many high wear areas were left unpainted, so I have no paint wear problems. I sort of integrated the gray look of the AL with the boulder gray color and pewter fabric and accented with reds.

Roberta

panel paint

I used Rustoleum High Gloss Gray http://redbeardmark0.tripod.com/id4.html". It is a bit glarish when photographing with a flash, but no problem at all otherwise. Quite durable. Rustoleum Red rudder pedals(to remind me that they are there ).

Mark Andrews N598X

Powder Coat

The company that powder coated my panel also powder coated the underside of my baggage/avionics bay skin while leaving the outside pristine. They did not charge any extra for only coating one side. The rattle can jobs look great and will endure as lon as the prep of the surface is done properly. I just like the added durability of PC.

Robby Knox
RV-8 N82XS
Finishing Kit "95% complete, 95% remaining"

Most use Urethane to paint the outsides of their RV's, specifically because of it's durability in the elements as well as looking good.

Why not use the same prep and paint system to do the instrument panel and interior? I'm a proponent of dark colored instrument panels because I think the instruments stand out more on a dark background, but you don't really want a glossy instrument panel.
So the ideal way to go would be to use a dark gray Urethane paint with a flattening agent additive to kill the gloss.
For durability, that's about as bullet proof as you would ever need.

Roberta,

It that Rustoleum from Ace Hardware or similar? I might give that a test. Your pictures look nice and since I have a full Flightline Interiors interior, I do not really have all that much to paint anyways. What kind of prep did you do?

Thanks,
Scott
#90598 Fuselage (Finish Kit arrives tomorrow)

Hi, Scott,

I cleaned everything using lacquer thinner, scuffed it up with scotch bright, recleaned with lacquer thinner, and painted several coats, letting each coat dry thoroughly. Yes, I got the paint from Ace. The exact name is:

American Accents by Rust-Oleum, SandStone, Indoor-Outdoor, Fine Textured Decorative Finish and the color is Boulder Grey. It seems to photograph a little green (as you might notice in the pics) but it is grey.

You will be able to simplify your interior with the panels. I would have used them if they were available when we did ours. Maybe a redo later if needed. I basically only painted items above the upper longerons and the heater box. I used black self stick wing walk (from ACS) on my rudder pedals and toe brakes.

Hope this helps,

Roberta

Thanks for the posts and especially the photos Roberta. I like your results and the idea that painting any replacement parts or touching up worn areas may be a bit easier to do with the rattle cans. I found a color called Soldier Grey that I may use. I went looking for the Boulder Grey but it was not listed at my local hardware store. The Soldier Grey looks alot like the color in your photo. I will test both the Soldier Grey and the Sandstone to see which I like best.

Panel Options

Hi Randy,
Here's another possible option for you. I had Ted Gaston (now working for Chief Avionics in Oregon) do my panel below. There's higher resolution pics on the panel page of my website also... look for the picture that says "This file's huge!". He laid everything out in AutoCAD, laser cut everything, painted it white and then covered in black, and finally etched the black paint off where all the labels were. It might be pretty expensive, but then again this whole project is a money hungry machine. I couldn't be happier with the results and would do it the same way next time. Feel free to contact Ted at (253) 227-2736. Good luck!