What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

another paint booth

slow progress touching up the interior. you cannot do much with the exterior until the interior is finished in my case. proseal at the fwd canopy edge took a long time to cure because it was old but now I am moving on. I primed the interior areas with ppg dplf with no acetone because dupont self etching primer will lift where it had been sanded thru if acetone is added as I discovered when painting other areas. without the acetone it worked fine. it will be interesting to see if the canopy scrape marks on the roll bar with be tougher with the ppg epoxy primer since the paint failed at the dupont self etching primer. no solvent pop this time. two coats and did not expose to sun like I did four years ago. the interior paint is imron polyurethane. since this was a pita job, I see value in simple rattle can paint for the interior that can be sprayed and touched up easily. this job came out nice this time and I managed somehow not pull a hose or step on wet paint. booth is working well. and I almost forgot to mention, baking the paint at 65F for a couple days. outside air temp -7C.

IMG_20160109_141103.jpg


IMG_20160106_225846.jpg


IMG_20160106_225826.jpg


somehow I manage to lose the cover for my stick when priming. I should have taped it down. something to clean up afterward. did I mention painting the interior is a pita.
IMG_20160109_150801.jpg


IMG_20160110_140959.jpg


IMG_20160110_141014.jpg


IMG_20160109_164635.jpg


IMG_20160110_140823.jpg
 
Last edited:
curve maker. composite baseboard molding (not wood) from home depot, 12 ft, split in half lengthwise makes a smooth curve. taped to side in the couple places, lay paper over the and find the edge by pressing on the paper and mark line with a graphite pencil. remove the paper and cut the line to make the curve template. the curve for the blue paint on bottom doesn't have much bend but I liked it more than a straight line.... and my wife said she wanted a curve after someone that I'm not going mention told her it would look better with curve, so there you go. this is what can happen when you have multiple inputs on paint.... work expansion.

IMG_20160110_174941.jpg


washed off the green rattle can self etching primer from the tail because it had some flaking and I had time to kill. I will paint this the same white as the overall. supported the harnesses from a string to the roof. I am beginning to feel I am developing painting OCD and may need to see a therapist.

IMG_20160110_172841.jpg



workspace

IMG_20160110_173043.jpg
 
Last edited:
Steve,

Prior to therapy for "Painters OCD", one might recommend taking a few days off and spending quality time with the wife, and/or at one of Cincinnati's many craft breweries.

Given this week's rapidly plunging temperatures, the outdoor beer gardens are, sadly, out of the question, but there are still plenty of indoor locations to serve you...

Keep up the good work, and thank you for posting all this information on VAF.

-Paragon
Cincinnati, OH
 
Paint/primer

Looking good. For me painting was managing all the variables. I had fits with self etching primer, never again for me. Alumaprep 33, aladine, epoxy primer, sand and paint, color sand 1500, buff to shine with PC buffer. Patience ,practice and pray to the painting Gods.
 
Steve,

Prior to therapy for "Painters OCD", one might recommend taking a few days off and spending quality time with the wife, and/or at one of Cincinnati's many craft breweries.

Given this week's rapidly plunging temperatures, the outdoor beer gardens are, sadly, out of the question, but there are still plenty of indoor locations to serve you...

Keep up the good work, and thank you for posting all this information on VAF.

-Paragon
Cincinnati, OH

I asked my wife for some quality time with her in the paint booth. she declined.
 
Looking good. For me painting was managing all the variables. I had fits with self etching primer, never again for me. Alumaprep 33, aladine, epoxy primer, sand and paint, color sand 1500, buff to shine with PC buffer. Patience ,practice and pray to the painting Gods.

agree, this was last of the rattle can primer that I had applied. it has all been removed. even the dupont two part self etching primer gave me trouble. I like the epoxy primer but it will add some weight but it is tough stuff. since I'm out of the 7 day window I will need to scuff the previously applied epoxy primer and spray one coat more of primer before paint. I sprayed the overall epoxy primer outside on the last warm day of the year (75F, a freak day in Nov) after alodine and moved the plane inside. my question is, do you really need to alodine before epoxy primer? it would have been nice to skip that step.
 
Last edited:
one email, good service...

I have attached a proof of the registration number paint mask you are interested in. The cost would be $12.00 each ($24.00 for both sides) and I can ship the same day as you place the order and we can expedite shipping if necessary. If you place the order today, I should be able to send it priority mail (2-3 day delivery). When you are ready to order, you can call (preferred) or email with your credit card information.

Please look over the attachment and let me know if you have any questions or changes.

paint%2Bmask.bmp


Thanks,
James
Aerographics
800-336-9633
 
Last edited:
I like the epoxy primer but it will add some weight but it is tough stuff. since I'm out of the 7 day window I will need to scuff the previously applied epoxy primer and spray one coat more of primer before paint. I sprayed the overall epoxy primer outside on the last warm day of the year (75F, a freak day in Nov) after alodine and moved the plane inside. my question is, do you really need to alodine before epoxy primer? it would have been nice to skip that step.

Steve, I don't think you "have" to have alodine before epoxy primer, the epoxy seals everything up pretty well. Maybe for those guys close the the ocean it would help in the seams with corrosion prevention.

The urethane should stick to the epoxy primer even after it is dry, just as well as a second coat of epoxy would. Just have to scuff the epoxy and spray the top coat. I've done it on cars.
 
Steve, I don't think you "have" to have alodine before epoxy primer, the epoxy seals everything up pretty well. Maybe for those guys close the the ocean it would help in the seams with corrosion prevention.

The urethane should stick to the epoxy primer even after it is dry, just as well as a second coat of epoxy would. Just have to scuff the epoxy and spray the top coat. I've done it on cars.

if I had it to do over I think I would skip the alodine step. I don't live by the ocean. I was light on the epoxy on the wings but heavier on the fuse. I'll probably go by the book and spray another light coat of epoxy before paint. it will be interesting to note the weight gain after paint. the boxes of paint felt heavy. I'll probably need to eliminate one of my tool boxes to offset the paint weight gain. I haven't needed them anyway. I may miss my light and nimble naked plane.
 
Last edited:
curve template. not much of a curve but the eye will detect it.

IMG_20160112_202307.jpg


taking out a couple of rivet gun dings that some folks around here would point out to me from time to time. more added weight.

step one, sand and filler and sand
IMG_20160112_205506.jpg


step two, epoxy primer
IMG_20160112_212743.jpg


step three, K36 sandable primer
IMG_20160112_221511.jpg


outside air temp = -13C
 
Last edited:
use dixie cups

how do you pour paint from a full can and not make a mess? use a homemade plastic funnel and punch 4 holes in the can to let the paint back in. a good tip from Bill Duffy. save the paint, it's expensive.
IMG_20151129_122431.jpg


IMG_20151129_122503.jpg


I gained another ounce by letting it drain completely
IMG_20151129_132723.jpg


flap and aileron

primer, wait one hr then paint, the primer always looks good. I always thin it per the manual with acetone. flows really well and hides scratches. amazing stuff.
IMG_20151129_131758.jpg


paint, 5C outside, DT870, preheat part to 80F, two coats with a little more on the top side, which is the downside in the booth. wait 15 minutes between coats to let the solvent escape. time between coats is the key. to much time and you need a lot of paint, to little time and the solvents don't have time to flash. booth was 75F when beginning the second coat and cooled to 70F by the end of the second coat. I gave the lower side of the flap a half dust coat at the end to see if I could flow it out. it was hanging more vertical than the aileron. it didn't seem to help much and left a satin finish. so my conclusion is that you don't want to do this. put it on wet. hopefully the satin finish will flow out somewhat overnight.

the candles are lit, time to paint!
IMG_20151129_133908.jpg


IMG_20151129_154841.jpg


IMG_20151129_154848.jpg


IMG_20151129_155016.jpg


IMG_20151129_154707.jpg




satin finish, hopefully this will flow out. vertical surfaces are more difficult to flow out. need to time it just right and put it on wet. I will try to get a picture of this tomorrow to see if there is any improvement.
IMG_20151129_154945.jpg


parts "baking" overnight at 65F

I use small dixie cups to scoop paint out of the gallon can and pour it into the DeKups. I use a filter on top of the DeKups. I throw the dixie cups away. They are cheap. No mess on side of can. And you'll notice it is easy to mix the components of the paint 8 : 2 : 1 or whatever. Just use the dixie cup as one. No need to try and view the measuring scale on the side of the DeKup.
 
Holding outboard end of wing

A few positive things?

??.You are at the painting stage in the build process
??.You are STILL painting in OHIO??? in DECEMBER ...WOW
??.It?s looking GREAT.
??.You WILL say ?I painted it myself??with pride

While nowhere nearly as professional as your booth, I managed to get a 30? airplane. You know, Looks good from 30? . Most say closer :D

Don?t forget to leave your wings in the dining room to thoroughly dry?.:)

I can?t wait to see your finished airplane.


rbgzrn.png


I even made Van?s calendar this year?. ?Miss March?

zltbht.jpg


Gary, nice job. Please could you post a closeup view of how you grabbed onto the outboard end of the wing on your fixture? I'm preparing now to paint wings and wresting with how to hold them. Spar end will just rest on stand. But I'm exploring ways to grip the outboard end. thanks
 
Steve, here is the fixture I used to support the tip of the wing panel:

finsh225.jpg


Reading your thread is making me tired......painting a plane is a big job. :)
 
Gary, nice job. Please could you post a closeup view of how you grabbed onto the outboard end of the wing on your fixture? I'm preparing now to paint wings and wresting with how to hold them. Spar end will just rest on stand. But I'm exploring ways to grip the outboard end. thanks

Steve, you don't have to "grab" it. You can simply insert a long piece of large diameter PVC pipe in the lightening hole just in front of the spar to use as a pivot point when resting on a sawhorse. You do the same with a smaller diameter pipe at the set of lightening holes near the trailing edge. That piece of pipe can be an anti-rotation device if clamped to the sawhorse.
 
Last edited:
Holding outboard end of wing

Kyle
Thanks for advice on using PVC pipe. Good idea. How far in do I have to stick the pipe to make sure I'm not over-stressing the ribs? 3 or 4 Ribs or more like 80% in? Seems like the wing will be resting on ribs and tube instead of on spar. I was thinking of "grabbing" the spar with blocks of wood in order to keep stress on spar, but using PVC pipe looks a lot easier.

thanks
 
Kyle
Thanks for advice on using PVC pipe. Good idea. How far in do I have to stick the pipe to make sure I'm not over-stressing the ribs? 3 or 4 Ribs or more like 80% in? Seems like the wing will be resting on ribs and tube instead of on spar. I was thinking of "grabbing" the spar with blocks of wood in order to keep stress on spar, but using PVC pipe looks a lot easier.

thanks

4 sounds reasonable. The outboard portion of the wing isn't very heavy.

Realistically, it has probably been 16-17 years since I painted my wings (which is amazing, really), so I don't remember how long the PVC pipes were...
 
Everything I have read says NO. I am not doing alodine. Scuff, clean with acetone, prime.

the epoxy primer is tough stuff. my arm is telling me so. the non-sandable primer is closed cell, prevents corrosion. it's seems to be a very slow curing epoxy with pigment. if you wait longer than the seven day window you have to scuff it and apply another coat of primer before paint. I applied alodine and primer within the 4 hr window as posted by ppg. my airplane is in a hangar and not by the ocean. it would have been nice to have skipped the alodine step that way I could eliminate the scuffing step since I am way outside the seven day window. I alodined and primed on the last warm day in Nov and moved the plane inside.

looks like good day to paint, actually it turned out to be a nice day in the mid 40'sF
IMG_20160114_085531.jpg


spaghetti
IMG_20160114_125433.jpg


booth negative pressure, the neighbors say they can't smell any paint. no fogging in the booth. HVLP makes this possible and saves paint too.
IMG_20160114_144950.jpg


scuffing completed and reprimed
IMG_20160114_150309.jpg


paint, as normal for me, horizontal surfaces are better than vertical, vertical has some orange peel
IMG_20160114_175730.jpg


IMG_20160114_173237.jpg


IMG_20160114_175835.jpg


IMG_20160114_173012.jpg


iiWGHIDclQIuVVqvGvzYtPR7OP-SnhObx_PelX0uMTwk4tIuy234JpBU-qOkUCtc7mGIHOJgAi8oyN6cz4MhcemyV28MxdHtMLBZkqCbxVnig2SADviuBrqcFuCGUJ8fZYP5-Wx7rQmYbdFgt7vdkCy95erOvs45zawO9qIB6LwHxjk4Fpv4ivkMoMCBzZYa5V8T-BwI_oyScOIQGIj0wgwaGKH57r6WGUEFz76CW5k6Pq0lYLr9c5SujHuKYI66gmkFLm13YW78z64aBO_BqSY6LCknjYzCOT6xwxrMhoeDYSRYvJ4jAa6s1umluBe9YZXPz-fEXmvSykCPJr0SQHEIKNtcZ-GZS_he_wuf2loMhlAnwzEAFMqlqFZRSy2hNyCKH0ZPfuDDEfpdXS0EZo9QfEN2fwg0eJ5Zh2S1gyozBpI76r7-0PZdldQdb7a7zS-uURw9UWgGAC7hWC879GZOl4bxRYyWizgedGFbXDB914K9SoiS3vePzMXvkOOmle1fcpKC3n3W2W1RIpbhqkXYyUuOk854tuWj6lkynZX7IdBBiwbpjZbgmLNUmCVE03zG=w558-h744-no


IMG_20160114_172857.jpg
 
Last edited:
I had one place where I really blew it, the air vent on the passenger side. the last place to paint. I rotated the gun nozzle to a different angle than normal trying to be creative. a mental breakdown. I was tired. the gun laid down a nice concentrated line of paint. ouch! hopefully, on to the blue for the lower side tomorrow if the paint is ready for tape. thanks Mark, my neighbor, for delivering lunch.

IMG_20160114_173332.jpg
 
Last edited:
paint is not ready for tape until 36 hrs. even though the book says 8 hrs I was not comfortable with it because at 12 hrs it would leave a mark that would gradually fade away after the tape was removed. no damage done. walk away.

question about N number... I planed on painting a background N number blue over the existing white (number to be white) but I am not sure if I can dig this paint mask out and get clean lines with urethane. anyone have any experience with this? my other option is to paint the blue and them come back and paint the white N number over the blue. I still have two unused masks remaining.

my wife came over to inspect the curve. she was happy with it. you know, I was nervous before painting the fuse overall white, she called me on the phone at the hangar and said not to worry about orange peel because like a golf ball it will make the plane go faster. that is TRUE LOVE!

laying stripes on an airplane is fun. nothing fancy here. I can imagine folks doing fancy paint jobs enjoying their work.

IMG_20160116_122534.jpg


IMG_20160116_135242.jpg


IMG_20160116_134230.jpg


IMG_20160116_180739.jpg


IMG_20160116_161855.jpg
 
Last edited:
cowling paint line. I do not think where the line is matters, I was only going for symmetry.

I pulled a tape line for the bottom blue across the lower cowl for each side half way and met close to the middle. I picked the one I liked best and made a template and duplicated the other side. mark the template with a pencil and cut the line. the trick is to find the cowl center with the template. the trial and error method worked for me on the 5th measurement. very little wasted tape with this method. this 1/4 inch tape in the picture is the negative. I latter swept a 1/2 inch blue tape around the entire cowl as one piece to match the 1/4 inch one. the wider tape gave a smoother line and was still able to contour.

IMG_20160115_194755.jpg


IMG_20160115_194743.jpg


IMG_20160115_205319.jpg
 
Last edited:
pulled the n-numbers at four hours after paint. paint is very soft and not tape free. called in the reinforcements to pull paint mask. they had fun. the numbers came off well. Amanda dug into the "5" somewhat with the razor on the right hand side and she told me so, I said it was OK, no worries. she did better on the remainder. the memories of the help are worth it. I had some runs on the cowl. this is how to turn a nice white cowl to blue runs. one day I may understand how to paint but with the help at the end of the day it was a good day. outside air temp -12C when we pulled the n-number mask.

IMG_20160117_194028.jpg


IMG_20160117_192757.jpg


IMG_20160117_193800.jpg


IMG_20160117_193950.jpg


IMG_20160117_192953.jpg


IMG_20160117_193928.jpg


IMG_20160117_194028.jpg


IMG_20160117_193942.jpg


IMG_20160117_194132.jpg


my father's bday and initials
IMG_20160117_194157.jpg
 
Last edited:
n-number demasked at four hours after paint. the paint was flexible and did not crack on the mask when removed.

IMG_20160118_114024.jpg


paint line pulled at 18 hours. the paint cracked on the tape every 1/4 inch or so when removed but did not flake.

IMG_20160118_113700.jpg


IMG_20160118_103244.jpg


IMG_20160118_103208.jpg


I jammed this shim in the hinge line to keep it open before paint. I picked up some lint on the belly because I decided it would be a good idea to wipe it down with alcohol. epoxy primer was four days old and still semi-soft.
IMG_20160118_110856.jpg


paint dripping off the right hand side because I adjusted my nozzle down to get into the corner. that was a mistake, I should have left my nozzle as it was and paint perpendicular to the line. live a learn. everytime I have tried to make a nozzle adjustment from the normal setting I screw it up. no more nozzle adjustments, I have learned my lesson with HVLP.
IMG_20160118_112110.jpg


IMG_20160118_112203.jpg
 
Last edited:
on to the tan stripe, two medium coats. outside air temp = -11C, paint temp = 76F, booth temp on first coat 75F, second coat 62F. DT885 reducer. the paint was supposed to match the interior but is glossy and seems to appear lighter color, maybe when it dries it will be darker. one more burgundy stripe to go and then I will be done with the fuse. stripes are easy, just pull the trigger and walk.

also, I am scuffing the painted color areas with grey (very fine) scotch-brite pads. the white paint is four days old and still soft. I tried both the grey and the red (fine) pads. the red pad seemed to be too rough. with the grey pad I noticed I could see scratches from the pad in the first coat of tan paint from the pad but not the second coat.

IMG_20160118_174330.jpg


IMG_20160118_172958.jpg


IMG_20160118_174254.jpg


IMG_20160118_174357.jpg


baking at 65F
 
Last edited:
burgundy stripe, outside air temp = -11C, first coat booth temp = 75F, second coat 65F, DT885 reducer, paint heated to 80F, time between first and second coat = 15 minutes. paint scuffed with grey scotch-brite. the warmed paint seemed to spray better and no adverse side effects that I can see, it looks better.

IMG_20160120_121324.jpg


IMG_20160120_121445.jpg


IMG_20160120_121359.jpg


paint did not crack on the tape. this was two medium coats for both stripes. tan was painted 48 hrs ago, the burgundy 24 hr ago. I noticed I had some tan sticking to the blue because I moved the tan mask down after 24 hrs and stuck it to the blue. the blue had dried for 48 hrs but the tan paint is stuck to it in some places. I should have laid new paper over the blue. another lesson learned.

IMG_20160120_122026.jpg


IMG_20160120_123917.jpg
 
Last edited:
tape removed. the tape with white paint around the canopy was tough to get off because the paint was harder. lesson learned, don't leave the tape on more 5 days if you can avoid it. I have to say my wife was not happy about the way I ended the stripes on the cowl and she told me so. Let me tell you, painting is stressful.

IMG_20160120_123325.jpg


IMG_20160120_123513.jpg


IMG_20160120_123608.jpg


IMG_20160120_123337.jpg


IMG_20160120_124911.jpg


IMG_20160120_123451.jpg


IMG_20160120_123440.jpg


IMG_20160120_124950.jpg


IMG_20160120_124939.jpg
 
Last edited:
Steve,
I painted my -4 DIY as you are. I am in the aircraft business, and have painted several cars, so I may have a slight edge, but I'm no pro. I used PPG epoxy primer, DP40, which is a very easy to use primer, can be sanded if needed, and is compatable with Aluminum,Steel, and Glass. It is easy to find at auto supply stores. I did my topcoat with PPG Desothane, which is widely used by the airlines for the big boys. It is a single stage urethane and works very well, and can be cut and buffed if needed. In lieu of the PVC booth, I built a 24'x24' frame of 2x4's , 8' tall, and suspended the center of the 4 cross pieces with rope from my hangar ceiling so it was open span. I left the front open with 4' spacing on vertical pieces for the other 3 sides. I made a "roll up" door with a PVC tube at the bottom so I could move the plane in and out. This was also a great place to work in winter, and it heated with a kero heater a lot better than the whole hangar. I taped in place 10 heater filters at the top of the roll up door, and put 3 exhaust fans at the back lower edge of the enclosure which I vented out of the hangar.The booth took a weekend to build, and worked great. I have less than a grand in my paint job, and 7 yrs. later it still looks perfect (except the couple party fouls I know of). Yours is coming along great, and you will be proud to say you did it yourself!

this guy gives another approach which is good. the trouble was I could not fit a bigger booth in my hangar, but if I could have I would have. I would need more lights with a bigger booth.
 
Last edited:
Hi Steve,
Thanks very much for taking your time to show us the painting of your plane . It is very valuable for those of us who haven't done it before. I have been wondering how you applied the alodine to such a large non flat areas with success?
I have been alodining my internal skins with a sprayer as my dip tank is to small for such large pieces and I find I have to use a lot more alodine to keep everything wet.
 
Hi Steve,
Thanks very much for taking your time to show us the painting of your plane . It is very valuable for those of us who haven't done it before. I have been wondering how you applied the alodine to such a large non flat areas with success?
I have been alodining my internal skins with a sprayer as my dip tank is to small for such large pieces and I find I have to use a lot more alodine to keep everything wet.

I used a pump sprayer to alodine the overall airplane. it's the same sprayer I use to spray water on the booth floor prior to painting. the alodine finish was not uniform. the question I have is, did I really need alodine? I don't live by the ocean. PPG recommends 4 hrs to prime after alodine and the primer has a 7 day window for painting. that puts you in a time box for getting it done.

and thx for the kind words. there is usually nothing to do between coats of paint so I take pictures. posting helps keep me motivated. so I am using all the levers at my disposal to help myself. it is a big job and I'm taking small bites.
 
Last edited:
left wing, two coats on bottom, three coats on the top. I picked up a little dirt on the top. for some reason the wing was hard to paint for me. not sure if it is the orientation of the wing and crawling on the floor or that I am tired. I am beginning to see the end of the painting, right wing still to go and a couple stripes on the rudder. outside air temp = -4C. baking wing at 65F.

my first paint coat direction was airfoil cordwise and the second coat was spanwise. cross coating prevents paint striping effects.

edit: upon 12 hr inspection, it turned out well. I'm happy with it. no solvent pop. looks like glass.

IMG_20160128_003032.jpg


IMG_20160128_003209.jpg


IMG_20160128_003123.jpg
 
Last edited:
Alodining

Arablenz,

You can easily alodine 2 RVs with a quart of alodine using my procedure of dipping a 2" brush into a cup of alodine and applying on maybe a 2' x 2' block and then continuing to rebrush the same area keeping it properly wetted during the recommended dwell time. Then rinse and dry off, then continue on to the next block. This procedure optimizes a uniform, goldfish tinge on the aluminum which promotes a tanecious bond to the epoxy primer if primed within the four hour window, are else re- alodine.
Even brushing/scrubbing the alodine won't bite thoroughly without first using the phosferic acid wash ( the blue stuff) to clean the aluminum.This is after scotch padding and wiping down with a gun cleaning solvent. If I remember correctly, the acid wash is diluted with four parts water, alodine used full strength.
So, what I'm recomendind is: scotch padding, wipe with solvent, acid wash, alodine, prime within 4 hours. BTW, I always sand the primer. It's work but yields a nicer paint job and helps minimize orange peel. Oh, I forgot, before scotch padding, wipe down using a oil/wax/contaminant cleaner or else you're just working the contaminants into the metal making it difficult to properly clean for a good alodine.
One may ask if a proper alodine is worth all this. I say absolutely. I once saw a nice RV8 at a Flyin that was painted with a gunn steel metallic paint that had actually partly blow off and had to be repainted. The paint was beautiful, it just had no bond.
I'm currently rebuilding a 6 that was damaged where the process I'm describing was used. Even where the skins were creased abruptly (destroyed) the paint did not let go or peel back, just cracked open.
For us builders who want to paint your on aircraft and are maybe jack legs like myself, we first must understand that accomplishing a good bond on aluminum is a different ball game. All the efforts will show 5 years down the road after your aircraft has endured some wear and tear. Don't skimp on the prep!!!

Kelly
 
Kelly - Did you find it better to separate the scotch brite step from the acid etch instead of scotch briteing & etching together?
 
Last edited:
Alodining

Kelly - Did you find it better to separate the scotch brite step from the acid etch instead of scotch briteing & etching together?

Definitely, as the scotch padding dirdys the process thus weakening the acid wash. Also, scotch padding dry enables you to see how good of cross hatch you are creating on the aluminum surface. For that reason I prefer dry scotch padding.

Kelly
 
Thanks Steve for your reply and your latest photos look like you are doing a great job.
Thanks for your method Kelly , the only questions I had and I don't want to hijack Steve's thread but your method of doing a 2' by 2' then allowing to dry before doing the next section must be quite time consuming? Do you get the alodine adequately dry before painting within the 4 hours?
 
Alodining

Thanks Steve for your reply and your latest photos look like you are doing a great job.
Thanks for your method Kelly , the only questions I had and I don't want to hijack Steve's thread but your method of doing a 2' by 2' then allowing to dry before doing the next section must be quite time consuming? Do you get the alodine adequately dry before painting within the 4 hours?

It's not time consuming, just blow away your rinse water with shop air and move on to next area. Two to three minutes each area. Just git'r done. Right before spraying primer make one last pass with shop air along any laps and crevises and blot any remaining droplets of water using a lent free cloth. Prime away.

Kelly
 
right wing. painting is complete except for a couple of stripes on the rudder.

outside view and my neighbors still speak to me. that's the most important. and no overspray in the hangar.... none.
IMG_20160204_171552.jpg


right wing
IMG_20160204_171914.jpg


pull this down with tape stuck to bottom side for ease of painting
IMG_20160204_171939.jpg


goodbye booth
IMG_20160204_181948.jpg


assembly begun, battery charger is ON. I'm feeling the need for speed. first primer applied 11-4-2015, ~12 weeks ago.
IMG_20160204_215005.jpg


IMG_20160204_213404.jpg


IMG_20160204_211041.jpg


thanks for watching and commenting. see you at Oshkosh!
 
Last edited:
Steve,

I really enjoyed the thread. I read every post with great interest.

Please don't forget to post a few "glamour shots" when everything is put back together!

Fred
 
finally ready for some glam. it took awhile to get everything back together, do a condition inspection and clean up some wires of things I have added over past couple of years. now I have music working too. the airplane has been down for four months. I think she is ready to go and is feeling proud because she came to life on the second blade. thanks to the guys at HAO for helping along the way and just stopping by to check on the progress. overall it was a very nice experience but it was labor intensive and I spent about $2.5K on materials alone. the stripes on the tail are not there yet (because I was tired of painting) and I may add some color to the wheel pants in the Summer. So for now I'm the guy with the plain tail.... and the paint on the rudder is light.

IMG_20160228_171544.jpg


IMG_20160228_171416.jpg


IMG_20160228_171847.jpg


IMG_20160228_171809.jpg


IMG_20160228_171749.jpg


IMG_20160228_171936.jpg


IMG_20160228_180554.jpg


IMG_20160228_180415.jpg


but still, naked airplanes have appeal. time for me to let go of the past.....
IMG_20150729_212409.jpg
 
Last edited:
Nice Steve. Glad you will be back in the air soon. Thanks for all the info you posted and experience you documented. Now have fun!
 
I lot of labor Steve and looking great. It will be difficult to find you at S-n-F in the midst of all them show planes. :)


 
Nicely finished, Steve!

You documented just how much work is involved in painting an aircraft. (Much more than I would have imagined.) Also documented the amount of process tweaking necessary to get good results.

Perhaps HAO visitors will have the opportunity to see the ship in person at some future time. Better yet if it is flying so much we only see it in the air...

Best Regards,

-Paragon
Cincinnati, OH
 
Very, very nicely done, Steve. You were willing to undertake a task I wasn't, and my checkbook is envious. ;)
 
Thanks for a great picture and explanation

Followed this all along and loved the journey along with you.

I am going to do my own painting but I am going to do the upper part in vinyl i think.

I will try to do the same expose as you and hope to do half the job.

thanks
Dave
 
Back
Top