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When to paint

M

maximillion

I'm New Here
Hi all,

I see a great number of you first fly your rv unpainted for a certain period. What is the main reason for this? Is it just to let everything settle down? Does is allow for a much better paint later on?

Thanks
Cheers
 
Bob_pipedream said:
Laziness and impatience...
Click to expand...

That's a fairly insulting post to a large number of RV'ators "Bob" - you might reconsider your opinion if you'd met a few people.

A better answer is that everyone has different situations regarding what they can do, and what they need out of an airplane. Some event want to save the weight of paint, and go "Chino" forever!

Personally, I like to build, but don't enjoy painting. It is far easier to fly an airplane to a paint shop than it is to drive the pieces where they need to go, so finishing it up and then aviating it to where it needs to go makes sense.

Remember that most production planes are painted after they are assembled and test flown. It has worked that way for longer than most of us has been alive.
 
Unless you can paint the airplane without taking away your wings, it is OK - I believe - to paint after phase I.

The idea of taking out my wings (already squared the airplane with only 4 normal bolts...and removing them was hard) made me decide to have it painted NOW, before final wing installation.

For the same reason, I am now testing for leaks my wings.
Note that I have an -A. Maybe for a neat RV (i.e.: no -A) this would be different.
 
Paint, when?

Impatience in my mind is the simple reason not to paint before first flight. Wanting or needing to go to a paint shop miles away is understandably a good reason to fly then paint. The best reason NOT to fly first is oil, oil gets in seams and around rivets and is next to impossible to get rid of completely. So the chances of your high dollar paint job looking not so good on the belly of your plane in a few week or months are pretty good. Maybe not but why take the chance of having a little oil spoil all that hard work to put a good paint job on your plane. It's hard to wait or take your new finished baby apart to paint when it's a flyable airplane but worth the effort in the long run. I'll tell you the real hard part is waiting on the paperwork to come back from the "feds" so you can get the final inspection done. I'm there and running to the mail box everyday, like a kid looking for that decoder ring from Captian Midnight.....:confused:
 
Ironflight said:
That's a fairly insulting post to a large number of RV'ators "Bob" - you might reconsider your opinion if you'd met a few people.

A better answer is that everyone has different situations regarding what they can do, and what they need out of an airplane. Some event want to save the weight of paint, and go "Chino" forever!
Click to expand...

I like Bob's answer :D...............unless of course, it's in the plans & finances to immediately fly to some other airport for a paint job, after a few hours.

Painting is a lot of work, for the builder or someone else. An RV isn't done until it's painted, or has a top notch polish job to go with a few painted fiberglass areas. IMO, everything else is just an excuse.

L.Adamson -- RV6A (painted... before the airport)
 
aah! A subject I have recent experience with, but I chose option B: paint prior to flight.

here's a couple of things that would favor painting later.

1. I'd be flying, phase 1 would be over.
2. I wouldn't be as worried during final assembly.
3. I had a fuel leak and my heart sank thinking of pulling the fuel tank for repair, but turned out I had a loose fitting. whew!
4. True statement......"hey buddy, would you mind getting your cowboy shirted big belly and coffee cup away from that fuselage?".... "yes it is a nice panel but that paint your leaning on is only 2 days old."
5. I'd be FLYING

Painting parts first, would I do it again? Yes. I want a good quality paint job, but could not afford the money or time to take it to Grady or someone like that. I could afford the money/time locally to work with a friend in his shop/booth. There are a couple planes around here not painted, I wanted to be different.....BUT I'm not flying. :( yet

FSDO inspection today :)
 
Practical reason

1. Phase 1 inspections - during the first 20 hours, you will be checking under the cowl many times. It's a lot easier to remove the cowl if you don't have to worry about scratching the paint.

You'll also be checking wheels, brakes and under fairing often during phase I. All a lot easier if you don't have to be concerned with scratching the paint.

2. Gives you a window of opportunity to makes changes or modifications to the plane. Example - I didn't installed my leading edge landing lights for months after the plane was flying.

3. Let's you continue to make improvements to fit and finish before painting. Even though I had well over 2500 hrs of build time into my quick build kit before the first flight. I spent another 100 - 200 hours working on improvements before I put my plane in the paint shop; things that I could not have done (or would have been more difficult) if it had been painted.
 
maximillion said:
Hi all,

I see a great number of you first fly your rv unpainted for a certain period. What is the main reason for this? Is it just to let everything settle down? Does is allow for a much better paint later on?

Thanks
Cheers
Click to expand...
Paint first or fly first? There are good reasons for either decision and a lot of information is contained within the archives. Here's a good start with reasonable arguments offered by both sides:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=57915&highlight=paint+fly

Certainly as at least one post has shown, some builders will always be outspoken, even inflexible about the position they personally subscribe to. The new builder is better served when he or she can consider all the options and then make an informed decision based upon their own particular circumstances.
 
Rick_A said:
1. Phase 1 inspections - during the first 20 hours, you will be checking under the cowl many times. It's a lot easier to remove the cowl if you don't have to worry about scratching the paint.

You'll also be checking wheels, brakes and under fairing often during phase I. All a lot easier if you don't have to be concerned with scratching the paint.
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Except......... a high end automotive or aircraft paint, does NOT scratch easily. And for what ever reason, we'll all end up with scratches sometime.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
L.Adamson said:
Except......... a high end automotive or aircraft paint, does NOT scratch easily. And for what ever reason, we'll all end up with scratches sometime.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
Click to expand...

This may be true but now that my plane is painted (GloCustom paint job), I apply tape to likely scratch points before removing the cowl and yes, I have scratches even though I'm careful.
 
Paul et Al,

No insult intended to other builders... The reason why mine is now flying and has not had paint yet is because of laziness and impatience! I was speaking of why I have not painted her - not others

Would put in a photo but don't know how... And to lazy and impatient to find out...
 
I think the fundamental decision hinges on whether the builder plans to paint it themselves or to farm it out. If you go pro paint and they're not local (ie within 50NM) the decision is pretty much made for you--Fly then paint. Otherwise you're weighing all the reasons in the previous posts. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here, it's all based on each individual's circumstances and preferences. Like most advice related topics posted here, ask 10 builder's opinions and get 12 different answers. ;)
 
The problem I am having now is trying to answer the question ever time I go to the airport, "uh, should I work on it or go fly...hmmm...Ah I'll fix that tomorrow...let's go fly!"

I don't know that I regret not painting right away, but I am really finding it difficult to imagine being grounded for several weeks or more.
 
I chose paint first

I painted first. Here's how I made my decision--you may have a completely different set of criteria. I don't believe there is a right answer--do what works for you.

1. I wanted my plane done. I wouldn't have considered my plane done without paint.

2. I was painting myself in my garage, so I needed to paint in pieces. I painted 53 individual parts. It would have been difficult for me to disassemble and paint.

3. I don't believe that it is possible to get great adhesion, especially to fiberglass parts, after they have been oil soaked, had bug guts splattered into the pinholes etc. Pristine parts are definitely easier to get a good paint job on.

4. I wasn't too worried about scratches. I painted it, I can touch it up. I built this thing to fly though, not win awards. That said I have one awards and get compliments on the paint often.

5. I would not have been able to stand the downtime to get it painted after I had tested. Also, W&B, stall speed, speed runs, and much of the other testing done before paint will be invalid after paint. I enjoyed test flying, but it just hurts my engineer's brain to paint myself into a situation where I HAVE to retest everything.

Again, it's possible to make up an equally valid list of reasons to paint later. This was just my list.

Guy
 
Guy Prevost said:
5. I would not have been able to stand the downtime to get it painted after I had tested. Also, W&B, stall speed, speed runs, and much of the other testing done before paint will be invalid after paint. I enjoyed test flying, but it just hurts my engineer's brain to paint myself into a situation where I HAVE to retest everything.
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A great point. It's amazing how much a paint job can add weight wise, especially when with a real quality job using multiple layers of primer, filler, paint and clear coat.
 
Almost the same

I painted each major group by itself.

Tail Surfaces

Flaps and Ailerons

Wings

All done in my converted trailer/paint booth with supplied air.

I have yet to do the fuselage because I am not yet finished with it.

This gave me more time and brok up a tedious project into bit size peices.

I painted several complete airplanes in my past A&P IA life, its no easy job, so take your time and get it right.:cool:
 
One of the major overlooked problems with painting an RV after flying is that you then have to paint with the wings on (you could take them off but no-one wants to do that due to the difficulty). That means that if you fly first you will be flying to an airport "hangar" painter.....and I have yet to see an airport painter with a proper oven/spray booth capable of fitting an RV in with the wings on.

To get a really high quality paint job (auto finish) you need a really high quality professional paint booth that has proper lighting, dust extraction, and baking. You can have that only if you paint the parts individually prior to final assembly and flying.

I've had several "hangar" paint jobs done on flying aircraft by recommended and reputable airport painters but not one of them was remotely near auto finish. Typical problems include dust and dirt in the paint, minor blemishes due to insufficient lighting during paint application, and paint that is not baked (lacks durability).

I think that there is considerable merit in flying before painting....but the downside is that you are highly unlikely to get a top quality dust free BAKED paint job at an airport.
 
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maximillion said:
Hi all,

I see a great number of you first fly your rv unpainted for a certain period. What is the main reason for this? Is it just to let everything settle down? Does is allow for a much better paint later on?

Thanks
Cheers
Click to expand...

Personally, when the airplane was finished, I wanted it to be finished. A month or more of downtime would have been really painful once the airplane was flying.

Also, I painted my airplane. It was a tough enough job doing it a piece at a time at my house. I simply didn't and still don't have the facilities to paint an assembled airplane. Besides, when you screw up painting a component, it is only a component - 1 of 30 or so that get painted. When you make a boo-boo on the entire airframe, that's a problem!
 
You just gotta love VAF, so many replies in just 2 days. Thanks a million guys, and based on all the feedback, thoughts and ideas, ill be painting before i fly, mainly because once its done its done. There are still items on my current plane that i should have completed a while back but its too much fun flying......:)
 
The new scratch on my cowling made me realize how beaten up my cowling would look if it wasn't already "loosened up" a bit.

When I first fit the cowling, it went on pretty easily. Then I did the baffling. The new, stiff baffle seal material made the job MUCH harder. It literally took me a full hour to get the cowling top half on once!

Now that it has over 100 hours on it, the seals have adopted a set, and the piano hinges are a bit looser, allowing me to remove or replace the cowling in a matter of minutes. However, even with that ease of removal, I still managed to scratch the cowling and spinner. Almost enough to make me cry.

Just one thing to consider. As was mentioned previously, there's a lot of cowling removal/replacement in the first 50 hours or so. As much as I desperately wanted paint on my plane, I'm glad I waited.
 
For me, wait

I am in the wait to paint camp.

Biggest reason is simply finances.

Also, I have a made few departures from the plans, that may need to be modified after they are tested in actual flying.
 
I'll wait too

I've decided to seal and prime the fiberglass parts that aren't white gel coated. I'm using PPG DP epoxy primer in grey and black. It's tough and resists abuse. It looks OK, and that's 'Good Enough' to get flying.
I'm really alot more concerned with structure, engine, wiring etc. right now.
 
Paint

Paint just adds weight and costs money that is more useful when converted to noise. No shame here.

When I lose 30 lbs and get a raise, I'll consider painting. Still waiting after more than 300 hours of flying time.
 
maximillion said:
Hi all,

I see a great number of you first fly your rv unpainted for a certain period. What is the main reason for this?
Click to expand...
Because it is more fun to fly than sand and stuff....
We were going to paint first.... but we got behind schedule and needed the plane in the air ... so now we're workin on gettin ready for paint and flying. Hope to have her painted before flying season next year .....
but if not .... maybe we'll wain till next winter and fly the summer:D
 
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