RV-14 Painting

I'm looking for any leads on paint shops and/or DIY training for painting my RV-14A. I'm finding lead times at most paint shops are at least 12 months or more. I'm not shy about painting it myself. I think Sherwin Williams offers some hands-on training with their system, but any other suggestions most welcome.

If a shop doesn’t have a lead time, you have to wonder why.

I’ve taught several people to paint. It’s pretty easy. Even the prep work is easy. It’s just time consuming. I might work a day or two just so I can paint for 20 minutes. If you decide to do it yourself and need a little advice, hit me up. I’ll help the best I can.

I really like the 14. If I can ever do another build that’s the one I’d do.

There are a number of options.

- If you are interested in painting it yourself, get the proper paint setup (PPE, compressor, gun, condensate removal system for your air, etc.), then spend several afternoons and weekends learning how to paint. Go to the junkyard and buy an old door or fender and learn to shoot primer and paint on it using your equipment. For this learning curve, buy cheap paint - Kirker or Summit racing, for instance. In a month and a couple hundred dollars in consumables, you can learn a lot about painting. White is the most forgiving color, black is the toughest of solid colors, and then you get into pearlescents, metal flake and similar. You might even get a friend who knows something about paint to come over and help a few times, just like you (probably) did when you learned to rivet. That would help with the learning curve.

- Maybe you can do the prep work and get a local auto body shop to spray it (in pieces) with the paint system you prefer.

- Maybe there is a rental spray booth in your area (check around), and you can do the prep work and have a guy from a pro shop shoot the paint during his off-hours.

There are lots of ways to skin this cat.