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Painting Questions

JackinMichigan

JackinMichigan

Well Known Member
I know a very good automotive painter. He has painted airplane parts and knows how to prep them.

Our RV-10 is finished. It is setting in the shop with the wings and tail parts un-attached awaiting an opening for a hangar at the local airport (promised late April).

Now is an excellent time to start the painting process.

A well respected airplane mechanic stopped by the other day to look at our plane. He said "Do not use an automotive painter".

1. He does not know how to paint aluminum
2. He will make your control surfaces unbalanced with too much paint (which could cause flutter)

I am not worried about #1.

But #2 has me thinking. If the amount of paint on the control surface is so critical wouldn't Van's mention it and give you some checks to make sure your surfaces are "balanced" properly.

As you RV-10 owners know, there is a lot of fiberglass that has to be prepped for painting. I really trust my automotive guy to do an excellent job on the fiberglass. I am not sure I could equally trust an airplane painter.

Any thoughts guys???
 
Ignore this advise. If the aluminum is prepped correctly it makes no difference who the painter is and what he typically paints. I could put additional coats of aircraft paint on and it wouldn't make any difference other than unnecessary weight. As long as the surfaces are balanced after painting it makes no difference what kind of paint was used.
 
Painting

An auto painter I once used took great pride in being certified for spraying specified paint thicknesses. He was very techy.
 
I think the comment for #2 may be more along the lines of a custom car painter would be more likely to use too many thick coats of paint compared to usual GA standards.

I would be worried about total weight gain if the paint thickness upset a control surface balance more than expected.
 
Painting

I plan to paint my own.

Having painted a few boats , bikes and that i feel confident to prep and paint the RV 7. I have read the incident article by Canadian DOT on the accident with an RV 7 and painting was considered that it MIGHT have contributed to flutter.

The final analysis was that extra paint, extra filler and some weight consideration on oversize rivets was the problem in addition to being over gross weight.

I doubt very much a concientious person would get enough paint weight out of balance to contribute to a problem..... but then... ya never know!
 
You can and will have to balance the control surface regardless of what type of paint or who paints it and it is not that hard to do. You might want to talk to your painter to be aware of added weight that it might not be as much of a concern with a car.
 
Thousands of homebuilders have painted their own aircraft over the years. I would expect a pro to do a better job as long as he knew the objectives (light and shiney) and used appropriate products.
 
Recheck CG

I can offer my anecdotal experience with an RV9A.

Before the first flight, my c/g was within limits but very far forward with just me and fuel.

After the first flight, I added a 2 lb weight to the tail which improved the handling in solo test conditions. The aft most c/g stayed within limits.

Some months later I had the plane painted. Adding paint and removing the weight put the c/g in exactly the same spot.
 
cars are not planes....but...

if it ain't obvious, all aircraft painters should keep in mind that the belly and underside of everything else, needs just the minimum to flow and cover the primer! save a quart or two on the bottom of that wing!

The top is the weathering surface, and will bear the brunt of wear, dirt, bugs, UV, wax, cut n buff etc etc. Need a good solid layer here.
 
As I shared with you Jack, I believe the most important outcome should be a beautiful paint finish. You have a lot of money already in the bird and a large number of your friends and acquaintances will have no appreciation of the hard work and craftsmanship you put into it. But they will see the paint job and it will craft much of the impression they have of your work.
 
JackinMichigan said:
I know a very good automotive painter. He has painted airplane parts and knows how to prep them.

Our RV-10 is finished. It is setting in the shop with the wings and tail parts un-attached awaiting an opening for a hangar at the local airport (promised late April).

Now is an excellent time to start the painting process.

A well respected airplane mechanic stopped by the other day to look at our plane. He said "Do not use an automotive painter".

1. He does not know how to paint aluminum
2. He will make your control surfaces unbalanced with too much paint (which could cause flutter)

I am not worried about #1.

But #2 has me thinking. If the amount of paint on the control surface is so critical wouldn't Van's mention it and give you some checks to make sure your surfaces are "balanced" properly.

As you RV-10 owners know, there is a lot of fiberglass that has to be prepped for painting. I really trust my automotive guy to do an excellent job on the fiberglass. I am not sure I could equally trust an airplane painter.

Any thoughts guys???
Click to expand...

This guy is full of himself. I had ZERO experience painting painting planes and nothing more than touch-up on autos. Purchased and studied the DVD by Sam James Painting 101 and got respectable results on a Cozy MKIV and my RV-10.
 
I think that you won't have any problems with an auto painter. I did and didn't have any issues. Although he was an auto painter during the day, he also had three EAB aircraft too.

Just talk with your painter and tell him that you need to minimize the weight of the paint. How he reacts and the following dialogue will tell you if you should proceed with them.
 
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