Cut and Buff EkoCrylic on RV-12

I’m in the process of learning the proper techniques for getting a nice finish using Stewart Systems EkoCrylic. At this point in my learning curve there is still considerable orange peel in the finish which hasn’t been much of an issue on the small parts that show in the interior, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable painting the exterior unless there was a straightforward solution for cutting and buffing the finish. DanH published an excellent post on cutting and buffing clear coat finishes on flush riveted RVs, but I’m not sure how well that technique would work on EkoCrylic and having to deal with the pop rivet heads on the RV-12. Anybody have experience with cutting and buffing the finish of an Rv-12 or EkoCrylic?

Cut & buff

Dan's method works. I also wrote a page on my blog.
You need thick enough paint. 3-4 coats. A lot of paint gets removed to remove the orange peel.
Avoid the rivets, raised areas, corners, and edges. The cut process will remove paint faster in these areas and will likely go through the color into base layers.
I recommend painting a test piece and practicing before trying it on the airplane.
When it's done right, it really looks awesome.

I've seen Wirejock's results and they are beautiful. However, they are with a Kirker paint, not the Stewart paint you're using.

With that caveat, the process is generic. It gave an optical finish, and didn't take too long - I watched him do a section. So pay attention to what he wrote as that is generally applicable.

Dave

As a quick confirmation... yes, the process is generic. I used DanH's instructions to cut and buff Eko-Crylic - worked just fine. As Wirejock mentions, you have to have sufficient paint thickness to make this process viable, otherwise you will cut through the paint.

I'll also add that one doesn't have to have an air-powered DA sander to accomplish this task. I have had very limited electrical supply in my hangar thus could not run a compressor. I have had good success using a top-of-the-line electric Makita rotary buffer as well as a less expensive DA buffer/plisher from Porter-Cable.

Some will laugh at this but I've done the wet sanding using a hand-held squirt bottle and a cheap electric 1/3 sheet orbital sander. Just don't spray the water on the sander!

The original poster is asking about an RV-12. It uses pulled rivets that are not flush. I think cut and buff would take most of the paint off of the rivets. Working around these rivets would be difficult.

Pulled rivets are a recipe for a bad experience!

And, waterborne paint is much more difficult to get good results than solvent.
Paint is cheaper than messing up your hard work and having a heavy airplane. My course of action would be to practice painting cardboard until you can get a nice shiny finish following the Stewart protocol. It can be done and the 2k is durable, BUT not stain resistant to auto gas.

BTW, use a 2k primer. The one coat white stuff washes off and blisters the finish coat if solvents or autogas get to it

Larry - to which one coat white primer are you making reference?

I used the Stewart Systems Eko-Poxy primer and it is none of the things you've mentioned. In fact I think I like it about as well as the Eko-Crylic paint that's over it. Both are very tough and have, so far, shown themselves to be resistant to staining.

That having been said, the Stewart Systems Eko-Crylic paint is very hard to apply without getting lots of orange peel. Also, use exactly the spray gun they recommend because they have no ability to help you troubleshoot paint problems if you use any other gun.

C’joy answer

Yes, the primer that failed for me was Eckoprime not eckopoxy.