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Aviation PAint vs. Auto Paint?

dmat

Well Known Member
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Is there a difference between Duel stage aviation paint and auto paint? Is aviation paint lighter? Allows for flex?
 
Flexibility is a main thing, at least from what I was told by the shop that painted the 10.

Planes go from hot to cold to hot conditions pretty fast compared to a car.
 
Not much

Use any good Urethane and your fine..Single stage means the paint "color" is the finished product. Dual stage means a base coat color and trim color if used, then a clear overcoat which gives the shine..Also known as "base coat/clear coat". Best if you use same product line from start to finish, IE PPG, Sherwin Williams, ect. I favor the PPG Desothane series, which was designed for aircraft and is very durable. Learn all you can before you paint any primer, or do anything to your finish surface areas. Paint is the easy part, prep is the hard and important part ! Be prepared for a million opinions, and find a local painter..car,plane or whatever, just a good painter you can confide in.
 
FWIW: My airplane was painted with Dupont CHROMAPREMIUM automotive paint 12 years ago. The paint has held up superbly and the airplane still looks like it was painted yesterday.

To me, The painter is more important than the paint. A good painter can do miracles with cheap paint. A weak painter can make expensive paint look bad.

 
FWIW: My airplane was painted with Dupont CHROMAPREMIUM automotive paint 12 years ago. The paint has held up superbly and the airplane still looks like it was painted yesterday.

To me, The painter is more important than the paint. A good painter can do miracles with cheap paint. A weak painter can make expensive paint look bad.


I can attest to that statement!! If you check with any NASCAR crew, they use auto paint on their fiberglass and carbon fiber cars. But, they have good painters! Ha!
 
Our experience is:
Our first RV was painted using Dupont Chroma one auto paint. Was still looking great when sold 13 years later

2nd RV same paint colors (close) using Dupont Aviation paint now 13 years later and it looks great

The difference we see is, Auto paint was so easy to find touchup paint if needed. NOTE: Picking a car color makes finding touch up paint a breeze.
Aviation not so. requires buying a small can of paint from the paint shop
 
i would think that auto paint is ''state of the art'' because of the volume of it made compared to aviation paint. auto paint is put to a pretty severe test , road salt, rock chips, scratches and undergoes heated garage to 20 below temp changes daily. probably a lot more spent on research for auto paint than citation jet paint.
 
Brian Carroll's "Aurora". 10 year old auto paint and it still looks brand new.
 

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Mine is painted with Chrysler car paint (base coat and a clear coat) and it looks shiny and bright since 2009 even in the shade. I agree the prep and painter make all the difference versus the cost of the paint.
 
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Buying Desothane

Mike..Any PPG dealer/distributor should be able to get Desothane from their product lines. In my case, I have used the local distributor that supplies the company I work for here in NC. Its been 11 years since I have dealt with them, but I'm sure you can find one on the left coast.. The interweb search may be your best option.
 
Aviation paint maybe necessary for dark colors or non metallic or speeds greater than M0.6. For an RV it is just extra cost. Auto paint works great.
 
Truck/equipment paint

I painted in SW Genesis and don’t regret it. It’s tough stuff, good gloss, laid down even with my amateur skills. +1 on using auto colors, especially if your base is white....Ford or Chevy van white is available for touch up anywhere, and you’ll need it for wheel pants!

I would expect a hangered airplane to look good for a long time. All the paint formulations we’re talking about are designed for essentially full time exposure.
 
I built the full size mock ups of the B2 Bomber for the movie Broken Arrow at the Long Beach airport. They were glass and I ended up painting them with latex! Wonder if that would work on an RV! Ha!!
 
I built the full size mock ups of the B2 Bomber for the movie Broken Arrow at the Long Beach airport. They were glass and I ended up painting them with latex! Wonder if that would work on an RV! Ha!!

Don't laugh. In the late 70's there were two BG-12 gliders at Elsinore. One flew a lot and one flew less often.

The guy that built the one that flew most said he just got tired of building it and painted it with Lowes latex. You could only see the difference from yards away. The BG-12 had plywood skinned wings and fuselage.

It looked like c*ap but he did fly regularly....:)
 
Thanks Gents for all the help! guess I know how I will be painting my nest project.

D
 
Some considerations on Auto Paint

I used PPG auto paint single stage and followed Dan H's excellent article here on VAF. Some considerations:
1. Single stage PPG auto paint cuts and buffs well and is easy to repair/touch up if you get dings. Clear coated finish not as easy to repair.
2. Auto paint is available in a huge array of colors and can be mixed at the local auto paint store.
3. Auto paint can be mixed into an aerosol that can be used for touch up etc.
4. Auto paint has a wide range of additives to allow painting in less than optimum conditions, a huge bonus for me painting in a metal hangar in the winter.
5. My local auto paint store was very accessible and very helpful.

Overall in my case the PPG line of products worked well and has held up very well.
Figs
 
Auto paint

Take a look at Kirker. Also sold as Eastwood and Summit Racing. Kirker Tech support always answer.
I buy from Auto Body Toolmart. Often shipping is free.
I use EnduroPrime. It's a 2K epoxy. Very tough and easy to mix and spray. Top coat is UltraGlo Single stage. Also easy to spray and Cut&Buff. Use the slow reducer and Activator.
Details in my blog under "Pages" links.
 
I am planning on painting a RV4 in a military scheme with silver base color and a navy blue nose. ( I know, not very original but I do like the look of it)

Does anyone have paint code for a base silver?

Or maybe a cooler military paint scheme?

Thanks,
D
 
Thanks RV8JD, while helpful, I was hoping someone knew an "off the shelf" paint code. I (personally) don't need to follow the federal color guidelines. If I had a real P-51, I would be thinking otherwise. :D

I am just looking for a silver paint which is readily available and mimics the silver on other RV's flaunting a military style paint scheme.
 
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