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Vinyl wrap RVs going to oshkosh?

loopfuzz

Well Known Member
I'm getting more interested in putting a wrap on my plane. I was wondering if anyone that has done it will be flying their plane to OSH?

Maybe there will be a forum on wrapping? I haven't checked the schedule yet.
 
We will be flying at least one of our RV8s to Osh on the 30th till the 2nd. It'll be parked in the HBC.

Dream Schemes Designs and AircaftWraps have collaborated together on our newly designed scheme to make sure you cant miss it!:rolleyes: We had to do something to give Titans Wrap some competition!

Titan Engines' RV8 that we wrapped will also be in OSH at their space. AW will be hanging out in both areas to discuss wraps.

We look forward to meeting everyone in OSH.
 
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Wraps

We will be flying at least one of our RV8s to Osh on the 30th till the 2nd. It'll be parked in the HBC.

Dream Schemes Designs and AircaftWraps have collaborated together on our newly designed scheme to make sure you cant miss it!:rolleyes: We had to do something to give Titans Wrap some competition!

Titan Engines' RV8 that we wrapped will also be in OSH at their space. AW will be hanging out in both areas to discuss wraps.

We look forward to meeting everyone in OSH.

Aircraft Wraps is one of my must see stops. See you there.
 
Vinyl Wrap at Oshkosh

Yes, I will be there. Look for N35PM in the home built area.

IMG_2532.jpg
 
Special ID, flags???

Would be handy if the wrapped planes could post a special flag on the prop! :) Spot'able from a distance...
 
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Would be handy if the wrapped planes could post a special flag on the prop! :) Spot'able from a distance...

Won't be an issue for my RV8. There will be no doubt who's plane it is:D

I'll post it's location as well

*** how do we keep beer cold? Do they have ice available at osh? This is the important question...
 
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I won't be able to attend Osh this year, but be assured I have spies that will check them out for me!
 
Yeah, right

Everybody SAYS that, until they see how far out of the straight line that would be. That said, I would be delighted to have you visit, and as EAA Chapter President, would insure lots of interest from others as well. Flight plan for T65 and let me know, can provide hangar space as well.
 
vinly wrap

Is anyone using VW on an airplane that is tied down outside rather than hangered? Is that asking for corrosion trouble?
 
Wraps

We will be flying at least one of our RV8s to Osh on the 30th till the 2nd. It'll be parked in the HBC.

Dream Schemes Designs and AircaftWraps have collaborated together on our newly designed scheme to make sure you cant miss it!:rolleyes: We had to do something to give Titans Wrap some competition!

Titan Engines' RV8 that we wrapped will also be in OSH at their space. AW will be hanging out in both areas to discuss wraps.

We look forward to meeting everyone in OSH.

If Scott has improved on the designs I saw when visiting his shop a few weeks ago, I think they will be quite impressive! I'm seriously considering having my aircraft wrapped now, instead of painting!

Thanks, for the tour of your aircraft and facilities, Scott, and I will see you at the Show!

T
 
Probably been discussed before somewhere, but what is the weight difference between a wrap and paint? Cost of a reasonably simple scheme for a wrap on an RV?

Greg
 
Aircraft Wraps....Are you guys for real?

I flew 1000 miles each way to SNF mostly to see your aircraft. Never found you, couldn't hook up. I'm going with paint.
 
I flew 1000 miles each way to SNF mostly to see your aircraft. Never found you, couldn't hook up. I'm going with paint.

Sorry to hear that. We enjoyed meeting with several pilot/builders. Sun N Fun allowed us to meet Titan's leaders. Later we wrapped their 409 aircraft after viewing our RV8 we flew in to show. Team Aerodynamics also viewed our RV8. Zenith, Lancair, Bedecorp, etc.

Sorry we missed you individually.

We were at sun n fun friday, sat and sunday.
 
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Probably been discussed before somewhere, but what is the weight difference between a wrap and paint? Cost of a reasonably simple scheme for a wrap on an RV?

Greg

Vinyl is around 70% lighter with our process.

Send me an email with design details and we'll reply with a quote.
 
Scott,
Did you ever come up with a plan for the two Phoenix wrap jobs? Never heard back. I'll be camping all week in HBC with my bare metal RV-8. I'll definitely find you and introduce myself.
 
Everybody SAYS that, until they see how far out of the straight line that would be. That said, I would be delighted to have you visit, and as EAA Chapter President, would insure lots of interest from others as well. Flight plan for T65 and let me know, can provide hangar space as well.

Aw, Weslaco is just a *little* bit off a straight line :D
 
I would bet that all of the reported weight savings are for wrapping a bare aluminum airplane. I bet if you epoxy primed the entire exterior prior to wrapping there would not be any weight savings. Wrapping a non-primed airplane is asking for serious corrosion issues.
 
I would bet that all of the reported weight savings are for wrapping a bare aluminum airplane. I bet if you epoxy primed the entire exterior prior to wrapping there would not be any weight savings. Wrapping a non-primed airplane is asking for serious corrosion issues.

I would have to respectfully disagree with you.

Prime the aircraft and you'll still save ample weight.
 
Scott,
Did you ever come up with a plan for the two Phoenix wrap jobs? Never heard back. I'll be camping all week in HBC with my bare metal RV-8. I'll definitely find you and introduce myself.

Gash,

We have 3 RV's in Phoenix lined up now! Wrap-a-thon! Just waiting for #3 to commit.

Regards,

Scott
 
Do you have any factual information for that statement, or is it just an informed prediction? I am not challenging what you said, just wondering what you used for the basis. If I were to prep and mask the plane for primer, why not go ahead and paint it?

I would bet that all of the reported weight savings are for wrapping a bare aluminum airplane. I bet if you epoxy primed the entire exterior prior to wrapping there would not be any weight savings. Wrapping a non-primed airplane is asking for serious corrosion issues.
 
Do you have any factual information for that statement, or is it just an informed prediction? I am not challenging what you said, just wondering what you used for the basis. If I were to prep and mask the plane for primer, why not go ahead and paint it?

No hard factual information since I have never worked on an bare metal aircraft that has been covered in vinyl for several years. 21 years of aircraft maintenance experiance working on military jets, corporate jets and piston aircraft, and often working on the same aircraft several times a year for many years has given me a good idea how and why corrosion starts, how it spreads, how to remove it and how to prevent it.

Vinyl wrapping will never seal the edges of skin joints and other structural parts the way paint does, and it may even hold moisture and contaminants in these areas. For this reason alone corrosion will form and it will then spread under the vinyl sheet since the metal under the vinyl is not protected by a corrosion resistant epoxy primer. This will happen. It already happens to painted aircraft where paint chips around panel openings and at skin seam edges, but the difference is there is primer to keep the corrosion from rapidly spreading. Ever heard of filiaform corrosion?

Titan's RV8: we added 12lbs total. It is 70% less then paint. 10lbs paint to our 3lbs of vinyl.

I am confused... did you add 12 Lbs or 3 Lbs? Or are you saying that the coverage of 3 Lbs of vinyl works out to the same as 10 Lbs of paint?
 
I just wanted to clarify that I am not trying to discredit vinyl wrapping as a viable exterior aircraft finish. I am just being captain obvious here and stating that if you wrap a bare airframe you will have corrosion issues eventually. This decision is not unlike the one to prime internal structure during the build and where the airplane is based and how it is stored should be taken into consideration.

As I stated before, i do believe that wrapping a bare aluminum airframe will result in corrosion issues sooner or later. If your aircraft is based in a dry climate and it is always hangared this may not be an issue for many years. On the other hand if your aircraft is based in a humid or coastal area you will have corrosion issues even if hangared. I know because I have been there and seen the effects of a humid coastal environment on aircraft I have owned and maintained that were primed and painted with multiple types of finishes.

From experience working on heavy aircraft that are 100% primed with epoxy corrosion resistant coatings, I do believe that a primed airframe with vinyl wrap applied on the exterior would hold up just as good as any other finish as far as corrosion resistance goes. I just don't believe that if the airframe is primed that you would see a significant weight reduction benefit using vinyl versus a paint top coat. I also wonder how hard it would be to cover seams and other complex areas with vinyl to hide all of the green primer without having to use some paint in certain areas?
 
Vinyl wrapping will never seal the edges of skin joints and other structural parts the way paint does, and it may even hold moisture and contaminants in these areas. For this reason alone corrosion will form and it will then spread under the vinyl sheet since the metal under the vinyl is not protected by a corrosion resistant epoxy primer.


So what about just priming the edges and joints?
 
That may be a good solution as long as the vinyl is not porous and does not let moisture through to the rest of the bare metal areas. Priming and spraying a color matched top coat in all of the nooks and crannies would probably result in a much better looking wrap job as well. I just don't know enough about the particular vinyl product being used to comment on how well it would keep corrosion off of bare aluminum. Maybe one of the guys doing this will give us some data?
 
I just don't know enough about the particular vinyl product being used to comment on how well it would keep corrosion off of bare aluminum. Maybe one of the guys doing this will give us some data?

Mike,

I see your very detailed concerns. AW has developed a very specific process to deal with these issue. The vinyl we utilize eliminates most of your issues. I will also say you are correct, "corrosion under paint can also happen".

"Moisture being trapped under"...Prep and installation. Our installers are not amateurs, they've been wrapping and even teaching vinyl installation for decades. We have the best... simple answer.

Note: we are in the worst possible spot given your examples... South Florida on the coast. Feel free to fly down and I'll peel off the fwd baggage door vinyl for you. The key lock unprotected looks horrible... vinyl wrapped door underneath.. perfect (minus my rivet work:rolleyes:)

Recently we took the vinyl "Stars and Bars" off an aluminum aircraft. After years of being on, when we took it off the bare aluminum looked perfect.

This is becoming another " Which Primer War". Yes, corrosion is very real with both paint and vinyl. Prep and correct materials solve many issues. Install process takes care of more. Feel free to prime the aircraft. Cutting down a significant weight saving by only maybe 4lbs?... Which ever the pilot/builder wants... we can do it either way.

AircraftWraps never said, "don't prime". We also never said, "Prime". It's not our place to tell others how to build their aircraft. Bring us whatever the pilot/builder finishes with and we can Wrap it.
 
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Follow up to my curmudgeon comments

I flew 1000 miles each way to SNF mostly to see your aircraft. Never found you, couldn't hook up. I'm going with paint.
I wrote that yesterday.
Today, Scott Farnsworth of AW called me personally out of the blue to apologize for the mis-connect at SNF. He wanted to assure me that it was unintentional and that it troubled him that he (they) had let me down. He did not ask me to reconsider, only to say he regretted I wasn't treated properly. He is trying to instill high standards in his company, and this was not the way he would have it be. He asked that I remember AW the next time around and give them another chance then.
What a class act!
I think guys like this need to be recognized...so here you have it!
PS:
I put my paint decision on hold today, and will seek out AW's display at OSH. This deserves a second shot.
Dick Gossen
N90GG
 
Where and how will be the best way to find you Aircraft Wraps folks? Booth? Forum session? Find the airplane(s)? Would like to visit and find out some info. Thanks!
 
Scott, thank you for addressing some of the concerns I, and others have. I also appreciate the offer to remove some wrap for inspection but it is not necessary, I believe you are a man of your word.

Personally I still have some reservations concerning long term corrosion issues when vinyl is applied over bare metal, but I guess time will tell the full story. I will however consider using a wrap on the primed exterior of my -14 when it is done. I still have some time to see some wrapped aircraft first hand and make that decision. It would be easier to do multiple stripes/graphics using the vinyl than having to spend several days with a roll of fine line masking tape! :cool:
 
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