When to paint the interior?

Air UPSer · #1 08-19-2006, 07:11 PM

Still in the dreaming phase, but trying to educate myself as much as possible.

If going with the ?slow build? fuselage, is it practical/feasible/possible to prime and finish paint the interior of the fuselage prior to assembly? Seems to me this would be the easiest way to thoroughly clean and prep all of the surfaces and apply an even finish coat.

I suppose you will suffer some scratches during assembly, but touching-up still seems easier than trying to clean, prep, prime and paint the canoe once assembled.

TIA.

Brad

Robert M · #2 08-19-2006, 07:54 PM

IMHO, I'd paint as I built. It will be tuff to paint the entire inside later. I've not done it yet but that's my plan as well unless I hear of something better.

szicree · #3 08-19-2006, 09:03 PM

I painted all the cockpit parts before assembly. It definitely slows down the building, but the thought of trying to paint inside the canoe seemed too much for me. Besides, I like the look of all the unpainted rivets.

alpinelakespilot2000 · #4 08-19-2006, 09:16 PM

There is absolutely no problem in waiting to paint the inside until it is assembled. Just do it before you start working on the canopy, panel and forward top skin that might get in the way of the forward side skins. (This is when Van's specifically suggests doing it in the manual and it seems to be good advice. Much of the interior parts--seats, some of the floors, baggage bulkhead, etc.--can be taken out and done separately anyway. Good luck.

Jim P · #5 08-19-2006, 11:22 PM

I'm at this stage right now. See http://adap.com/RV7 on the fuselage page and you'll get an idea. I'm not seeing this as a big deal at all. Most of the interior parts have been fitted including canopy, forward skin, all interior panels, fuel pump, vent lines, and brakes. It was just fitted, now it's all out for prime and paint, then goes back in for good. It might take a little longer, but I don't have to worry about getting the interior paint all scratched up during construction. I basically set aside about a month and a half (workign about 6-8 hours a week) to get everything deburred, dimpled, primed, and painted before our wet NW weather sets in.

Jim

rv8ch · #6 08-20-2006, 05:17 AM

If you use tough primer and paint, it won't get too scratched as you build. With my QB I had to paint after it was all together, obviously. The main problem was really cleaning out the canoe before painting. The spray gun blew dust that was hidden in corners everywhere. Most of the interior will get covered by something eventually, so it's not that big of a deal.

n468ac · #7 08-20-2006, 06:05 AM

Paint it when done ... ours was so bad looking after our test phase, we had it striped and repainted with the plane.

Sid Lambert · #8 08-20-2006, 06:08 AM

Mickey,

Do you have a suggested tough paint/primer? I'm planning on using a PPG single stage paint for the interior as well as exterior. Is that tough enough for interior?

Robert M · #9 08-20-2006, 07:38 AM

....and you can always cover up the primed surfaces with a blanket to help cut down on the wear.

N941WR · #10 08-20-2006, 09:32 AM

I just finished painting my interior after fitting the panel and tip-up.

It wasn't so bad. Of course it is going to take me a few days to put everything back in it, including the wiring I had already installed.

The primer was all scratched up and I wanted it to look nice as I move forward. Of course, now I have to be extra careful not to scratch the new paint (again).