Process for Textured Interior Paint

[Kyle Boatright]

I recently saw a post here (I think) which mentioned using air pressure and/or other gun adjustments to add a spatter texture to the interior of a project. As I recall, the technique was mentioned as a passing comment, not a how to.

First, I can't find the post.

Second, I'd love to hear about that technique..

Thanks,

[60av8tor]

Can't find it with a quick search, but reach out to Geoff at Aerosport. I'm pretty sure he used the technique - very low pressure through the gun.

[xblueh2o]

A friend who builds cars uses this all the time. We give him endless rations of grief because he texture paints nearly everything. Nothing wrong with it but everything he touches gets texture painted. At a bbq he was spraying something on the chicken with a squeeze bottle and everybody asked if he was trying to texture paint the food too.
Anyway, if memory serves it is low pressure but higher than normal paint flow.

[wirejock]

Originally Posted by xblueh2o

A friend who builds cars uses this all the time. We give him endless rations of grief because he texture paints nearly everything. Nothing wrong with it but everything he touches gets texture painted. At a bbq he was spraying something on the chicken with a squeeze bottle and everybody asked if he was trying to texture paint the food too.
Anyway, if memory serves it is low pressure but higher than normal paint flow.

Yep. Works great on chicken!
Actually, I got the effect by accident texting interior paint.
You may want to shoot some samples and see how you like it. I found the samples looked horrible after cleaning. Sooner or later you need to clean the interior.
I ended up the opposite and buffed everything to a smooth finish.

[Kyle Boatright]

Originally Posted by wirejock

Yep. Works great on chicken!
Actually, I got the effect by accident texting interior paint.
You may want to shoot some samples and see how you like it. I found the samples looked horrible after cleaning. Sooner or later you need to clean the interior.
I ended up the opposite and buffed everything to a smooth finish.

The challenge with the -10 is the cabin top. I suspect you could spend tens of hours filling and sanding and you'd still have obvious flaws if you painted it with gloss paint. If you texture it or use flat paint, you could spend a fraction of the time finishing it and have nice results.

But the cleaning issue is why I haven't gone with a flat paint. My gut tells me it wouldn't clean very easily.

[wirejock]

Originally Posted by Kyle Boatright

The challenge with the -10 is the cabin top. I suspect you could spend tens of hours filling and sanding and you'd still have obvious flaws if you painted it with gloss paint. If you texture it or use flat paint, you could spend a fraction of the time finishing it and have nice results.

But the cleaning issue is why I haven't gone with a flat paint. My gut tells me it wouldn't clean very easily.

You could rhino line it!
My interior is flat paints. After buffing it smooth, it wipes clean.
I used a red clay bar and water on the parts before assembly.
It didn't take very long at all.

[Ron RV8]

Just a data point

Tremclad Textured rattle can
4th season wearing well, photos are when built
applied before assembly
applies easily, can spray over remodelled parts without detection
dries very quickly
cleans easily

[Canadian_JOY]

Many composite aircraft have their interiors painted with a speckled paint called Zolotone. I opted to make fake Zolotone by using roller and brush-applied latex paint, then a quick pass from about 24" with a rattle can of fake stone paint in a contrasting color, just to give it a few speckles of a contrasting color. Looks great - so far I haven't had a single person detect that it's not real Zolotone. And it wears like nails!

[snopercod]

I used Zolatone (Apollo Gray) in the baggage area of my plane and so far it's been very durable. IIRC, I had the gun set for high pressure and low paint flow to get it to splatter correctly. You'll just have to experiment with gun settings.

[gyoung]

Originally Posted by Kyle Boatright

But the cleaning issue is why I haven't gone with a flat paint. My gut tells me it wouldn't clean very easily.

I got a tip from a local paint shop that does a lot of warbirds. For the anti-glare areas he uses PPG Concept with about 3x the normal flattening amount. It lays out smooth and flat and can be hit with wax without leaving the white residue. I've used it on my RV canopy frame and rollbar as well as the anti-glare cowling on my Navion. Only downside is a very short shelf life because of the extra flattening. It tends to crystalize. Normally ~3 months but I've kept mine in the fridge and it's still good after a year.