U

USCANAM

Well Known Member
Going to probably start shooting the primer on the RV9 on Thursday, and want to make sure I have enough primer (Vari-Prime). At the cost of paint, I'd rather buy the proper amount.
Would like to know approx. how much paint required to put on one medium coat on a RV9. That includes all composite parts i.e. cowls, wingtips, but not wheel and gear fairings.
Thanks All
Jack
 
Hey Jack

I painted my -8 several years ago. Here is an excerpt from my web page on what I used for the whole plane. The plane was sprayed all over white, then red on the bottom half of the fuse, wings, and tail, and some blue trim.:
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I used Imron for my paint. Here is the list of what I wound up using:


  • 1 Gal of Kleine-Sol
  • 2 pints of Variprime and Converter
  • 1 Gal of Colar light gray primer with activator
  • 2 Gals of Imron (White) with activator
  • 1 Gal of Imron (Red) with activator
  • 1/3 of a Qt of Imron (Blue) with activator -> the smallest I could buy was a quart
  • 1 Gal of reducer, of which I used about a cup
  • a couple of gallons of laquer thinner
  • 1/2 a Qt of Acetone (for cleaning the fiberglass)
  • umpteen rolls of masking tape
  • 2/3 of a 1000' roll of masking paper
  • 3 rolls of 1/2" 3M Fineline tape
  • Scothbrite pads
  • tack cloths
Note: no etch or alodine. I scuffed the entire airplane (by hand!) with 320 wet paper, then wiped it all down with Kleine-Sol, then used Variprime, then Colar, then the paint.
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Hope this helps,
 
Unless you are planning to paint it black, one medium coat of paint is not likely to cover fully.

To get good coverage on a typical two seat RV, 3 sprayable gallons is a common amount used.
 
FWIT!!
1 quart of primer surfacer for composite parts
1 gallon Vari Prime (including activator)
1 gallon of sealer (plus activator and reducer)
10 scotchbrite pads
1 tube of Icing filler

over $600 so far;

possibly more Vari Prime
then main color $145/quart, plus activators
3 shades of silver trim
clear coat
1 mile of line tape
I hope the $2000 I put in the budget will be enough!!
But we're having fun !!!
Jack
RV9A
48.7 hours, now down for paint
 
When spraying a RV I need 3.5 quarts of mixed, ready to spray primer for the AL parts. 4 quarts are needed for an RV-10. For the composite parts I use about 6 quarts of "high build" primer. That sounds like a lot but most of it gets sanded off.

If I may offer a word of advise. Please reconsider using Vari-Prime. It offers little, if any, corrosion protection and can be removed easily with a rag and some solvent. IMHO of course, YMMV.
 
Thanks

Ted
Very interesting link on painting your RV. You kept very good records. They are too good for my wife to see!!
KTM520 Guy
I read all the pros and cons about the Vari Prime on a search.
I got about the same 50/50 response talking to people who have painted airplanes. Basically, I've determined that it's not that forgiving to poor prep, so since I've bought the material, and have been getting a lot of attention from the Dupont dealer, I'll take may chances with it, and try to make sure the prep is as good as I can make it.
Thanks for your input.
Jack
 
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