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kboyd59

Active Member
What are some of the colors used by builders to paint their panels, what is the reason these colors were used, and did the color you applied holdup after the aircraft was flying and being used on a daily basis. Thanks for your input.


Ken Boyd
 
kboyd59 said:
What are some of the colors used by builders to paint their panels, what is the reason these colors were used, and did the color you applied holdup after the aircraft was flying and being used on a daily basis. Thanks for your input.


Ken Boyd
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Far from finished yet, but my panel and internals shall be USSR Cockpit Blue :cool:
 
RE:powder or ?????/ Color

RVadmirer said:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=19409&highlight=Panel+Color
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It was interesting to look back on this thread and note the great info provided. As you all know I went to powder and have not regretted that ....but.....I also learned that good ole Rustoleum if given time to cure will provide an excellent/durable/cost effective coating. As to color the sky/imagination/taste are the limit. I do like my flat black panel. Easy on the eyes. Instruments really pop surrounded by the black. The powder coating has really held up under the panel/electrical build.

Frank @ sgu RV7A can see light at the end of the tunnel:D
 
A technique that I used and very happy with, is an automotive color but with out the gloss agent mixed into the paint.
I used a two part system exterior GM color called gray/green or lichen green which looks more gray than green. It is holding up well after flying three years and the color is easy on the eyes with good contrast for the instruments.
 
Copy an auto interior

One approach is to find your favorite car/truck/van interior and just copy it.

All of the paint colors are known and are complimentary. The matching fabrics and carpets are all available, and new auto materials even meet FAA fire requirements (the auto spec. is tougher than the FAA spec.)

Most cars have several interior colors, usually being dark lower down at the carpet level and getting lighter as they go up. The dash is just one of the matching colors.

My theory is that the automotive companies spend a lot of $$ (or Yen, or Euros) on paying color consultants, and they can do a better job than most males on matching colors...:)

gil A
 
Got a sample?

SvingenB said:
Far from finished yet, but my panel and internals shall be USSR Cockpit Blue :cool:
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Was thinking a kind fo grey colour, but given that my seats and harnesses are grey/blue, I'm now wondering what a blue interior might look like. Have you got a picture showing the blue you're thinking of?
 
I did mine in carbon fiber. I used a product called Dragon Plate. Came in a thin layer of carbon fiber with a 3M backing and sticks right to the panel. Looks awsome and the finish is bullet proof. Don
 
I had some leather that I didn't need for the seats, so I covered the panel. Looks great, is very low gloss/glare, ties the interior together color wise and I'm pretty sure the fibers cut the interior noise level by almost .002 DBA! It's tan, BTW.

Bob Kelly
 
This is an interesting thread indeed! Let me give you the most popular colors first that we see through our shop:

#1 - Grey
#2 - Tan/Beige/Cream/White
#3 - Black

But...right this moment in our shop we have an RV7 panel that is fire engine red, an RV-10 panel that is Jaguar Blue, a G900X RV-10 panel that is Raspberry Chamagne and we just shipped a Chelton RV-10 that was overlayed in Cherry wood Veneer. WE also just finished a G900X RV10 pane; that was color matched "cappacino" to the leather interior of the owner.

In the past couple of years some of the most memorable are:
Hummer Yellow, Mountain Dew Green, Big Band Blue, Red Carbon Fiber, Clear Coated Brushed Stainless, Boeing Courtalds Red, Black Carbon Fiber, Leather overlay, Wood Overlay, Rubber Truck Undercoating, Royal Blue, and a whole slew of other non-standard colors.

I no longer debate panel colors because people choose what they like best...my job is to debate avionincs and layouts!

Just thought you might be interested to know there is a veritable rainbow of choices out there.

Cheers,
Stein
 
Formica - Wood Grain

I wanted something very durable and easy on the eyes. We went to one of the big warehouse hardware stores and went through the sample "chips" until we found exactly what we wanted and ordered a 4x8 sheet of it. I glued it on with plio-bond adhesive. After years of building and 3.5 years of flying it still looks like new. As a bonus I found that cutting new instrument holes is as easy as cutting them out of the basic aluminum panel. When I added a round instrument, I just positioned my hole saw guide drill at the instrument center location and sawed right through the formica and aluminum. There is no wear, chipping, scratching, shrinkage, delamination, etc.

Bob Axsom
 
panel colors

Used single stage Urethane topcoat over Variprime. Tinted the white to a shade of gray that matches the new light gray Cessna color approximately. Didn't bother to dull the finish, as very little of my panel space is exposed. Really looks great. Many years of car painting under my belt, and I can strongly advise using a hardened topcoat for the panel, as it is subject to wear and scratches from cleaning and such. Oil base spray bombing can look great, but it takes a long time for these finishes to build surface strength, so plan ahead. Seems the panel is subject to a lot of handling during the build.

HTH...Chris
 
AntiGravity said:
Was thinking a kind fo grey colour, but given that my seats and harnesses are grey/blue, I'm now wondering what a blue interior might look like. Have you got a picture showing the blue you're thinking of?
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Something like this (when you take out all the instruments and put in a Enigma/Odyssey) :D

cockpit-mid%20oct%202005.JPG
 
Turquoise!

SvingenB said:
Something like this (when you take out all the instruments and put in a Enigma/Odyssey) :D
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<picture snipped>
Ahhh. That's kind of a 'turquoisy' to my eyes. Not quite was I was thinking. I like the carbon idea someone mentioned above. I know a local guy that does fibreglass and carbon stuff for motorcycles; he made fenders and footrest guards and things for me in the past. I might go see him...

Cheers all :)
 
I like the carbon idea someone mentioned above
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Here's a pic of Yakdriver's Carbon panel. I thought it may be too shiney, but it wasn't and is a real beauty.

RV7056.jpg
 
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