[Darren S]

This paint or paint/polish question could likely fall under the never ending debates.... but I'm going to pose my dilemna none the less.

I'm building a -7. I have decided to go with Stewart's as I can do it in my garage without killing myself, my wife, kids or neighbours cats.

To paint I need : HVLP gun, paint, experience, big booth

To polish I need : electric polishers, polish compound, elbow grease, small booth to paint fiberglass parts.

Will use vinyl accents to decorate.

To polish is cheaper I think, takes the same amount of time as painting (ie. paint prep work). Polish is lighter, looks good but needs yearly maintenance. \

Here's a picture I like: http://www.pilotbill.com/Black-SilverRV.jpg

My big thing is this... I can put in my best effort with the paint and screw it up and be pissed at the result. With polish, as long as I dedicate the time, I can be assured of the result.

Why did you choose to paint or paint/polish ?

Thanks,

Darren

 

[Kyle Boatright]

With polish, you'll need to repeat the process every few months - probably 2-3-4 times a year, depending on how shiney you want the airplane. I think it would get old taking a couple of days to polish the airplane that frequently.

One thing to consider is whether you've ever run a polisher before. It isn't hard, but is possible to make a real mess with one. A bonnet grabbing an 0.020 or 0.032 skin can bend an edge badly.

 

[RV7ator]

You will never, ever, be on a heading without a blinding, cooking reflection off the wing. Ever. Even at night.

John Siebold

 

[Darren S]

For those who painted their own RV's, with Stewarts, and didn't have an abundance of experience, how did you learn ?

Does the sun really bother you in flight all the time ? The wings are always moving around, so isn't the sun reflection just a bother at certain times ? Unlike standing next to the wing on the ground where I know you can fry yourself.

Does it take an average of 50 lbs of paint to do an RV-7 ?

Thanks for the input. I have to decide here shortly whether to order from perfect polish or more paint from Stewarts.

Darren

 

[lostpilot28]

For those who painted their own RV's, with Stewarts, and didn't have an abundance of experience, how did you learn ?

Does the sun really bother you in flight all the time ? The wings are always moving around, so isn't the sun reflection just a bother at certain times ? Unlike standing next to the wing on the ground where I know you can fry yourself.

Does it take an average of 50 lbs of paint to do an RV-7 ?

Thanks for the input. I have to decide here shortly whether to order from perfect polish or more paint from Stewarts.

Darren

Hi Darren,
I just finished painting (a couple months ago) with Stewart Systems paint. It was my first "real" paint job, although I painted some motorcycle fairings a year ago with PPG Omni. The 2 systems are pretty different, so I don't think my experience with the PPG helped. Painting is a BIG job, regardless of what system you go with...but in the end it's worth it. I would recommend not following my lead and going with a paint scheme that's overly complex. But that doesn't mean you should settle for all white or something very simple, either.

I re-weighed my airplane after the paint was finished and I added exactly 50 pounds, but my "pre paint" weight didn't include wheel fairings/pants, nor did it include my interior side panels. I'm guessing paint was responsible for about 30 pounds of the added weight.

Lastly, I would think the polished aluminum would blind you a lot more than paint...but it would probably only be at certain angles from the sun when it's lower on the horizon.

 

[airguy]

I had this decision made before I ordered the tail kit. I know for a fact that I can paint my plane myself, but I also know for a fact that I will have a big learning curve before being able to make it look good. I've seen a couple of really well-built airplanes that looked like junk because of a bad paint job. I never thought twice about it, honestly - Grady is gonna have a chunk of my disposable income as soon as Phase I is over.

I'm putting a new engine, new prop, and new glass panel in the airplane, I might as well drop some money on a good paint job as well.

 

[lostpilot28]

I had this decision made before I ordered the tail kit. I know for a fact that I can paint my plane myself, but I also know for a fact that I will have a big learning curve before being able to make it look good. I've seen a couple of really well-built airplanes that looked like junk because of a bad paint job. I never thought twice about it, honestly - Grady is gonna have a chunk of my disposable income as soon as Phase I is over.

I'm putting a new engine, new prop, and new glass panel in the airplane, I might as well drop some money on a good paint job as well.

Oh geez! I suppose if money were no object then most everyone on here would have a professionally done paint job! As a matter of fact, if money were no object, I'd probably be building a Viperjet (or flying one already built).

 

[cfiidon]

My Same Dilemna

I was hard over on a polished airplane, until I discovered too many scratches too deep on the elevators and rudder. So perhaps painted control surfaces and polish elsewhere?

I haven't made the final decision yet. Polishing with a cyclo polisher is not hard and I think I'll start there. The rest of the airplane is pristine and should look great polished.

After flight test, if I hate it, I'll paint it all. Easier than stripping a painted airplane to get it shiny.

I think I would have to pay to have mine painted. I painted the leading edges of my Bonanza cuz some paint peeled off. Painting was easy... sanding all the orange peel took days of mind numbing labor. I am NOT a painter. It's an art.

 

[Darren S]

Thanks for the opinions fellas. Keep them coming.

I don't want to send my bird out for paint. I've done the whole dang build myself, I kind of want the bragging rights of saying I did it ALL

Sonny, did you use a HVLP turbine for your Stewarts Paint ? I just read that the HVLP turbine gun I just bought may not work well with the water based paint.

For those who painted their planes before the first flight, would you recommend painting smaller parts and then doing the final assembly ? ie. do elevators, then Vertical stab, then one wing at a time and then the fuse. Or bolt it all together and then go spray crazy ?

For those who polished, anymore comments of the sun reflecting and blinding a pilot during flight ?

I read that Nuvite can get out some pretty deep scratches. Anybody with first hand experience ?

Anybody out there started to polish their plane and then gave up and went painted ? If so, why did you give up ?

"Airguy" your comment on having a well built RV with a junky paint job is my BIG reason for this post. I don't want to be another statistic !

Thanks again all for the help, still deciding,

Darren

 

[airguy]

Oh geez! I suppose if money were no object then most everyone on here would have a professionally done paint job! As a matter of fact, if money were no object, I'd probably be building a Viperjet (or flying one already built).

I'm building an airplane, not restoring a motorcycle. This project has a budget like any other, but it also has the potential to kill me in a rather messy manner. It will be done right, or not at all. Sorry if your views differ from mine...

 

[mannanj]

Decision

Paint can be up to 50 lbs added weight. A diet for pilot and pax can equal that added weight.

Polished wings can be murderous on the eyes at certain sun angles. Shaded window tinting and sunglasses help.

I chose to polish because----
1. I was out of money when I was ready to fly, and
2, I love the look of a polished aluminum plane!

As someone said, polishing is a pain in the back, shoulders and elbows but it needs to be done less and less with continued polishing.

It all depends on the look you want.

If you decide to polish, Nuvite polish is the way to go.

 

[Phil]

I'm building an airplane, not restoring a motorcycle. This project has a budget like any other, but it also has the potential to kill me in a rather messy manner. It will be done right, or not at all. Sorry if your views differ from mine...

Agreed. If I were going to let the price delta of a do-it-yourself paint job and a professional one be a deciding factor in building or not building, then I really shouldn't be building. By the time you're done, the price delta of a nice paint job is relatively small in the big picture.

Nothing says she has to be sexy on the first flight. If you can save up the money to build an airplane, you can save up a much smaller amount over a year or two to get the paint job you really want.

 

[lostpilot28]

I'm building an airplane, not restoring a motorcycle. This project has a budget like any other, but it also has the potential to kill me in a rather messy manner. It will be done right, or not at all. Sorry if your views differ from mine...

Agreed. If I were going to let the price delta of a do-it-yourself paint job and a professional one be a deciding factor in building or not building, then I really shouldn't be building. By the time you're done, the price delta of a nice paint job is relatively small in the big picture.

Nothing says she has to be sexy on the first flight. If you can save up the money to build an airplane, you can save up a much smaller amount over a year or two to get the paint job you really want.

I think you both missed my point...if money wasn't an object, I would do it the same way as you. However, for a lot of home-builders, I think cost IS a factor. For me it certainly was...that's why I did it myself.

Darren, I didn't use a turbine HVLP...just the recommended HVLP gun from Stewart Systems - the Finishline 3.

 

[Bob Axsom]

Flew Unpainted for a Year

I finished the plane and flew it for a year before painting. There are a lot of things that occurred in that first year that would have ruined a paint job. During that year it was not polished and I'm sure it makes a difference but the bare aluminum caused me no problems.

I kept designing the color scheme over the entire 8 year period before it was completed. I wanted something unique and without the bright swoopy commercial artist look.

I had my airplane painted but I designed it down to the smallest detail. I also taped the full size patterns on to the plane to verify that the scheme didn't lose the effect I wanted when scaled up. Most areas were OK but the horizontal stabilizer/elevator needed to be completely redone and the fuselage and wheel fairings needed refinement.

I provided the details including full size patterns and a 40 odd page contract spec. to the painter and I made a couple of spot checks on progress. The painter removed the control surfaces etc. to paint the plane - that you have asked shows you are properly concerned about it. The paint job was spectacular in my eyes and it has held up for four years like new. It is Imron.

Good luck with your polish I'm sure you will love it.

Bob Axsom

 

[Loman]

Check out the Stewart's videos

For those who painted their own RV's, with Stewarts, and didn't have an abundance of experience, how did you learn ?

Darren

Stewarts have put up some very useful videos of their processes on Youtube. Just search for "Stewartsystems". Not a Hollywood production but that only made it better to my eyes. You also get an impression of the kind of decent down-to-earth people the Stewarts guys are.

 

[lostpilot28]

Stewarts have put up some very useful videos of their processes on Youtube. Just search for "Stewartsystems". Not a Hollywood production but that only made it better to my eyes. You also get an impression of the kind of decent down-to-earth people the Stewarts guys are.

If you call them up, they'll send you the DVD at no charge. It's pretty dry stuff because you watch every second of Dan painting a wing, but at the same time it's very thorough.