lostpilot28
Well Known Member
OK, I've been wanting to write up my experience with the Stewart Systems paint for awhile, but didn't really have everything close enough to "done". I wanted to take some pictures to share because they'll be worth more to you than anything I can say.
First, I really want to say thanks to Frank Stringham for his insight with this paint system. It helped me be more cautious than I normally would have been. That being said, I didn't have nearly as many problems as I thought I would and the paint really seems to be very strong stuff. This is only the second thing I've ever painted in my life with an actual spray gun - the first was a bunch of motorcycle fairings a year ago (single color only). Painting the RV was by far more difficult than I thought it would be, but I'm extremely happy with the results, so to me, it was worth the effort.
The propeller tips had to be painted black (did that today), otherwise the prop and spinner would be on the airplane.
The details: The primer is extremely easy to work with. There's almost nothing I can say here to make that point. Pour it (mix in a little water if you want it thinner) and shoot. Pour what's left back in the can.
The paint is a different story. The 4 step procedure took a couple days to get used to, but after that, it's easy, too. Temperature seemed to play a big role in how the paint turned out. Oddly enough, when I shot the very first color (white) I got 5 or 6 runs and a couple "tiger stripes", even though the temperature was at the maximum allowed (85 F). I really made sure I followed the directions on mixing, so I can only assume that it was my gun technique that caused the runs and stripes.
Sanding out the runs was easy, and recoating a 2nd time fixed the stripes. You only have to make sure that each color on the airplane gets the same number of coats (with yellow and white) since lighter colors seem to have some transparent properties.
The 2nd color applied was yellow, and I only had a couple runs (fortunately in places where darker colors would be, so they were very easy to fix. Sand smooth and coat with darker color). After the yellow I seemed to get no runs, stripes or problems at all. I found that I was actually loading up the paint on some things and it didn't run. Not sure, but maybe the lighter pigments tend to run...I don't know, but things got progressively easier after the yellow.
I must have spent over $200 in masking tape...I couldn't believe how much I went through. Same with paper and plastic drop cloths. When masking for the gray stripes one day I spent 7 hours covering the white and yellow. I also learned that white masking tape sucks. Don't use it! It sticks really well, but bleeds paint underneath really well, too. The worst of both worlds!
I had lots and lots of little mess ups, but I've found that they're easily fixable. One thing that I heard about this paint was that you only get one chance, so don't screw up. That's really not true at all. Just like any other paint, everything seems to be fixable. I had (and still have a few) areas where I got overspray under the masking...it was easily removed with rubbing compound and then polished to a shine with polishing compound. Fisheyes were the hardest to fix, but still fixable (I only had one or 2)...sand if you want, then degrease and reshoot. Worked fine for me.
One concern that Frank and I discussed was the effect of a "halo" or satin ring around something that you re-shot. As per Dan at Stewart Systems, you can turn the gun way down (both material and fan, but leave the pressure at 22 psi) and shoot a very small area. You get very little overspray and any halo's or satin rings are minimized. They're still there, but you can easily buff them out to match the surrounding shine with a buffer and some polishing compound.
Also, if anyone wants to know, I did e-mail the owners of the paint scheme I borrowed (twice) and asked if I could use it. I never heard back...but I must give them credit for such a beautiful design. I'm glad I went with it!
First, I really want to say thanks to Frank Stringham for his insight with this paint system. It helped me be more cautious than I normally would have been. That being said, I didn't have nearly as many problems as I thought I would and the paint really seems to be very strong stuff. This is only the second thing I've ever painted in my life with an actual spray gun - the first was a bunch of motorcycle fairings a year ago (single color only). Painting the RV was by far more difficult than I thought it would be, but I'm extremely happy with the results, so to me, it was worth the effort.
The propeller tips had to be painted black (did that today), otherwise the prop and spinner would be on the airplane.
The details: The primer is extremely easy to work with. There's almost nothing I can say here to make that point. Pour it (mix in a little water if you want it thinner) and shoot. Pour what's left back in the can.
The paint is a different story. The 4 step procedure took a couple days to get used to, but after that, it's easy, too. Temperature seemed to play a big role in how the paint turned out. Oddly enough, when I shot the very first color (white) I got 5 or 6 runs and a couple "tiger stripes", even though the temperature was at the maximum allowed (85 F). I really made sure I followed the directions on mixing, so I can only assume that it was my gun technique that caused the runs and stripes.
Sanding out the runs was easy, and recoating a 2nd time fixed the stripes. You only have to make sure that each color on the airplane gets the same number of coats (with yellow and white) since lighter colors seem to have some transparent properties.
The 2nd color applied was yellow, and I only had a couple runs (fortunately in places where darker colors would be, so they were very easy to fix. Sand smooth and coat with darker color). After the yellow I seemed to get no runs, stripes or problems at all. I found that I was actually loading up the paint on some things and it didn't run. Not sure, but maybe the lighter pigments tend to run...I don't know, but things got progressively easier after the yellow.
I must have spent over $200 in masking tape...I couldn't believe how much I went through. Same with paper and plastic drop cloths. When masking for the gray stripes one day I spent 7 hours covering the white and yellow. I also learned that white masking tape sucks. Don't use it! It sticks really well, but bleeds paint underneath really well, too. The worst of both worlds!
I had lots and lots of little mess ups, but I've found that they're easily fixable. One thing that I heard about this paint was that you only get one chance, so don't screw up. That's really not true at all. Just like any other paint, everything seems to be fixable. I had (and still have a few) areas where I got overspray under the masking...it was easily removed with rubbing compound and then polished to a shine with polishing compound. Fisheyes were the hardest to fix, but still fixable (I only had one or 2)...sand if you want, then degrease and reshoot. Worked fine for me.
One concern that Frank and I discussed was the effect of a "halo" or satin ring around something that you re-shot. As per Dan at Stewart Systems, you can turn the gun way down (both material and fan, but leave the pressure at 22 psi) and shoot a very small area. You get very little overspray and any halo's or satin rings are minimized. They're still there, but you can easily buff them out to match the surrounding shine with a buffer and some polishing compound.
Also, if anyone wants to know, I did e-mail the owners of the paint scheme I borrowed (twice) and asked if I could use it. I never heard back...but I must give them credit for such a beautiful design. I'm glad I went with it!
Fortunately, that's fixable, too! 
