Jconard

Jconard

Well Known Member
Sorry for all the paint questions, but any ideas on how much paint is necessary to cover an RV-7? Or how many square feet are on the surface?
 
Try 4x the wing area

For most single-engine airplanes, the wetted area is 4x or 5x the wing area. So for an RV-7, try 600 sq. ft.
 
For primer I can spray the whole plane with 3.5 quarts mixed. For a single color base I buy two "kits" of paint. 1 kit equals 1 gallon of paint and 1 gallon of hardener. Different brands of paint can mix in different ratios. The paint I buy mixes 1:1. A gallon of thinner is also purchased. That is way more than enough paint. The extra can be saved for later use. For stripes I buy 1 or 2 quarts of paint depending on the size of the stripe and if the wings are striped or not. If you plan to paint the color red you will need more paint than that.

As for the square footage of an RV, I have no idea.

Hope this helps,
 
KTM250,

1. Is your web "callsign" a reference to a motocross bike?

2. So, to paint an RV-7 all red, the paint I am looking at mixes 4 parts color, 2 parts reducer, 1 part hardener...how much do you think it would take to be sure?

3. Is it true that you should get all your paint mixed at the same time to ensure exactly the same tone on all surfaces? If I go red, I will use Guards red, an porsche color I have sprayed before (in 1991). Back then it turned out to be one of the cheapest reds.

4. Ironically, I want to go with white for anonymity of low altitude opps. (Wife wants red), but I cannot find a pure white, like insignia white, at my local PPG jobber...any tips at an OEM color?

Thanks for your help, it sounds like you have done more than a few of these.
 
1. Yes it is. I use this screen name on more than one bbs.

2. I would buy 2 gallons of paint at least plus the reducer and hardener. If you paint red you'll also need to buy some white or light gray paint for your first coat. Red is very transparent so it needs an even base coat. Are you buying PPG Concept? Part number reads DCC******

3. Yes. Most colors from the auto body paint houses are mixed on site and can vary day to day and by the person mixing them. If you buy cans of paint at different timems you can just mix them together to make sure everything is the same.

4. Most whites have a little bit of some other color in them. If you want something very white you could see if they can match Imron color number 555U. You could also ask to see a toner/mixing white. This is a pure white paint used in mixing other colors. It's white, white, white.

Glad I could help. I've painted about 60 RVs. They are great airplanes to work on.
 
Yes,

I am thinking about DCC, but the local jobber is not as informed as I would like.

In the past I used Dupont products, and wish I could figure out what the equivalent PPG product is to Vari Prime, and 131S.

My plan was to sand the aluminum, spray a self etching primer, followed by a surfacing primer, tinted white, and then the single stage DCC.

I would like to be able to color sand/ buff, but wonder if it would work with the rivets and other surface irregularities.

I apppreciate your thoughts.
 
Mixing base

Jconard said:
KTM250,


4. Ironically, I want to go with white for anonymity of low altitude opps. (Wife wants red), but I cannot find a pure white, like insignia white, at my local PPG jobber...any tips at an OEM color?
Click to expand...

Try asking the jobber for his white mixing base. This should be as pure white as you can get.

I did this on the wooden sailplane I built so it wouldn't look "dirty" next to the fibreglass ones - it worked!

If you really need a white color, ask for GM truck #12 - hasn't changed since the 60's and is pretty much pure white.
The 70's Grummans came from the factory with this color (Dupont 817, I think - but reference GM truck #12)

gil in Tucson
 
Most auto paint stores don't know much about painting planes. My local PPG guy is an airplane owner and even he doesn't know much.

I'm not a big fan of Vari-Prime. It comes off easily and does not offer any corrosion protection. I would suggest an aircraft specific self etching primer. That would be a one step deal. Only need to prime once.

I've only color sanded a couple of planes in my life. Hated it every time.
 
Is there an aircraf self etching primer which has some build for blocking out the primer? The ones I am aware of are pretty think and shouldn't be sanded.

Didn't know that about variprime...worked good on cars.
 
It should be corrosion resistant

KTM520guy said:
...
I'm not a big fan of Vari-Prime. It comes off easily and does not offer any corrosion protection.

I would suggest an aircraft specific self etching primer. That would be a one step deal. Only need to prime once.

.....
Click to expand...

KTM250 (huh?)

I'm confused on the "does not offer any corrosion protection" bit...
DuPont sells it as ...
"It provides excellent corrosion resistance and direct-to-metal adhesion for spot, panel and overall repairs."

Data sheet here...

http://www.performancecoatings.dupont.com/dpc/en/us/html/prodinfo/chromasystem/H-19303_615S.pdf

Before epoxy primers become popular, Vari-Prime was a usual primer under Imron on aircraft.

Has the "good" stuff with the lead and chromates in it been regulated out of your area?

VariPrime is still OK, but seems to have been replaced with the Colar epoxies primers in DuPonts aircraft painting guides

gil in Tucson
 
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I've stripped many aicraft primed with Vari-Prime and all had corrosion under the primer. No big ugly spots but widespread little spots. It's kinda weird stuff, stripper will not get it off but a rag dipped in solvent makes short work of it. Another thing you can do take a razor blade and work it into paint and take it right off. The blade will actually split the primer layer. This is just my experience. For me Vari-prime is a waste of time and money. There are much beter products out there. YMMV
 
Sounds like we could benefit from your experience of painting numerous RVs. What do you suggest as being the best combination if you consider corrosion resistance, quality of finish, durability and ease of application?
 
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