[Megaulf]

I am about to have my wings painted and would like to know of how best support the wing duirng painting. Anyone tried a stand that can be turned.

Appricate any input

Ulf

 

[sglaeser]

You could bring out the wing stands used in construction or build something similar and mobile. The traditional wing stand won't allow rotation, but allows plenty of access for painting.

In terms of rotating stands, I don't have any specific knowledge.

My paint scheme allowed me to lay the wings down on saw horses to paint the leading edge as a whole and one side at a time. It did add time to the painting process, as I had to allow the paint to harden before flipping the wing over.

I hope this helps.

 

[kentb]

Mine could rotate

I had some "junk" laying around that used to hold up a pool slide. It was a 2 inch aluminum tube with a plastic receptacle for it. I screwed the plastic base through two 1/2 inch pieces of plywood that fit the outer rib. One piece on each side to the rib. The piece that was inside the wing was cut into to allow it to pass through the hole in the rib. Ok so that makes three pieces.

The inboard end had tube held the a piece of plywood with a U bolt and then the plywood was bolted to the fuse. mounting holes.

I then build two wooden stands with U bolts for the tubes to slide into. The were not tightened down to allow the tubes to rotate freely.

I then used a 1x2 wood handle (about 5 ft long) through one of the trailing rib holes on the outboard rib to position the wing.

My friend did the painting while I rotated the wing. This worked well as we could keep the area where he was shooting the paint flat. A couple of times the paint got a little to thick and started to run. I was able to minimize the run by positioning the wing so that gravity was working for us.

I hope that this is clear. If not I could dig around and find a picture of the rig.

Kent

 

[robertahegy]

I purchased a wing rotator from Aircraft Spruce. I bolted the root to the rotator using the spars for support. I rolled it to the flat postion to paint the LE and TE, then rolled it vertical to paint the top and bottom, all in one session. A small sawhorse supported the outboard end while doing the LE and TE. I supported the outboard end on the aileron hinge when painting the top and bottom. Having just painted the LE and TE while horizontal, I was able to rotate the wing to vertical without messing up the wet paint. Then I could get the whole wing done in one session.

Here is the best pic I have of the wing on the rotator (sorry). I like painting this way as it is easier to reach without getting into the paint.

Roberta

PS: I just looked at ACS's catalog and I don't see the rotator there anymore. Not sure if anyone else sells it. I would be happy to borrow it out to builders in SE WI. They would need to pick it up and return it and leave a refundable deposit.

 

[KTM520guy]

The best way to paint the wings is with them bolted to the airframe. The fuselage makes a great wing holder that is at just the right height. IMHO, YMMV.

 

[Kyle Boatright]

My solution was cheap, easy to implement, and worked well for me.

I got two sawhorses and rested the main spar on one of 'em.

At the wingtip, I stuck a large diameter piece of PVC tubing into one of the lightening holes. The piece of PVC went at least 3, probably 4 ribs into the wing.

The spar and the big PVC tube served as pivots for the wing.

I stuck a smaller PVC tube in one of the lightening holes near the trailing edge of the wingtip. That tube also went through multiple lightening holes. I used it as a "stop" to determine the wing's orientation for painting. Using this method, I could either have the wing upright or inverted, which made it easy to paint either side.

Best of all, there were no tools to buy and I had sawhorses and odds and ends of PVC readily available..

The only caution is to make sure neither of your pivot points falls off of the sawhorse. That would be bad.

 

[randylervold]

Here's a few ideas for you...
http://www.romeolima.com/RV8/Paint.htm#The%20painting%20process

Scroll down just a bit to see my wing jigging method. I used it again for my RV-3 and it worked well there also.

 

[cytoxin]

paint them vertical

depending on where you are painting. painting them vertical will result in aloooot less trash in them if it is an improvised booth, why would you want to paint them flat? you have better form in the vert. posistion.my.02

 

[Kyle Boatright]

depending on where you are painting. painting them vertical will result in aloooot less trash in them if it is an improvised booth, why would you want to paint them flat? you have better form in the vert. posistion.my.02

Good point, and the right answer probably depends on the painter's skill level.

Personally, my airplane was the only thing I'd ever painted, so getting a good (even) coat of paint applied was my biggest concern. What I did was shoot the wing's top with the wing flat, then flip it over and do the bottom. That minimized runs on vertical surfaces and kept trash from settling on the top of the wings.

 

[cytoxin]

ahhhh

Good point, and the right answer probably depends on the painter's skill level.

Personally, my airplane was the only thing I'd ever painted, so getting a good (even) coat of paint applied was my biggest concern. What I did was shoot the wing's top with the wing flat, then flip it over and do the bottom. That minimized runs on vertical surfaces and kept trash from settling on the top of the wings.

kyle you are too right about runs. if you really try to wet it out flat is better.
but man the trash is usually more than i can stand. i am building a paint booth now behind my shop. i have painted several cars over the years and nothing beats the pros booth but great results can be acheived with some planning. randy has done a nice job as far as i can tell but the truth is in the up close inspection. from the pics he's got it does look great on both of them that he's done. the last car i did i had a buddy apply the color in the baking booth. and man its hard to tell someone that i didnt actually paint this one.

 

[PainterJohn]

I have used 3" pvc to support the wings while painting them, I clamped the spars to a solid post in my shop at the root end, then built an upside down T then used a 3" 90 degree PVC fitting connected to a 4 foot or so long peice of 3 inch pvc that went inside the ribs largest holes, it worked great.
here is a pic of them on thier stands.