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Mark Henderson

Well Known Member
I am planning on painting my 12 myself. Last week I was ordering the interior paint from Stewart Systems and had a couple of questions. They were very helpful and spent a good bit of time with me on the phone. They have put together a DVD demonstrating how their products work. The video shows the refinishing of a Cessna wing from from start to finish. It was quite good, and essentially gives you specifics on how to set up and apply the primer and top coats. If anyone is considering painting their 12 you might want to check it out. I've been using their primer and it is easy to apply and much less toxic than the stuff I have used in the past painting cars. Now all I have to do is come up with a paint scheme that complements the lines of a 12.
 
1st time user

I just got done with the fuse exterior an hour ago. Takes a while to get used to this paint, but seems to work ok. I am used to automotive, and you can polish the clear-coat easily if you don't get it perfect first time. You can't do much to this riveted surface. Better get it on well first time. I started on the bottom by itself to get some experience with it. Glad I did. Rivets can create runs very easily if slightly heavy or thin.

John Bender
 
Wow, those are great videos! That's the one area that scares me about this whole building process, but I hope to do my own painting when the time comes.
 
Painting hinges?

When painting how do you deal with the hinges? Especially the hinges on the stabilator/ trim surface. Mask them or paint them? Paint with hinge pin in or out? How is it done? What about the hinges in the engine cowling? I am just starting the nose cowling so I don't know how they are going to come out. I guess that they are not seen from the outside (if done correctly).

Someone said the cowling is a fussy job so it is probably slow. I will paint after that.

Rich
 
Maybe me

It is a slower job doing the cowl, that is if you want it to look decent. You can't paint it until the engine is done, so I have not painted it.

I have shot the hinges straight away. They do not seem to fill the holes that way. Hard to get them perfect, but you can shoot them from slightly forward and rear, not as much side to side. That gets them covered fairly well.

John Bender
 
Rich

Off. I'm painting them a different color. The hinges will maybe look funny, maybe not. Every other hinge eye will be different color.

John Bender
 
Agree

I did that a little on one of the hood hinges. Had to clean it off with laquer thinner.

John Bender
 
Completed painting interior

I completed painting the interior yesterday. I wish I had taken Rudi G's suggestion and painted before I installed the side skins. I used a gravity feed HVLP trim gun using the Stewart paint. Masking was bad enough, but trying to reach into the fuselage to keep a consistent distance with the gun was virtually impossible. I'm 6' tall, have long arms, and it still was difficult reaching some places. The worst spot is the sides of the tunnel. You have to reach over avoid touching the arm rests and angle the gun to even hit the bottom edge. If I hadn't put the sides on it would have been a snap. Overall the quality was ok, but it could have been better. If you are painting with rattle cans this is less of an issue. You can paint one area at a time. I do like the quality of the Stewart top coats and think they will hold up better in the long run.
 
I have the QB -9A fuselage. I was concerned about acid etching the interior and pressure washing--Will I miss getting some acid out? And I don't really like the idea of filling the fuse with water. Dan at Stewart said since the fuse already has a wash primer I could just Scotchbrite it, clean it up (my choice is acetone) and spray their primer. No need to etch or pressure wash. Small parts that have not yet been installed, I'll follow their system.
 
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