F

fstringham7a

Well Known Member
RE:painting bottom of fuselage....?????

Painting of my RV7A is underway with all the work necessary to prepare and prep the FG parts. In the middle of this mind numbing exercise of getting rid of flaws and pin holes in the fiberglass I started to think a head to the fuse. painting process. Which led me to this questikon ......

How to paint the bottom of the fuse with my Sata gun? The gun to paint 90 degrees to the fuse places the canister of paint such that gravity will pull it down so it won't be the orfice ready to supply the sray nozzle in the best case or will come out the cannister air hole at the worst case. I can see if I go to a 60 degree shoot angle then these two problems wioll go away. But as you know the rule is: keep the gun 90 degrees to the surface being painted !

Monday I am going to shoot with water as a test to see if I am just having a bout with the old what ifs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now if I had just gone with a real mans airplane I could have followed Sam B. lead and put the aircraft on it's nose to paint the bottom.

The light goes on! Maybe lower tail to do the front half and then dig a hole in my garage floor to lower the nose so that the rear half will be raised!:eek:

Help....Any ideas/accounts/forum threads I have over looked/pictuers would be appreciated.

My prayers this night are also with all who have been effected by that BAD BOY IKE..........

Frank @ 1L8 (Hur-a-cun, Utah) ....RV7A... painting??????????
 
I used an HVLP for all but the bottom of the fuse. The wings rotated on large PVC pipes. For underneath I used a siphon gun, and bent the pickup tube to the direction the paint would gather in the canister. It worked well!

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
Frank
You might want to check into this
My gun is a DeVilbiss top loader that you can put a specially made plastic bag with a zip lock top into the cup.. The bag has a special fitting that seals the contents of the bag to the inlet port on the bottom of the cup.
When you fill the bag with your paint, then get all the air out of the bag, seal the bag and you can put the top back on the cup.
This will allow you to paint up-side-down because you're creating a vacuum in the bag by the normal suction of the gun when painting.
Obviously, you can paint in any direction too!!
Hope this helps
Jack
 
RE:Model #

USCANAM said:
Frank
You might want to check into this
My gun is a DeVilbiss top loader that you can put a specially made plastic bag with a zip lock top into the cup.. The bag has a special fitting that seals the contents of the bag to the inlet port on the bottom of the cup.
When you fill the bag with your paint, then get all the air out of the bag, seal the bag and you can put the top back on the cup.
This will allow you to paint up-side-down because you're creating a vacuum in the bag by the normal suction of the gun when painting.
Obviously, you can paint in any direction too!!
Hope this helps
Jack
Click to expand...

Jack

Thanks for the info. I will do a search for this type gun. If possible could you get me the model # of you gun.

I am using two guns for my primer/paint. A DeVilbiss Finishline with a 1.5 (primer) and a Sata 1.4 for the paint.

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... painting
 
fstringham7a said:
Jack

Thanks for the info. I will do a search for this type gun. If possible could you get me the model # of you gun.

I am using two guns for my primer/paint. A DeVilbiss Finishline with a 1.5 (primer) and a Sata 1.4 for the paint.

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... painting
Click to expand...
Frank
Will be happy to when I go to the hangar tomorrow. In the meantime, you should be able to find it with a search.
Jack
 
Gun with liner

Frank,

I was fortunate to have access to several different guns. They were all professional guns with a liner system. This allows you to work at any angle. See if you can get one of these.

I have a 7. We tipped the tail up as high as we could to make things easier. You might need a creeper to get around easier underneath.
 
Harbor Freight remote canister

Frank, I have used the HF gun with the remote canister. It has two hoses that go up to the spray head. Worked well for me.

Paul
N694BP reserved
 
RE:Thanks for the info

cytoxin said:
i used THE 3M liner cup kit. http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mppsregsizm.html 50 liners, 50 lids w/filter, 20 plugs, 2 holders, the kits are the same. you simply buy a fitting to make it fit your gun..... thats what ive been using.
Click to expand...
William

Thanks for the info. After research I will follow your lead and spend some more $$$$$$$$$ to get this RV in the air. Please check my list of materials and see if this is what I will need. I will be ordering tomorrow (September 15, 2008) in the AM time frame.

Sata Gun #2 Adapter @ $10.95
3M PPS 16001 Cup/Collar @ $29.99
3M PPS 16000 Kit @ 88.99

I believe that this should really cut down on paint prep and clean up. Considering i am using Stewarts water borne paint
( www.stewartsystems.aero ) it will really make clean upa breeze.

Thanks Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... painting
 
Last edited:
<<Help....Any ideas/accounts/forum threads I have over looked/pictuers would be appreciated.>>

Great advice about gun setups to shoot upside down. For those who are not quite so far along and plan to paint their own airplane, consider shooting the belly early in the game, before installing the gear/rolling the fuselage. The skin overlaps create a natural break line. Don't really need a paint booth setup if you're careful about shop cleanup. Nobody is going to notice a few specks on the belly and you can sand and buff to clear them anyway.

 
Last edited:
RE:Great advice

Dan

Once again great advice.......:D

My problem was I wasn't sure of color selection....ya I know plan a head!!!

Thanks

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A...painting
 
For what it's worth, I'm about to shoot my fuse on a rotisserie. Nothing fancy, just some wood and pipe. I considered shooting upside down on a creeper, but in my experience the two most important things in getting a good paint job are being able to move well and being able to see well. I think that getting good light underneath would be a challenge and the overspray is bound to foul my eye protection. Obviously trying to keep a proper spray pattern while scooting around on a creeper is no easy task either.
 
fstringham7a said:
William

Thanks for the info. After research I will follow your lead and spend some more $$$$$$$$$ to get this RV in the air. Please check my list of materials and see if this is what I will need. I will be ordering tomorrow (September 15, 2008) in the AM time frame.

Sata Gun #2 Adapter @ $10.95
3M PPS 16001 Cup/Collar @ $29.99
3M PPS 16000 Kit @ 88.99

I believe that this should really cut down on paint prep and clean up. Considering i am using Stewarts water borne paint
( www.stewartsystems.aero ) it will really make clean upa breeze.

Thanks Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... painting
Click to expand...

frank sorry i missed your post and i am sure you have it by now. i didnt find painting on my back to be bad at all. my mask miraculously stayed clean...heed the need for light however. i couldnt turn my plane upside down
or i would have.;) its hard to run it painting overhead.:D

oh looks like you have the right kit, i thought my gun adapter was a different number however...let us know how it works out.
 
RE:On Hold...

William

Thanks again....Painting is on hold for a short time....(few days)...waiting on product to shoot. If the painting is like the other boggy men (tanks/canopy/learning to rivet.......) it should be realitively easy.......

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... painting plus!!!!
 
Hi Frank.

I was lucky enough to get a rotisserie mount for the firewall. This then attaches to an engine stand and the whole fusellage can be rotated. I can position the fuselage at any angle (parallel to the floor) so that all of the painting can be done at right angles.

The same individual was kind enough to give a rotisserie for the wings as well.
 
Under fuse

Frank 2,

Well I used my HF HVLP and just tipped it back.

Yes the underside is not at glossy as the top with a little orange peel but no one looks under there any way.

Frank 1
 
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