MrNomad
Well Known Member
Given that we are novice painters, we compensated for our limited skills, primitive environment, and old age by building "jigs" to hold the parts of Chet's RV6A & my 9A for painting. Using automotive engine stands, we were able to position the cowl into almost any position to facilitate painting. As anyone who has ever painted the "shnozz" knows, there are many curved surfaces and sooner or later the novice is going to get "runs”. By positioning the cowl in a series of optimal positions, we got a perfect job.
Here's a second view of the 9A cowl. It will be striped later today.
When we did the front of the cowl, we tipped the engine stand back onto a milk crate so the nose was perfectly vertical. The next photo is is the 6A cowl.
When we "shot" the 6A fuse, we used two engine stands so the fuse could be rotated 360 degrees. In this manner, the surface of the airplane was almost always horizontal which made it easier to "flow" the paint.
The 6A was done in a single stage metallic which is harder to paint (IMO) than basecoat clearcoat. The metal has to be even, we wanted a high gloss finish, and no sags.
[FONT="]Note the blankets on the floor. We wet them before the job so that they "wick" any ambient dust.[/FONT] That helped a lot.
Painting an airplane is sections takes weeks but by welding jigs to keep all of the surfaces level and easily accessible, the novice can definitely get it done.
Cheers!
![2j1odnb.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi53.tinypic.com%2F2j1odnb.jpg&hash=a5dc9030b64b36d51a23cf20cb63d564)
Here's a second view of the 9A cowl. It will be striped later today.
![fk9v0m.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi55.tinypic.com%2Ffk9v0m.jpg&hash=aa22e246d918c68c039a1bf7cefe100d)
When we did the front of the cowl, we tipped the engine stand back onto a milk crate so the nose was perfectly vertical. The next photo is is the 6A cowl.
![ae8ksz.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi54.tinypic.com%2Fae8ksz.jpg&hash=c53a81a2d4e5ac22de853fae0eb141cc)
When we "shot" the 6A fuse, we used two engine stands so the fuse could be rotated 360 degrees. In this manner, the surface of the airplane was almost always horizontal which made it easier to "flow" the paint.
The 6A was done in a single stage metallic which is harder to paint (IMO) than basecoat clearcoat. The metal has to be even, we wanted a high gloss finish, and no sags.
![av3986.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi52.tinypic.com%2Fav3986.jpg&hash=47826c07ca7f55180d50b271f7586443)
[FONT="]Note the blankets on the floor. We wet them before the job so that they "wick" any ambient dust.[/FONT] That helped a lot.
Painting an airplane is sections takes weeks but by welding jigs to keep all of the surfaces level and easily accessible, the novice can definitely get it done.
Cheers!