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Paint scheme question - Paint underside of wings/rear horiz stab?

K

KazooRV-9A

Well Known Member
Patron
Do builders by and large paint the underside of their wings including any patterns? And horizontal stabilizer bottom surfaces?
Not many pictures that show the undersides out there, just wondering what's more commonly done?
 
You bet! Bottoms look just like the tops!
 

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Typically no, wingtip paint and any design that starts on the top of the wing will wraparound underside to a logical end.

There are 8,760 hours in a year. The average general aviation aircraft flies 100 hours per year. It’s your airplane and your money.
 
I painted flat black on the Rocket’s belly from the FW to the back of the baggage compartment.
It cuts the perceived need to clean the belly by at least a factor of 4…
 
The bottom is the easiest, laziest part of the plane to paint. No need to waste all that energy standing. Just lay on a creeper.
 
Bandera said:
The bottom is the easiest, laziest part of the plane to paint. No need to waste all that energy standing. Just lay on a creeper.
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Yeah….but when you and Grady did our -3, and Shark was doing the airbrushing, I recall that he didn’t fit under the wing (big old farm fed boy….), so you and Grady just shot a gray shadow underneath to reflect the shapes on top!

(When John Stahr did the jet, we had to put it up on a couple of cinder blocks to get it high enough for him to work…..🤣)
 
I have to wonder if there's a difference in whether or not to paint the bottom side to match the top depending on whether it's a DIY or paint shop job. As someone planning on going the DIY route, I'm definitely thinking twice about how fancy to get on the bottom side!
 
skelrad said:
I have to wonder if there's a difference in whether or not to paint the bottom side to match the top depending on whether it's a DIY or paint shop job. As someone planning on going the DIY route, I'm definitely thinking twice about how fancy to get on the bottom side!
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I went the DIY route; the fuselage belly is awkward for access - masking, spraying etc since you are laying on your back, so I made the belly all white, apart from a bit of color behind the firewall to meet up with the red cowl.


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Everything else can be painted separately off the fuselage, so it is as easy to paint the bottom of a wing as the top side by flipping it over in a rotisserie, or by hanging it on edge from above.

The paint scheme underneath is only really going to be seen by most people when the plane is at least 1000' AGL and moving fast, so I don't think it needs to be very detailed.
 
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PaulvS said:
I went the DIY route; the fuselage belly is awkward for access - masking, spraying etc since you are laying on your back, so I made the belly all white, apart from a bit of color behind the firewall to meet up with the red cowl.

Everything else can be painted separately off the fuselage, so it is as easy to paint the bottom of a wing as the top side by flipping it over in a rotisserie, or by hanging it on edge from above.

The paint scheme underneath is only really going to be seen by most people when the plane is at least 1000' AGL and moving fast, so I don't think it needs to be very detailed.
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Don’t worry it’ll look great from inside the FBO!
 
skelrad said:
I have to wonder if there's a difference in whether or not to paint the bottom side to match the top depending on whether it's a DIY or paint shop job. As someone planning on going the DIY route, I'm definitely thinking twice about how fancy to get on the bottom side!
Click to expand...
If this is your first time painting, i would think long and hard about that. I have never done it, but suspect that taping on a creeper is an acquired skill. Spraying is pretty straightforward, but the taping would concern me. Wings are a different matter, assuming you are not painting them while attached.

My 10 was the first time I sprayed on my back. The ziplock bag inside the cup broke open and due to very poor lighting, didn’t realize i was dry spraying the clear coat. Had to sand out a 4 x 4 area while on a creeper; very un enjoyable.
 
I've read a lot of publications on wing airflow and it is surprising how much a very small step in the surface can disrupt and detach flow. If you are going to do the somewhat popular stripe running down the leading edge of the wing, give some thought as to how you'll make that paint joint dead level. If the paint stripe extends back to 25% of the chord or so, no worries, it is already detached flow back there.
 
blaplante said:
I've read a lot of publications on wing airflow and it is surprising how much a very small step in the surface can disrupt and detach flow. If you are going to do the somewhat popular stripe running down the leading edge of the wing, give some thought as to how you'll make that paint joint dead level. If the paint stripe extends back to 25% of the chord or so, no worries, it is already detached flow back there.
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I thought that was only when you have laminar flow and don’t believe the 4,6,7,8 have any. SCsmith has talked about this issue on the 10/14 wing, which he said has some laminar flow.
 
A "laminar flow" airfoil will have laminar flow extending further aft than say a conventional 23012 airfoil. Doesn't imply that a 23012 has zero laminar flow, especially on the high pressure side. For the airfoil used on the 4, 6, 7, 8 ... laminar flow probably has gone turbulent, (on the upper surface) at 6 inches aft of the leading edge under most conditions. I see a lot of spanwise paint stripes with a paint seam in the first 6".
 
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