Just wondering if any of you guys have painted your own a/c. I am curious how you prep the aluminum. Did you use a liquid etch or can you use a self etching primer? Does the alclad finish need to be sanded with scotchbrite? I am considering an Imron finish. It seems to be very durable. Did anyone use a hvlp system? Appreciate all advice. Thanks in advance.
Van's Air Force
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Aircraft painting
- Thread starter Dave12
- Start date
Jack Tyler
Well Known Member
Dave, you can review John Peck's nicely illustrated build log at the point where he begins prepping his -12 for painting. The full painting sequence is nicely covered.
http://www.mykitlog.com/users/displ...n&project=639&category=6208&log=116102&row=19
Jack
http://www.mykitlog.com/users/displ...n&project=639&category=6208&log=116102&row=19
Jack
Good Morning Guys,
Just wanted to make a couple of comments. Painting is a science AND an art. I knew very little about the topic, so I sought out expert advice. Airplane restoration friends referred me to a local fellow here in upstae NY by the name of Rob Faulds. Rob is the Capital District PPG paint rep, and also a real artist with the spray gun. Rob got technical advice from PPG regarding products and procedures. He developed a high level of interest in the project and offerred to do the painting. We rented a professional paint booth at a local body shop - essential to getting a good dust free job. I did most of the grunt work of the prep, and Rob did all of the spray work with his professional grade equipment.
As mentioned above, there is a big difference between the aluminum and the fiberglass parts. Different chemistry, different prep, different primers.
If you want a professional looking final product, don't expect to get it on the cheap. The paint and various chemicals are expensive, and renting the paint booth does not come cheap. I priced a paint job at a real airplane painting shop. They quoted me around $6000. Rob and I did it for about half of that, with a LOT of sweat equity. I learned a heck of a lot about painting. We both had a good time, and Rob is going to learn to fly!
Just wanted to make a couple of comments. Painting is a science AND an art. I knew very little about the topic, so I sought out expert advice. Airplane restoration friends referred me to a local fellow here in upstae NY by the name of Rob Faulds. Rob is the Capital District PPG paint rep, and also a real artist with the spray gun. Rob got technical advice from PPG regarding products and procedures. He developed a high level of interest in the project and offerred to do the painting. We rented a professional paint booth at a local body shop - essential to getting a good dust free job. I did most of the grunt work of the prep, and Rob did all of the spray work with his professional grade equipment.
As mentioned above, there is a big difference between the aluminum and the fiberglass parts. Different chemistry, different prep, different primers.
If you want a professional looking final product, don't expect to get it on the cheap. The paint and various chemicals are expensive, and renting the paint booth does not come cheap. I priced a paint job at a real airplane painting shop. They quoted me around $6000. Rob and I did it for about half of that, with a LOT of sweat equity. I learned a heck of a lot about painting. We both had a good time, and Rob is going to learn to fly!
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
Dave,
Hundreds of RVs have been painted by the builder. I don't want to discourage discussion in this thread but if you use the VAF Search engine you will find a ton of info about painting. You have asked questions that don't have simple and short answers so homework is required.
Painting your aircraft will be by far the biggest aspect of the project. It is expensive and time consuming but very much within the capabilities of the determined builder who wants to learn a new skill.
Decide on a specific paint system (I used PPG Concept and it has been one of the more popular systems over the years) and download all the data sheets from the manufacturer. Also, poke around in the automotive painting forums. There are some good resources available from links you will find in those forums.
Best wishes for a great looking RV-12!
DonFromTX
Well Known Member
Not to introduce a negative aspect to this, but here are my comments. I owned and operated a paint and body shop for some years, have painted many cars, trucks, previously owned aircraft, and even a bus! Despite that experience factor (or because of it) I don't intend to paint mine. I have seen numerous fantastic airplane constructions that were clobbered up by the owner wanting to paint his creation. That attitude is admirable, but as the previous posts have pointed out, you need several things that you probably don't have, a proper paint booth is top on that list, unless you want it peppered with insects and blowing trash in the air. Experience with the particular paint products you are about to use comes next, that stuff has gotten very expensive to experiment with to acquire that skill for a one time job. I have befriended some years ago a neighbor who has an automotive body shop nearby, and he has already painted some of my Ercoupe. His very reasonable rates in my very low cost of living area makes it a no brainer for me. I intend to have him paint parts as I finish them, instead of the fully assembled plane, paint as you go process that some have used, some are opposed to.
I spent a couple of hours today at a local auto body shop that also does custom car painting. They specialize in Imron. This was a followup visit as I had been there before with pictures of the construction and the rudder. They have not painted a plane before. It was arranged that the Imron factory rep (expert) be there and we discussed all of the options. (I had a long list of questions and had done my homework.) I will have the detailed product codes soon, but the paint shop owner and the expert knew them all by heart. The process we arrived at is to sand the aluminum surface with 320 grit (or scotchbrite pad equivalent - they come in different roughnesses). Then clean off with a prep solution (NOT an alodine acid wash though! Yes, Imron has this as an option but the expert said it was not necessary based on the next step) - then go straight to primer with a Dupont etching primer ("wash primer") for aluminum. After that it is a conventional Imron automotive color coat - clear coat system. We are doing it in pieces - first the tail feathers (next week), later the wings. Fuselage will be last (I am building it now, the other parts are finished.) There were several reasons I went this way - the shop scheduling of the paint booth and the time in the booth and the flexibility around recoats and masking is far, far easier with the automotive paint than the aviation "single stage" (no clear coat) paints. I have a red-white-blue scheme being done with some red and blue pearl metallics. Those approach $600 a gallon. There are MANY different options for approaching this - I did lots of reading and picked a method that suits my needs, my location, easy access to this shop and its good reputation, poor access to aviation paint shops, budget, etc. Your needs - and your answer - may be totally different! If you want all of the primer/paint/prep codes and more details, email me at billhollifield at iname dot com.
Be conscious of weights of various paint methods
Bill:
One point to consider is with regards to weight. I have seen previous posts on this topic as it relates to use of automotive paint shops. Good aircraft paint shops focus on getting solid coverage with the thinnest coats possible. This is not always the case with automotive paint shops. Also- I am not aware of many aircraft paint shops using clear coats (whether they use Imron or another polyurethane). I know the ones I spoke with when I had my Skyhawk repainted do not and the ones I have spoken to regarding painting the RV-12 do not either. This also adds weight.
Not to say that an automotive paint shop cannot do a good job. However, you could easily end up with a paint job that weighs twice what it needs to weigh.
Jeff
Bill:
One point to consider is with regards to weight. I have seen previous posts on this topic as it relates to use of automotive paint shops. Good aircraft paint shops focus on getting solid coverage with the thinnest coats possible. This is not always the case with automotive paint shops. Also- I am not aware of many aircraft paint shops using clear coats (whether they use Imron or another polyurethane). I know the ones I spoke with when I had my Skyhawk repainted do not and the ones I have spoken to regarding painting the RV-12 do not either. This also adds weight.
Not to say that an automotive paint shop cannot do a good job. However, you could easily end up with a paint job that weighs twice what it needs to weigh.
Jeff
