Finishing up Tail Kit

[R Eleew]

I have decided to fully complete the fiberglass, priming and painting of my tail kit.

A few builders in my area convinced me to take this approach as it is easier to prep and paint individual components rather than the entire plane. They also claim you get a better overall job doing it this way.

Just curious what some of you think. Just about every ready to test fly aircraft I've seen on the web was bare aluminum.

Are there any substantial reasons not to complete each assembly down to the paint base coat? I will paint the trim when the aircraft is fully assembled.

Has anyone fully finished assemblies included painting?

Thanks!

 

[ncarmon]

Matching Paint

I'm not sure, but I decided not to paint mine in pieces, as much as I wanted to, because I'm not sure I can get a good match on the paint colors.

I know that mixes are better now and more consistent, but paint changes color with time and paint mixes, mixed at different times will look different.

My 2 cents and that's probably what they are worth....

 

[mquam99]

I am not close to painting, but am considering painting as I go. My intention is a white base coat and then adding accents when the plane is complete.

The tech counselor I use suggested that if you intend to disassemble the aircraft after its built for any reason then painting the parts may be the right idea. If not, painting the assembled plane may be the way to go.

personal preference I guess

 

[Robert M]

painting parts

As of this writing, I plan to paint the parts. Most everything on the plane will be white with a bit of yellow over it or at the least near it. If I'm not mistaken, the paint shop removes the control surfaces before painting. The big difference is the fact that they're painting the plane using paint from the same pigment batch. I'm not concerned about the paint being off a tad because it's a different batch - it'll be close enough for this amatuer builder.