Interior paint under upholstery?

[tagold]

I'm nearing the point of being done with the interior aluminum and will be transisioning to the fiberglass. I know a lot of people have painted their interior at this point. My question is, do you really need to? I've primed all my interior parts gray and plan on a grey interior from Flightline. I know that the interior covers most of the interior structure and there is some minor painting to be done. Is there any benefit to painting the whole thing vesus just the portions that won't be covered? I'm thinking that I could save some weight (hey, it adds up ) by just painting a few areas after I get the cabin top secured and doors done. Any thoughts or experiences out there?

Thanks!

 

[Ron B.]

Doing just that today. I only painted the areas that Flightline doesn't cover. I also applied a coat of finish paint over the primer on the floors, to help with corrosion from wet and dirty feet. I'm painting arround the doors including the baggage door.
Ron #796

 

[newtech]

I am in a get 'er in the air mode right now. I am actually leaving some of the aluminum that isn't going to be covered with my Classic Aero interior unpainted. The airlines leave a lot of the aluminum in the galleys unpainted so I am just doing what the big boys do

 

[David Shelton]

Lighter

Lighter is the way to go. Mine is not painted beneath the upholstery.

The guy who built mine did not put any upholstery on the ceiling or doors. These are covered with epoxy speckle paint and it probably saved a lot of weight. I like it because it's really durable and easy to clean. Looks nice too.

-David