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Time for some touchup paint

N941WR

N941WR

Legacy Member
With 500 hours on my paint, it is time for me to do some touchup.

Although I had the plane painted by a professional, I thought it might be time to learn how to paint it so I can do some other mods that I have been dreaming about for a long time. (FYI, when I was in college many, many moons ago, I worked in a body shop and used to squirt cars but I'm sure the tools have changed.)

What would you recommend for a good touchup gun?

No need to recommend the paint and process as I am going to use the same primer, paint, and clear coat my original painter used.
 
Bill, how large of an area are you talking about--------small scratch/chips or entire panels?

What kind of paint do you plan to use------some may require different guns/nozzles.
 
Mike S said:
Bill, how large of an area are you talking about--------small scratch/chips or entire panels?

What kind of paint do you plan to use------some may require different guns/nozzles.
Click to expand...

Good questions Mike.

The paint will be DuPont Automotive paint. (I have to get to my log books to see which DuPont.)

I will touch up the top of one fuel tank, not even the entire top of the tank. A gear leg fairing, two small spots on the top of cowl, and my gear legs.

It will be close if I need a full size gun or a touchup gun.

Siphon or gravity feed are open for discussion.
 
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Paint gun

I would buy DeVilbss FLG with the disposable cups. I like the one 3M PPS. The small 5oz cups are great for small jobs. 1.5 tip for finish paint would work.
 
mini HVLP gun

One of my most "go to" finishing tools is a SATA mini-jet HVLP spray gun. It has a small top load gravity feed cup, and can spray a pattern about .5 to 1 inch wide at about 3 to 4 inches from the target, or a wider fan pattern if desired. All of the major spray gun manufactures make a similar "mini" unit; DeVilbiss, Sata, Iwata, others, so I'm not endorsing one brand. I installed an airline swivel fitting on it and that allows me to get the gun into some tight places for touching up and initial application. I can mix very small quantities of paint for small parts fabrication. I have two full size cup guns but the mini is used the most, and it is easier to adjust than the bigger guns. I just touched up my cockpit interior with it. On the other hand, if you are only going to have one gun then I'd consider going full size.
 
Brian Vickers said:
One of my most "go to" finishing tools is a SATA mini-jet HVLP spray gun. ...
Click to expand...

Wow, for the price of one of those guns, I can have a quarter of the plane professionally painted.

Ouch!

I know, I know, you get what you pay for and I HATE buying cheap tools but that hurts!
 
Ouch is right

Sheesh... I had no idea the mini Sata is so expensive (just googled it). Mine is a model /3, and I purchased it about 15 years ago (I think). I just looked at the Harbor Freight mini gun and it looks identical to my Sata... and it only costs $35.99. I'd definitely go that route considering the low use it will be called upon to perform. Again, it looks identical to the Sata.

PS - I take the spray tip (cap) off and fully flush it every time. Just running some lacquer thinner through it will not clean it sufficiently. My laziness has repeatedly bitten me on gun cleaning.
 
Bill, maybe you can borrow one? I have a DdVibiss Starting Line touch up gun that sprays pretty well. It came in a kit with a full size one and I got them on amazon. I am using the full size but would mail the other one to you if you run out of options. I used the full size to spray primer on the wings and empennage and it worked great. Im sure it isn't as good as a $400 gun, but it is fine for my plane!
Let me know.

http://www.amazon.com/DeVilbiss-802342-StartingLine-Gravity-Spray/dp/B000KSTFJO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1455928901&sr=8-3&keywords=deVilbiss
 
rockwoodrv9 said:
Bill, maybe you can borrow one? I have a DdVibiss Starting Line touch up gun that sprays pretty well. It came in a kit with a full size one and I got them on amazon. I am using the full size but would mail the other one to you if you run out of options. I used the full size to spray primer on the wings and empennage and it worked great. Im sure it isn't as good as a $400 gun, but it is fine for my plane!
Let me know.

http://www.amazon.com/DeVilbiss-802342-StartingLine-Gravity-Spray/dp/B000KSTFJO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1455928901&sr=8-3&keywords=deVilbiss
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer. There are some really good painters at my airpark that have offered to paint it for me but being stubborn like I am, I want to learn how to do it.

I had looked at that same set on Amazon but was waiting for someone to recommend it.

(We are also in the process of welding up some swing gates to limit access to our runway from the road that will need to be sprayed as well. So they will get used.)
 
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