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To Polish or Paint - Reality Check

J

jackking123

Well Known Member
Patron
While I did condition Inspection on friends RV-12iS, the owner polished his plane. It is polished with accent stripes similar to picture below. Sitting outside for 2 years without re-polish, I am reevaluating my Plan A of going polished on my RV-7 project, like below picture. I love the look...

SHORT STORY, What is your Opinion of Polish vs Paint, especially want you polished guys think? Talk me into POLISH or NOT?

Here is my long winded evaluation:

Polish:
Saving weight - This RV-12iS BEW 744lbs no wheel pants, light kit, deluxe interior, G3X w/ dual servo A/P. Van's states RV-12iS empty ~ 760 lbs, but 775 lbs is typical.​
Cost - obviously Pro paint job cost way more ($20K to $25) than a good polisher, pads and Nuvite / Flitz / Rolite polish, and time, lots of time.​
RV-12iS wings came off to polish bottoms, and put on saw horses. Can't do that with an RV-7 practically.​
​
If plane is in hanger I guess you can get by with once a year re-polish? Every other year? Once well polished and kept up, subsequent polishes are not bad (so I am told)? Even an "easy" polish is a lot of labor. It definitely will not be as bad as this RV-12iS after 2 yrs outside. I don't think he even washed it?​

Dave Anders? Café Foundation challenge Record Performance winner in his polished RV-4 (now painted). I had pleasure of meeting him at Oshkosh 10-15 yrs ago. He had is plane on display in place of prominence on the main flight line road. He told crew not to move due to sun reflection on canopy. They moved it. Dave had it positioned so sun would not reflect back onto canopy. Well the way the crew re-originated his RV-4, the sun melted the canopy. Polished low wing this is a consideration. Not sure about in flight reflections? ANY ONE?​

Paint
Professional full paint $20K. DYI, about $6,000. Ball park if you are careful 30lbs to 40lbs extra weight. However maintenance is far easier and you can make a creative statement.​

It has to be said. I would rather a bare plane, even a slightly oxidized one, than a plane with bad paint job. I can paint, but been awhile until 2 days ago. I repaired the RV-12iS's spinner (scratched to heck by owner taking cowl off and on) and the cowl, at intake NACA scoop. It was too close to #1 exhaust pipe, put burn in cowl. My composite repair (including carbon and high temp resin) and paint came out great. I can do a good paint job given time, space, good materials (I have an good gun and air compressor). Small parts off plane makes painting far easier. I was worried because I never shot base/clear, which is what the builder used. He had the left over materials. My finish coat experience includes many other materials, and single stage Urethane. Despite ~78F degrees and +70% humidity, the clear came out clear and smooth. I was so worried but it worked out beautifully. I have one minor imperfection that will sand and buff out (but have to wait 7 days at least by spec sheet).

The Owners paint is full of orange peal and dry areas. It could be 2000 sanded and buff, some areas. The dry areas, I could also sand and re-clear, but I am not getting paid... It is a 20-foot Paint Job. However because the paint is just cowl and accent strips and tips, with the polish dominating, it looks good on the ramp.

Bottom line I think :unsure: I've given up on something like the RV-4 Pic below for my RV-7 ? 😪 Talk me into POLISH or NOT?
I also worry (may be needlessly) if I go polished and want to paint later, getting buffing compound wax into every little crevice will case paint issues?

If I paint timing, early spring or late fall to get lower humidity and mid temps. All doable. The only question I guess is single stage or base/clear. Now that I am no longer a base/clear novice, and it came out great, I am looking at that, vs single stage. I do NOT want to have to wet sand and buff the whole plane to get clear to look decent. Rather do it right the first time. I also am going to paint pre final assembly. I would rather paint the wings, horz stab in the vertical. Bottom of fuselage, with no wings or tail you can tip up on nose, slightly easier.


polishing-005.jpg
 
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aitor11 said:
Mine is not painted. I don't really polish it. I do clean it, and once a year or so I use https://californiacustom.com/products/purple-metal-polish/ to make it look "better". With that said my intention was never to have an airplane that looked shinny, I just like the look of unpainted aluminum.

Aitor

View attachment 118167
Click to expand...
This would be my choice. Lightweight and dull aluminum. I don't have the patience to maintain the high polish and dull aluminum with some stripes is great
 
I polished sections of my C180 sometime around 2010, and did nothing to touch them up since. When I sold the plane in March this year, those areas were still shiny, but off their peak. They'd have benefitted from a light touch-up. The plane was stored in a fairly tight hangar that whole time.

Worth considering - when it's hazy, aluminum or gray airplanes are a lot harder to see, even if you're looking for them. I will never own another. They can also be hotter to the touch in the sun.

Also worth thinking about - vinyl wraps are about half the weight of paint and considerably less cost. A friend with a wrapped plane (except for the fiberglass parts, which he painted) told me that under $2k would do it. I don't know how well it lasts in a hangar but probably pretty long. I placed a couple of samples on my pickup's topper and leave that outside in the Colorado weather (lots of sun). After several years, probably around 4, it's slightly dulled but still acceptable. There are a myriad of color choices.

Dave
 
Data point. RV-8 paint job (primer, 2 coats base, 2 coats clear) added exactly 19 pounds to the plane’s weight.

Cost data point. Current price for just materials to paint the new RV-10 is $9K. I painted three, this last one I’ll paint with my check book!

Carl
 
Another data point. RV-12iS, waiting for me to pick it up from the paint shop. Primer, 2 coats base (2 colors), 2 coats clear. Added 15 pounds.
 
jackking123 said:
While I did condition Inspection on friends RV-12iS, the owner polished his plane. It is polished with accent stripes similar to picture below. Sitting outside for 2 years without re-polish, I am reevaluating my Plan A of going polished on my RV-7 project, like below picture. I love the look...

SHORT STORY, What is your Opinion of Polish vs Paint, especially want you polished guys think? Talk me into POLISH or NOT?

Here is my long winded evaluation:

Polish:
Saving weight - This RV-12iS BEW 744lbs no wheel pants, light kit, deluxe interior, G3X w/ dual servo A/P. Van's states RV-12iS empty ~ 760 lbs, but 775 lbs is typical.​
Cost - obviously Pro paint job cost way more ($20K to $25) than a good polisher, pads and Nuvite / Flitz / Rolite polish, and time, lots of time.​
RV-12iS wings came off to polish bottoms, and put on saw horses. Can't do that with an RV-7 practically.​
​
If plane is in hanger I guess you can get by with once a year re-polish? Every other year? Once well polished and kept up, subsequent polishes are not bad (so I am told)? Even an "easy" polish is a lot of labor. It definitely will not be as bad as this RV-12iS after 2 yrs outside. I don't think he even washed it?​

Dave Anders? Café Foundation challenge Record Performance winner in his polished RV-4 (now painted). I had pleasure of meeting him at Oshkosh 10-15 yrs ago. He had is plane on display in place of prominence on the main flight line road. He told crew not to move due to sun reflection on canopy. They moved it. Dave had it positioned so sun would not reflect back onto canopy. Well the way the crew re-originated his RV-4, the sun melted the canopy. Polished low wing this is a consideration. Not sure about in flight reflections? ANY ONE?​

Paint
Professional full paint $20K. DYI, about $6,000. Ball park if you are careful 30lbs to 40lbs extra weight. However maintenance is far easier and you can make a creative statement.​

It has to be said. I would rather a bare plane, even a slightly oxidized one, than a plane with bad paint job. I can paint, but been awhile until 2 days ago. I repaired the RV-12iS's spinner (scratched to heck by owner taking cowl off and on) and the cowl, at intake NACA scoop. It was too close to #1 exhaust pipe, put burn in cowl. My composite repair (including carbon and high temp resin) and paint came out great. I can do a good paint job given time, space, good materials (I have an good gun and air compressor). Small parts off plane makes painting far easier. I was worried because I never shot base/clear, which is what the builder used. He had the left over materials. My finish coat experience includes many other materials, and single stage Urethane. Despite ~78F degrees and +70% humidity, the clear came out clear and smooth. I was so worried but it worked out beautifully. I have one minor imperfection that will sand and buff out (but have to wait 7 days at least by spec sheet).

The Owners paint is full of orange peal and dry areas. It could be 2000 sanded and buff, some areas. The dry areas, I could also sand and re-clear, but I am not getting paid... It is a 20-foot Paint Job. However because the paint is just cowl and accent strips and tips, with the polish dominating, it looks good on the ramp.

Bottom line I think :unsure: I've given up on something like the RV-4 Pic below for my RV-7 ? 😪 Talk me into POLISH or NOT?
I also worry (may be needlessly) if I go polished and want to paint later, getting buffing compound wax into every little crevice will case paint issues?

If I paint timing, early spring or late fall to get lower humidity and mid temps. All doable. The only question I guess is single stage or base/clear. Now that I am no longer a base/clear novice, and it came out great, I am looking at that, vs single stage. I do NOT want to have to wet sand and buff the whole plane to get clear to look decent. Rather do it right the first time. I also am going to paint pre final assembly. I would rather paint the wings, horz stab in the vertical. Bottom of fuselage, with no wings or tail you can tip up on nose, slightly easier.


polishing-005.jpg
Click to expand...
 
10 years flying a Purple Metal Polished plane. https://californiacustom.com/products/purple-metal-polish Would do it again. Always in a climate controlled hangar. Re-polish every couple years or so. Received many compliments for such a small amount of actual work compared to paint. Not tired of polishing enough to paint yet.
A negative is the reflection from the tops of the wings that can be uncomfortable in flight. I use side shades from AOPA (free) at strategic places to eliminate the glare on bright sunny days.
TS
RV7
 
David Paule said:
I polished sections of my C180 sometime around 2010, and did nothing to touch them up since. When I sold the plane in March this year, those areas were still shiny, but off their peak. They'd have benefitted from a light touch-up. The plane was stored in a fairly tight hangar that whole time.

Worth considering - when it's hazy, aluminum or gray airplanes are a lot harder to see, even if you're looking for them. I will never own another. They can also be hotter to the touch in the sun.

Also worth thinking about - vinyl wraps are about half the weight of paint and considerably less cost. A friend with a wrapped plane (except for the fiberglass parts, which he painted) told me that under $2k would do it. I don't know how well it lasts in a hangar but probably pretty long. I placed a couple of samples on my pickup's topper and leave that outside in the Colorado weather (lots of sun). After several years, probably around 4, it's slightly dulled but still acceptable. There are a myriad of color choices.

Dave
Click to expand...
I know that guy.
This is not the polish vs paint.
Vinyl is not for everyone. It has to be replaced. 5 years to be safe although the warranty on 3M 2080 is 7 years. Cost is about $1500 roll. No PPE. Just a few simple tools and patience.

Cool thing with vinyl is changing the color is a few days. I stripped and reskinned the wing top skins in less than one day. It was my first and there were a few blems. Visitors kept pointing them out so I reskinned them.
Pretty basic because I wanted to get it flying. Next one will be more interesting. If you can imagine it, shops can print it.
20251029_135829.jpg
 
Not to add speculation but:

1) For sure a painted airframe is soooo much easier to clean. No debate there.
2) My painted airframe was 3-4 knots faster after paint than before. Yes gained ~24 lbs. (RV-14A)

Anyone else report airspeed delta?
 
Ill try to talk you out of it.

I Polished my 12iS. It took like 100 man-hrs to get her to a mirror finish. The 12 has a lot more surface area to polish than you think. A lot of Wing area. Also the pop rivets are a PITA. The rotary polisher will cast a shadow. Basically the polishing wheel skips over the rivet and misses a spot. You have to individually correct that shadow or you get weird streaks all over the plane in different directions. You dont think it will bother you... but it does.

I Used Nuvite system. For posterity, I got bad gouge from the company and ended up doing far more work than i should have, so theoretically it shouldn't take you so long to polish your bird. I essentially polished the entire dorsal facing parts (top of the wings, Top of Stabilator, Top of Fuselage, Avionics cover, etc) of the plane 5 times over. And the underside 2 times. It was EXTREMELY time consuming and energy consuming. I took 10 full days of 10 hours before i called it good. In the Florida June heat. Really Miserable work. The polish sprays up all over you and stains your clothes. I tried wearing a Tyvek suit like painters but it just made me sweat more and more. The solid Convex parts of the plane (Rounded fuselage, leading edges, etc) polish beautifully, like you could perform surgery the finish is so fine and reflective. But any surface that can oi-can from applying pressure, like the area of skin between wing ribs with move away from you and is much harder to get a good polish. It take even more delicate work to get it shining. As the polisher you'll immediately notice a checkerboard forming where you polished well on one section but not another. You realize that its 90 percent hard labor, 10% art. That last 10% can be really elusive depending on which part of the plane your working on.

There really is a mountain of lessons I learned from the experience. Too much to type out.

I have had my 12iS hangered since i finished it, and all the days after i polished it and still the polish fades. Unless you catch it in the act, its hard to understand why. Basically under certain conditions, the entire plane gets covered in dew. Every surface is soaking wet even if you're in a hanger or running a fan or a dehumidifier. The plane will trap air inside it and interact with the climate produced from the concrete floor of the hanger. So you could leave the plane and come back a week later and she's perfectly dry and ready to fly, but faded shine from multiple dew and dry ccyles over the preceding nights.

If you have a fully climate controlled hanger then your good, but I've never had one. Most of the rental hangers you'll get wont be either.

Also rain is your worst enemy. Even the slightest drizzle. I mean like a 10 second sprinkle, will leave spots. Most rain has enough minerals, salts, to accelerate the AL oxidation more than say, perfectly distilled water. So even the slightest cloud will cause those spot and it s a coin flip whether you can buff them off by hand or you have to break out the random orbital polisher. I have to avoid airborne rain more than the average cessna guy and its an extremely frustrating problem to deal with unless you live in the desert or something.

I didn't paint because of the weight penalty (light sport rules) and money. I simply didn't budget for paint. I only had enough to get her flying and that's it. Some said that was a mistake, but the plane flies painted or not, and i was ready to fly.

When i build a bigger faster plane with no weight limits (MOSAIC), and more money, i intend to paint. I really want the peace of mind with regards to moisture, either dew or rain or frost, snow, ice.

Having said all that; shortly after i finished polishing and was ready to fly again, one of the local EAA chapter old-timers swung by my hanger to kick tires. Ill never forget when he came in and saw her all cleaned up. He was speechless as he walked around front to back leaning down and looking at the different polished parts. After a few minutes, he looked at me and said very directly "Never paint this plane, its absolutely gorgeous like this". Of all the guys at the chapter he was the one i respected the most and he had built so many planes before and painted many of them himself. To see and hear his amazement and satisfaction with the polish job finally made me appreciate what a gem a well polished RV can be. Wherever you land people want to see and to touch the polished skin and take a photo. Its really a timeless look for a plane. And alot of folks know how miserable and hard it can be so you instantly get additional respect for that. At Oshkosh one of my favorite activities is to walk the tie down lines and marvel at the polished RVs and Sonex's and War birds. The 6061 AL takes an amazing polish, even better than our 2024 does in many cases.

I never had issued with overheating canopy, i always brought a Bruces cover for the canopy based on your RV-4 story. In flight the reflection will sunburn you face pretty good, but you just got to bring cover and sunshields and sunscreen. Pretty minor all things considered.

Ive already rambled alot, but feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.
 
jackking123 said:
While I did condition Inspection on friends RV-12iS, the owner polished his plane. It is polished with accent stripes similar to picture below. Sitting outside for 2 years without re-polish, I am reevaluating my Plan A of going polished on my RV-7 project, like below picture. I love the look...

SHORT STORY, What is your Opinion of Polish vs Paint, especially want you polished guys think? Talk me into POLISH or NOT?

Here is my long winded evaluation:

Polish:
Saving weight - This RV-12iS BEW 744lbs no wheel pants, light kit, deluxe interior, G3X w/ dual servo A/P. Van's states RV-12iS empty ~ 760 lbs, but 775 lbs is typical.​
Cost - obviously Pro paint job cost way more ($20K to $25) than a good polisher, pads and Nuvite / Flitz / Rolite polish, and time, lots of time.​
RV-12iS wings came off to polish bottoms, and put on saw horses. Can't do that with an RV-7 practically.​
​
If plane is in hanger I guess you can get by with once a year re-polish? Every other year? Once well polished and kept up, subsequent polishes are not bad (so I am told)? Even an "easy" polish is a lot of labor. It definitely will not be as bad as this RV-12iS after 2 yrs outside. I don't think he even washed it?​

Dave Anders? Café Foundation challenge Record Performance winner in his polished RV-4 (now painted). I had pleasure of meeting him at Oshkosh 10-15 yrs ago. He had is plane on display in place of prominence on the main flight line road. He told crew not to move due to sun reflection on canopy. They moved it. Dave had it positioned so sun would not reflect back onto canopy. Well the way the crew re-originated his RV-4, the sun melted the canopy. Polished low wing this is a consideration. Not sure about in flight reflections? ANY ONE?​

Paint
Professional full paint $20K. DYI, about $6,000. Ball park if you are careful 30lbs to 40lbs extra weight. However maintenance is far easier and you can make a creative statement.​

It has to be said. I would rather a bare plane, even a slightly oxidized one, than a plane with bad paint job. I can paint, but been awhile until 2 days ago. I repaired the RV-12iS's spinner (scratched to heck by owner taking cowl off and on) and the cowl, at intake NACA scoop. It was too close to #1 exhaust pipe, put burn in cowl. My composite repair (including carbon and high temp resin) and paint came out great. I can do a good paint job given time, space, good materials (I have an good gun and air compressor). Small parts off plane makes painting far easier. I was worried because I never shot base/clear, which is what the builder used. He had the left over materials. My finish coat experience includes many other materials, and single stage Urethane. Despite ~78F degrees and +70% humidity, the clear came out clear and smooth. I was so worried but it worked out beautifully. I have one minor imperfection that will sand and buff out (but have to wait 7 days at least by spec sheet).

The Owners paint is full of orange peal and dry areas. It could be 2000 sanded and buff, some areas. The dry areas, I could also sand and re-clear, but I am not getting paid... It is a 20-foot Paint Job. However because the paint is just cowl and accent strips and tips, with the polish dominating, it looks good on the ramp.

Bottom line I think :unsure: I've given up on something like the RV-4 Pic below for my RV-7 ? 😪 Talk me into POLISH or NOT?
I also worry (may be needlessly) if I go polished and want to paint later, getting buffing compound wax into every little crevice will case paint issues?

If I paint timing, early spring or late fall to get lower humidity and mid temps. All doable. The only question I guess is single stage or base/clear. Now that I am no longer a base/clear novice, and it came out great, I am looking at that, vs single stage. I do NOT want to have to wet sand and buff the whole plane to get clear to look decent. Rather do it right the first time. I also am going to paint pre final assembly. I would rather paint the wings, horz stab in the vertical. Bottom of fuselage, with no wings or tail you can tip up on nose, slightly easier.


polishing-005.jpg
Click to expand...
If you like dispersing elbow grease and the sun glaring in your eyes go for it.
 
jackking123 said:
While I did condition Inspection on friends RV-12iS, the owner polished his plane. It is polished with accent stripes similar to picture below. Sitting outside for 2 years without re-polish, I am reevaluating my Plan A of going polished on my RV-7 project, like below picture. I love the look...

SHORT STORY, What is your Opinion of Polish vs Paint, especially want you polished guys think? Talk me into POLISH or NOT?

Here is my long winded evaluation:

Polish:
Saving weight - This RV-12iS BEW 744lbs no wheel pants, light kit, deluxe interior, G3X w/ dual servo A/P. Van's states RV-12iS empty ~ 760 lbs, but 775 lbs is typical.​
Cost - obviously Pro paint job cost way more ($20K to $25) than a good polisher, pads and Nuvite / Flitz / Rolite polish, and time, lots of time.​
RV-12iS wings came off to polish bottoms, and put on saw horses. Can't do that with an RV-7 practically.​
​
If plane is in hanger I guess you can get by with once a year re-polish? Every other year? Once well polished and kept up, subsequent polishes are not bad (so I am told)? Even an "easy" polish is a lot of labor. It definitely will not be as bad as this RV-12iS after 2 yrs outside. I don't think he even washed it?​

Dave Anders? Café Foundation challenge Record Performance winner in his polished RV-4 (now painted). I had pleasure of meeting him at Oshkosh 10-15 yrs ago. He had is plane on display in place of prominence on the main flight line road. He told crew not to move due to sun reflection on canopy. They moved it. Dave had it positioned so sun would not reflect back onto canopy. Well the way the crew re-originated his RV-4, the sun melted the canopy. Polished low wing this is a consideration. Not sure about in flight reflections? ANY ONE?​

Paint
Professional full paint $20K. DYI, about $6,000. Ball park if you are careful 30lbs to 40lbs extra weight. However maintenance is far easier and you can make a creative statement.​

It has to be said. I would rather a bare plane, even a slightly oxidized one, than a plane with bad paint job. I can paint, but been awhile until 2 days ago. I repaired the RV-12iS's spinner (scratched to heck by owner taking cowl off and on) and the cowl, at intake NACA scoop. It was too close to #1 exhaust pipe, put burn in cowl. My composite repair (including carbon and high temp resin) and paint came out great. I can do a good paint job given time, space, good materials (I have an good gun and air compressor). Small parts off plane makes painting far easier. I was worried because I never shot base/clear, which is what the builder used. He had the left over materials. My finish coat experience includes many other materials, and single stage Urethane. Despite ~78F degrees and +70% humidity, the clear came out clear and smooth. I was so worried but it worked out beautifully. I have one minor imperfection that will sand and buff out (but have to wait 7 days at least by spec sheet).

The Owners paint is full of orange peal and dry areas. It could be 2000 sanded and buff, some areas. The dry areas, I could also sand and re-clear, but I am not getting paid... It is a 20-foot Paint Job. However because the paint is just cowl and accent strips and tips, with the polish dominating, it looks good on the ramp.

Bottom line I think :unsure: I've given up on something like the RV-4 Pic below for my RV-7 ? 😪 Talk me into POLISH or NOT?
I also worry (may be needlessly) if I go polished and want to paint later, getting buffing compound wax into every little crevice will case paint issues?

If I paint timing, early spring or late fall to get lower humidity and mid temps. All doable. The only question I guess is single stage or base/clear. Now that I am no longer a base/clear novice, and it came out great, I am looking at that, vs single stage. I do NOT want to have to wet sand and buff the whole plane to get clear to look decent. Rather do it right the first time. I also am going to paint pre final assembly. I would rather paint the wings, horz stab in the vertical. Bottom of fuselage, with no wings or tail you can tip up on nose, slightly easier.


polishing-005.jpg
Click to expand...
I see you are in the Atlanta area. I have 2 aircraft. My daily driver is a 65 Alon A2 Aircoupe with no paint. The other is an RV7 that I recently had painted WHITE/WHITE/WHITE. I am an A&P and I disassembled and stripped the aircraft myself. The girl who painted my-7 was recommended to me. She had never painted an aircraft before, and gave me a very reasonable price. She has painted several cars in the past including several corvettes.

I have aircraft #1 at 20GA (Villa Rica) and you are welcome to come out and have a hand at polishing aluminum, just to see for yourself how much fun polishing is. Due to the limited payload, It won’t be getting paint until the new Plasmonic paint comes on the market. https://www.sciencealert.com/scient...htest-paint-just-3-pounds-covers-a-boeing-747

Aircraft #2 is at KHMP (Hampton) in pieces. The fuselage is in the avionics shop and the rest is inside my hangar, fully painted, and ready to assemble. The girl who did my paint job really did a nice job. I would be happy to show you either or both if you’d like, and share her contact information. PM me if you are interested.

EDIT: I know a guy out at KPUJ has done vinyl wraps. He leads the EAA chapter. They meet every 3rd Saturday in the morning. I usually show up at 10:00.
IMG_7123.jpegIMG_8213.jpegIMG_8174.jpeg
 
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While I love the look of my polished -6, I would never buy another polished aircraft. I've been thinking of wrapping it for about 10 years but haven't yet...
 
I sincerely feel sorry for my neighbor and his polished -7A -- looks pretty nice after his week-long polish for about 2 weeks --- paint or wrap may be expensive, and weigh a little, but no way would I be able to maintain a polished airplane to my personal standard!
 
I flew as a passenger in an RV with polished wings. Fortunately, I brought sun glasses. When we landed, I had sunburn on the right side of my face from the glare/reflection off his wings. No way would I ever have an airplane with polished wings.
 
Remember when we were kids and we would light leaves with a magnifying glass. On sunny days with the right orientation of the aircraft you may get very hot ☀️🥵
 
Then there's me: thought I'd fly her for a while, then paint her. I was pretty much done with the education I got building her and was in the mood for some flying education. Paint? Um..............maaaaaaybe some day. It's been several years..............But I'd have to take her out of service to paint her. And there's the added weight thing. And the cost and..............um.............and.............. :LOL: She flies just as well in primer as she would with actual........what's that called?......oh, yeah: paint.

Ask me about being at a fly-in once and here comes a guy with a girl on each arm. They stopped in front of her and I hear him say (with great authority!) "Yeah, this here is a World War II trainer." I could have easily blown his entire afternoon. Instead I just looked at him and his little harem and said................Yep!
 

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Roadjunkie1 said:
Then there's me: thought I'd fly her for a while, then paint her. I was pretty much done with the education I got building her and was in the mood for some flying education. Paint? Um..............maaaaaaybe some day. It's been several years..............But I'd have to take her out of service to paint her. And there's the added weight thing. And the cost and..............um.............and.............. :LOL: She flies just as well in primer as she would with actual........what's that called?......oh, yeah: paint.

Ask me about being at a fly-in once and here comes a guy with a girl on each arm. They stopped in front of her and I hear him say (with great authority!) "Yeah, this here is a World War II trainer." I could have easily blown his entire afternoon. Instead I just looked at him and his little harem and said................Yep!
Click to expand...
Nice wing-root fairings.
 
Mel said:
This is WAAAAY too much paint. The typical RV (not including the -10) paint job should fall into the 15 - 25lb. range!
Click to expand...
I agree but one coat of primer, 2 coats base, two coats clear.... yep 30 lbs is easy.

Paint gets laid down heavy, typically. You can do it lighter, going with light wash primer and one coat single stage.
Don't get a custom car painter to paint your plane. I have direct experience (not personal but seen it) of heavy aircraft painting.

A polished RV-12iS I am working on is 744 empty.... It is about you guessed it 30 lbs less than Van's expected typical empty weight.

For my plane: "Painting a Van's Aircraft RV-7 provides essential corrosion protection and aesthetic appeal, but it trades these for a weight gain of 25 to 40 pounds and a slight reduction in payload capacity." Google/AI answer.
 
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tom paul said:
I'm a big fan of my mostly polished plane She stays hangared unless I overnight somewhere. It is a bit of work once a year. An enjoyable weekend. Not bad. I didn't do the initial polish, I just maintain her, and very much not obsessively
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How did you get cowl chromed?
 
Some really good info in this thread! I have a polished airplane for one reason -- it's what I always dreamed about. I took care during construction to keep from scratching the plane, leaving the vinyl on until the last minute while cutting strips over the rivet holes with a soldering iron I polished prior to every use. I had one tiny bit of corrosion that formed under the vinyl during my lengthy build, but it polished out okay, although I can still see where it was. I used the Nuvite system in three steps. I polished the wings, fuselage and empennage using F7 and C compounds prior to final assembly and that was a great idea! It was much easier to polish the wings in the stand rather than on the plane. I'm now finishing up final polishing with S compound.

2026-03-21 16.58.02.jpg

A local shop did the painting and I helped them do some of the prep. They did amazing work! They billed me for 100 hours of labor for all the fiberglass parts, the forward fuselage, stripe and N-number, and I contributed an additional 25 hours by helping them with prep, and I laying out the stencil on the tail. I still have a bit of final polishing to do, but it will be about 95 hours of polishing when I'm done.

I'm still in Phase 1 with about 25 hrs, so I don't have a lot of experience yet with a polished plane. Yes, there are times the sun reflects off the wings, but as I'm mostly maneuvering through test flights it hasn't been a nuisance. Having that in cruise flight en route to somewhere would be more of a bother, but I do have those stick on window shades I carry to fly other planes. I have also experienced the dew cycles in my hangar in Virginia that I wasn't expecting. I see it mostly around the fuel tanks, but I'm sure the entire plane gets wet often.

I've always wanted a polished airplane and I am loving the results. Sometimes I sit in the hangar after a flight and just stare at my plane. I'm so happy with the results!
 
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