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Painting XL nose strut

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Tim Juhl

Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 488
Location: "Thumb" of Michigan

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

I'm going to want to hang my nose strut before too long and are looking for recommendations as to a paint / finish.  I'll be painting the plane later with a catalyzed paint of some kind but I need to put something on the strut prior to installation.



From checking the archives I found:

Chrome - danger of embrittlement

Powder Coat - too thick, peels, doesn't wear as well a you might expect.



So what did the rest of you go with?  I was considering rattle can enamel, perhaps baking it at low heat in an oven.



Tim

_________________
______________
CFII
Champ L16A flying
Zodiac XL - Jabiru 3300A
Almost done! It'll fly in spring!

craig(at)craigandjean.com
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

I don't have a recommendation on a coating. But I do recommend that you mask

off the top and middle where the tube slides through the upper bearing and V

block. Anything else will scrape off and keeping it clean from the start

makes it slide better.



-- Craig



--

Jaybannist(at)cs.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:24 am Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

Tim,



I primed my strut with SEM self-etching primer and topped it with Rust-oleum from a rattle can.  I just didn't paint the part that will be swept by the bearings.  I used a special grease on that. I think it was "Lubriplate", but I'm not sure about that.



Jay in Dallas



"Tim Juhl" <juhl(at)avci.net> wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  



I'm going to want to hang my nose strut before too long and are looking for recommendations as to a paint / finish.  I'll be painting the plane later with a catalyzed paint of some kind but I need to put something on the strut prior to installation.



>From checking the archives I found:

Chrome - danger of embrittlement

Powder Coat - too thick, peels, doesn't wear as well a you might expect.



So what did the rest of you go with?  I was considering rattle can enamel, perhaps baking it at low heat in an oven.



Tim



--------

______________

CFII

Champ L16A flying

Zodiac XL - Jabiru 3300A

Working on fuselage





Read this topic online here:



http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=171129#171129

cookwithgas

Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 159

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:23 am Post subject: Re: Painting XL nose strut

Tim:



I took my nose strut, rudder pedals and throttle levers to a chrome shop and they came out super nice.  The price was reasonable too.  Here are a few pictures:



http://www.cooknwithgas.com/2_19_05_Nosewheel.jpg



http://www.cooknwithgas.com/2_19_05_Pedals.jpg



No more worries about scratching off the paint, etc.  



Scott Laughlin

601XL/Corvair

Finished & Flying

www.cooknwithgas.com

larry(at)macsmachine.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:44 am Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

Tim,

You probably should use something out of a rattle can.  I sprayed black 

because zinc chromate primer was worn off at the bearing slides.

It's a least-effort for the occasional refurb and it seems to hold as 

well as anything.



Larry McFarland 601HDS at www.macsmachine.com

do not archive

Tim Juhl wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   



 I'm going to want to hang my nose strut before too long and are looking for recommendations as to a paint / finish.  I'll be painting the plane later with a catalyzed paint of some kind but I need to put something on the strut prior to installation.



 >From checking the archives I found:

 Chrome - danger of embrittlement

 Powder Coat - too thick, peels, doesn't wear as well a you might expect.



 So what did the rest of you go with?  I was considering rattle can enamel, perhaps baking it at low heat in an oven.



 Tim



 --------

 ______________

 CFII

 Champ L16A flying

 Zodiac XL - Jabiru 3300A

 Working on fuselage





 Read this topic online here:



 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=171129#171129

Gig Giacona

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1416
Location: El Dorado Arkansas USA

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:51 am Post subject: Re: Painting XL nose strut

I used Rust-oleum  industrial primer and industrial paint both out of a rattle can on all the steel parts. Those things started getting surface rust on them  before I took them out of the box.

_________________
W.R. "Gig" Giacona
601XL Under Construction
See my progress at www.peoamerica.net/N601WR

s.c.richards(at)homecall.
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:02 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

Scott

              You possibly should be worried about chroming your nose strut 

as I understand this causes hydrogen embrittlement and it could be prone to 

cracking. Their  should be some information in the archives.

   I will ask Ray what he used.



Ray Lasniers CH601HD  190 hrs he has 701 kit on order                  Clive

---

swater6

Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 52
Location: Minnesota-KMIC/KANE

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:34 pm Post subject: Re: Painting XL nose strut

Hi gang,

I recently had all of my steel parts powdercoated at a local shop that specializes in small jobs. They do a lot of motorcycle, car and some aircraft parts. 

I'm very pleased with the results as the coating is more durable and consistent than I could have achieved on my own.  I did all internal parts in flat black and all external parts in metallic silver since I'm going to polish my plane.  The finish isn't any thicker than spray paint, and possibly less think since it's more uniformly applied. Also, this company did the proper cleaning and pre-treating too.  Cost was only $160 since I used two colors and would have only been $80 if one color. Seemed like a bargain to me.  



I am interested in finding out how to best lubricate the gear and rudder pedal bearings.  I'd rather not have something oily that will attract dirt. Perhaps some graphite or something.



Anyway, if any of you are near the Twin Cities, here is the shop I used. http://www.powdercoatingtech.com  (The site is weak but has the address and phone number.)  



PS. remember to mask the threaded areas!!

_________________
601 XL kit N596SW reserved
Tail, control surfaces and both wings complete. Now working on fuselage

www.scottwaters.com

craig(at)craigandjean.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

The top front gear tube bearing from the factory (6B8-6) is made of Nyloil

(the plans call it "Nyoil"). The bottom V block 6G2-1 is also called out as

"Nyoil" but all the ones I have ever seen look like plain gray Nylon

(although it could be the "Gray NYLOIL-MDX " mentioned in the link below).

Anyway Nyloil is impregnated with lubricant so it isn't clear that it needs

additional lubrication:



http://www.alro.com/DIVPlastics/plastic_product_nyloil.htm



-- Craig



--

av8or(at)cox.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:18 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

I'd recommend using a white or light gray for  internal parts so you can easily see any cracks during an annual  inspection.

  

 JT

 [quote]   "I recently    had all of my steel parts powdercoated....



   

 I did all internal parts in flat    black..."

    

   

 

[b]

swater6

Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 52
Location: Minnesota-KMIC/KANE

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:56 pm Post subject: Re: Painting XL nose strut

Craig,

Thanks for the info on Nyloil.  That's good to know.



And Av8or, you're right. I knew that's why the motor mounts should be white but didn't really consider that for the other parts for some reason.  Good advice. 



Scott

_________________
601 XL kit N596SW reserved
Tail, control surfaces and both wings complete. Now working on fuselage

www.scottwaters.com

planecrazydld(at)yahoo.co
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

The hydrogen embrittlement resulting from chrome plating a 4130 structure can, I believe I remember, be removed by baking the chromed structure at something like  400 or 450F for 4 hours...

I am sure that someone on here can give you the exact recipe - if not maybe I can ask the metals guys at work.



LarryMcFarland <larry(at)macsmachine.com> wrote:[quote] --> Zenith-List message posted by: LarryMcFarland 



Tim,

You probably should use something out of a rattle can.  I sprayed black 

because zinc chromate primer was worn off at the bearing slides.

It's a least-effort for the occasional refurb and it seems to hold as 

well as anything.



Larry McFarland 601HDS at www.macsmachine.com

do not archive

Tim Juhl wrote:

[quote] --> Zenith-List message posted by: "Tim Juhl"  



 I'm going to want to hang my nose strut before too long and are looking for recommendations as to a paint / finish.  I'll be painting the plane later with a catalyzed paint of some kind but I need to put something on the strut prior to installation.



 >From checking the archives I found:

 Chrome - danger of embrittlement

 Powder Coat - too thick, peels, doesn't wear as well a you might expect.



 So what did the rest of you go with?  I was considering rattle can enamel, perhaps baking it at low heat in an oven.



 Tim



 --------

 ______________

 CFII

 Champ L16A flying

 Zodiac XL - Jabiru 3300A

 Working on fuselage





 Read this topic online here:



 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=171129#171129





     [quote][b]

Jon(at)joncroke.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:01 pm Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

Take this for what it is worth, as I am no expert  in this field... 

  

 but - a friend of mine that has designed and  repaired lots of industrial equipment over the years told me that chroming for  purposes of decoration has NO danger of hyd embrittlement as we are talking only  a few thou of chrome penetration.  Completely different: Chroming is  apparently a common procedure for the purpose of hardening metals (shafts,  bearings, etc) (which has no goal to enhance appearance!) and when done for this  reason -- this goes much, much deeper into the material... and then hyd  embrittlement can become an issue... and yes - a visit to an oven is  an easy cure for this problem. 

  

 He sounded pretty convincing to me.. so Im just  passing it along... FWIW.  I got an interesting explanation of the chroming  process... which is not as simple as plating using other familiar  metals....

  

 Jon

  

  

 ---

planecrazydld(at)yahoo.co
Guest

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:36 am Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

I am not a metals expert either - my area is advanced composites, but... I spoke with the manager of the metals lab this AM and he clarified the details somewhat.



Hydrogen embrittlement is a concern regardless if the plating is decorative or thin dense chrome.



The primary driver for hydrogen embrittlement is the strength/temper/heat treat of the steel, and to a lessor degree, the alloy. In cases above 180KSI, the application almost always requires a bake; in many cases below 180KSI many of our suppliers do the bake for comfort. A typical bake here is 23 hours at 375±25°F - and the time between the plate and start of the bake is critical - not more than 4 hours and preferably within 1 hour. The bake soak temperature can not be above the tempering temperature for the part.



As always, the devil is in the details and this information is generic to a fault.



Jon Croke <Jon(at)joncroke.com> wrote:[quote]       Take this for what it is worth, as I am no expert  in this field... 

  

 but - a friend of mine that has designed and  repaired lots of industrial equipment over the years told me that chroming for  purposes of decoration has NO danger of hyd embrittlement as we are talking only  a few thou of chrome penetration.  Completely different: Chroming is  apparently a common procedure for the purpose of hardening metals (shafts,  bearings, etc) (which has no goal to enhance appearance!) and when done for this  reason -- this goes much, much deeper into the material... and then hyd  embrittlement can become an  issue... and yes - a visit to an oven is  an easy cure for this problem. 

  

 He sounded pretty convincing to me.. so Im just  passing it along... FWIW.  I got an interesting explanation of the chroming  process... which is not as simple as plating using other familiar  metals....

  

 Jon

  

  

 ---

backstagelive(at)gmail.co
Guest

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 7:27 am Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

Tim,



The chroming looks great!What did it cost?



Joe in Oshkosh

amyvega2005(at)earthlink.
Guest

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:36 am Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

i would recommend powder coating it. the major landing gear guys PC their struts. it is tough against  chipping.



--

psm(at)ATT.NET
Guest

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:52 am Post subject: Painting XL nose strut

Hi Tim,



I went to my local "Professional" auto paint store and selected an 

acrylic enamel top coat and compatible epoxy primer for my 

plane.  This is the same stuff the commercial airplane and auto paint 

shops use for lower end paint jobs.  I have been painting some of my 

fuselage parts as I assemble them.  Paint cost is around $100 per 

gallon including catalysts.



The epoxy primer is a really wonderful material that can be used 

without a top coat for parts that will not be readily visible like 

the nose gear strut.  It forms a very smooth and hard surface.  I 

have been using it on all the steel parts.



In the nose strut case, I adjusted the bearing inside diameter with a 

Dremel tool and sanding drum after painting the strut.  Without such 

adjustment, the strut would not move through the lower bearing.



Good luck,



Paul

XL fuselage

At 06:26 PM 3/19/2008, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



I'm going to want to hang my nose strut before too long and are 

looking for recommendations as to a paint / finish.  I'll be 

painting the plane later with a catalyzed paint of some kind but I 

need to put something on the strut prior to installation.

ashontz

Joined: 27 Dec 2006
Posts: 723

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 4:31 am Post subject: Re: Painting XL nose strut

Looks good Scott. I was going to recommend stainless steel. Not sure how much more that would weigh, if any. Just thinking of Cessnas, they're either chromed or stainless.



 	  cookwithgas wrote: 	
		  Tim:



I took my nose strut, rudder pedals and throttle levers to a chrome shop and they came out super nice.  The price was reasonable too.  Here are a few pictures:



http://www.cooknwithgas.com/2_19_05_Nosewheel.jpg



http://www.cooknwithgas.com/2_19_05_Pedals.jpg



No more worries about scratching off the paint, etc.  



Scott Laughlin

601XL/Corvair

Finished & Flying

www.cooknwithgas.com

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