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Did you paint your own airplane?

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doug.medema(at)comcast.ne
Guest

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:01 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

My plane is almost 3 years old and is greatly in need of a paint  job!

  

 I'm seriously thinking of painting it myself and have some  questions

 for those of you who were brave enough (or foolish enough??) to  paint

 your own airplane:

  

 Are you happy with the results?

  

 Knowing what you know now, would you do it again or pay someone  else?

  

 Did you have any painting experience before you painted your  plane?

  

 Any idea of how many hours in prep and paint?

  

 If you feel like typing:

 Which brand and type of paint did you use?

  

 What kind of paint gun?  If HVLP, was it with a standard  compressor

 or one of the special HVLP paint setups?

  

 Thanks in advance,

 Doug Medema

 RV-6A N276DM  (just put on new main gear tires  today!)

  

  

   [quote][b]

kboatright1(at)comcast.ne
Guest

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:34 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Responses are embedded below...

  

 KB

 [quote]   ---

sbuc(at)hiwaay.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:49 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Doug Medema wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   If you feel like typing:

 Which brand and type of paint did you use?


	




Doug, here is the tale of the paint job on my RV-6:



http://thervjournal.com/paint1.html



Painting a plane is a big job, but one that can be accomplished by a 

patient, persistent amateur. If your plane is still unpainted, you are 

probably still at the 90% completion point.   



Sam Buchanan

Bob Collins

Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 470
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:09 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Here's a piece Darwin Barrie wrote on the  subject

  

 http://home.comcast.net/~rvnewsletter/articles/painting.htm

    [quote][b]

_________________
Bob Collins
St. Paul, Minn.
Letters from Flyover Country
http://rvnewsletter.blogspot.com/

N67BT(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:03 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

 	  Quote: 	
		     I've just started painting my RV7A.  The difference is    that my plane hasn't flown yet and is still    unassembled.

    

   <<Are you happy with the results?>>

   I've painted the cowl    and miscellaneous small parts so far and like the look but it isn't    perfect. 

    

   <<Knowing what you know now, would you do it again or pay someone    else?>>

   This is a huge job, a    project within a project.  I don't know if I would have taken this on had    I known how much there is to it.  That said, I'm glad I was ignorant on    that count because now I'm enjoying the work and the associated    satisfaction.  

    

   <<Did you have any painting experience before you painted your    plane?>>

   Nothing like    this.

    

   <<Any idea of how many hours in prep and    paint?>>

   I quit logging time    during the painting process, but I've been at this for over two months of full    time work.

    

   

   <<Which brand and type of paint did you    use?>>

   PPG Deltron DBC2000    silver metallic base coat and PPG Concept DCU2002 clear.

    

   <<What kind of paint gun?>>

   DiVilbiss GTi 620G HVLP (great gun but it needs lots of air - 15.5    CFM)

    

    <<If HVLP, was it with a standard    compressor>>

   Standard compressor    (had to buy a bigger one)

    

   My project web site    happens to have some pics of my temporary paint booth setup.

   http://mesawood.com/n67bt.htm

   I'll post some photos of the paint work there after I    get more done.

    

   Bob  Trumpfheller

	


  [quote][b]

Mark Phillips in TN

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 431
Location: Columbia, TN

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:30 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

When folks ask me this question I simply tell them that the airplane came out pretty good and I wasn't about to ruin it by learning how to paint on it.  Glad I did.  Lots of folks paint their RVs from Krylon to Imron- ya gets what ya play for.  Here's my sordid tale:

  

 http://websites.expercraft.com/n51pw/index.php?q=log_entry&log_id=5270

  

 Your mileage will undoubtedly vary...

  

 From The PossumWorks in TN

 Mark - N51PW "Mojo" 350 grin hours so far...............

 do not archive

  

  

  [quote][b]

_________________
From The PossumWorks...

Lukasczyk(at)gmx.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:21 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Hi Doug



I was asking myself that question when my RV-4 was about to be finished. I do have some painting experience and equipment. I had spraypainted cars and I also had a workshop available that could be set up for that purpose. I still took it to a paint-shop and had somebody else do the job. Maybe because of that little experience i had.

Here are the reasons:



No matter how good I am, I beleive somebody who ist doing it for a living with a lot of experience will do it better



No matter how good my home-setup is, A professional shop with a proper filter system, heating and lighting is better ground to start with



Professionals usually do the job much faster and use less paint to achieve the desired results. In my case, the guy worked out a 4-layer painting concept with primer, surfacer, paint and clearcoat to save weight. The entire job only added 9 pounds of weight. I know because they put every single part on a scale and compared the weight before and after since I once mentioned that I wanted it to be as light as possible. 



The price was all right (2500 Euros including paint and they did all the prep-work). Maybe that was because it was a car paint-shop and I only wanted one color and there was only a little bit of masking. 



I had to rent a truck to drive the disassembled plane down there. But that was not to bad since everything was ready a week later. I would do it again that way and I am very happy with the results so far. I am sorry but I do not remember the brand of the paint but they used a zink-chromate wash primer and a surfacer (I beleive polyester based but I am not sure) that was compatible. The paint was a 2-component base and clearcoat acryl-car-paint. 

Thomas RV-4, germany 

http://www.rv-4.de/



-------- Original-Nachricht --------

Datum: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:01:04 -0700

Von: "Doug Medema" <doug.medema(at)comcast.net>

An: rv-list(at)matronics.com

Betreff: Did you paint your own airplane?



 	  Quote: 	
		   My plane is almost 3 years old and is greatly in need of a

 paint job!

  

 I'm seriously thinking of painting it myself and have some

 questions

 for those of you who were brave enough (or foolish enough??)

 to paint

 your own airplane:

  

 Are you happy with the results?

  

 Knowing what you know now, would you do it again or pay

 someone else?

  

 Did you have any painting experience before you painted your

 plane?

  

 Any idea of how many hours in prep and paint?

  

 If you feel like typing:

 Which brand and type of paint did you use?

  

 What kind of paint gun?  If HVLP, was it with a standard

 compressor

 or one of the special HVLP paint setups?

  

 Thanks in advance,

 Doug Medema

 RV-6A N276DM  (just put on new main gear tires today!)

  

  


	


-- 

"Feel free" - 10 GB Mailbox, 100 FreeSMS/Monat ...

Jetzt GMX TopMail testen: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/topmail

sheldonb(at)frontiernet.n
Guest

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:26 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Doug, I painted my RV6A in 1992 before it was  assembled... I painted small parts at the house, in the garage without any kind  of 'paint-booth' set-up... I painted the fuse. and wings in my (at that time)  work place paint booth. Which was an open end type with blowers and a water fall  in the rear... (Not the best) but at least better than trying to paint these  larger pieces at home...

 I used PPG Deltron base coat and PPG clear coat...  The base coat paint is very easy paint to apply (just like painting flat paint)  which it is, kinda... The clear coat is where painting experience would sure  help.. Very difficult to get the proper results... You must wear  protective equipment...!!

 I took 6 weekends to do all the  painting...  Something like 150-180 hours total.. but not including the  sanding & buffing out the clear coats..(didn't keep track)... Only cost me $1200 at that time, including the HVLP gun I  bought.

 I would do it again..??  The satisfaction  and (the comments I get) at fly-in's make it  really worth it..

 Yes!  I would do it again...(especially now  that I've done it once)...

 Sheldon Barrett RV6A 400 hours

 [quote]   ---

panamared3(at)brier.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:29 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Like anything, this is part of the learning experience that I wanted to 

learn.



Yes I would do it again, and I am happy with the results.



For me it really was an enjoyable experience, I just marveled at how the 

airplane changed as I painted each part or section.



I used a PPG paint with a PPG wash primer.  I know, it was not the right 

combination, but, I like it!!



Five years later and it looks better to me than it did when it came out of 

the paint barn.  Some people just love the paint job, others tolerate it 

and some keep asking when I am going to paint it?



Bob



At 08:01 PM 9/13/06, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  My plane is almost 3 years old and is greatly in need of a paint job!



I'm seriously thinking of painting it myself and have some questions

for those of you who were brave enough (or foolish enough??) to paint

your own airplane:



Are you happy with the results?



Knowing what you know now, would you do it again or pay someone else?



Did you have any painting experience before you painted your plane?



Any idea of how many hours in prep and paint?



If you feel like typing:

Which brand and type of paint did you use?



What kind of paint gun?  If HVLP, was it with a standard compressor

or one of the special HVLP paint setups?



Thanks in advance,

Doug Medema

RV-6A N276DM  (just put on new main gear tires today!)

JhnstnIII(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:01 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

I will chime in.  I painted our RV-6 at my house.  I believe it  took about six months of steady night and weekend work plus some vacation  days.   People tell me it looks very good and I think so,  too.  Paint was Dupont Imron over Variprime, three colors.   Surface was etched but not alodined.   

  

 It was a big and difficult job, but then nothing about these projects is  easy in my opinion.  This was my first airplane.  I would do it  again  

  

 Talk to painters with experience first.  They will have many good  tips. 

  

 I painted parts in a room in my house and later in the garage when the  weather got warm.  In both places we rigged a powerful squirrel cage  fan (from a buddy--it was like what is in your furnace) to exhaust the fumes to  the outside.  We built a wooden exhaust plenum with three round  outlets to split the exhaust into three flexible 6 inch dia. ducts  about eight feet long that lay on the ground spread apart with bricks in them to  hold them down.   The idea was to diffuse the exhaust so as not  to paint the outside of the house.   For the inlet to the  room/garage, we built a plywood door panel with two large furnace filters in it  and a latch mechanism to alow ingress and egress. 

  

 In a separate room away from the fumes we had a Hobbyair respirator and the  hose went through a hole in the wall to the paint room.  

  

 When painting I wore a Tyvek paint suit, painter's stretchy hood (like  a balaclava) and gloves plus the respirator mask.  I always had fresh  air flowing into the mask and could not smell the paint.   My  understanding was this paint will kill you and you should take no chances on  fumes.

  

 We have a large air compressor.  We bought a $400 system that goes in  the line to dry the air, remove all oil drops, and remove all debris.   The cannister with silica that dries the air lasted the whole job without  needing to be replaced.  I used a Devilbiss HVLP gun.  

  

 We filled all the rivets, not to go faster (unlikely), but to make the  paint easier to flow out.  This is a lot of work but it sure is pretty  later and it is easier to paint especially on the unavoidable vertical surfaces  like the fuselage sides.  Still looking for a filler that goes on easy,  sands easy, and is smooth.  We tried various.  Because we  essentially sanded it all off, weight gain was negligible.

  

 I'm remembering now what a pain the filling of pinholes in the fiberglass  parts was.  I hate them pinholes.  Not sure what a professional  painter would do about them. 

  

 I'm not sure of our exact costs. I'm guessing paint, equipment,  endless paper towels and gloves, sandpaper, etc, probably came to $3,000.   I did a lot of things over as I learned,  Imron can be sanded and I did  plenty of that.

  

 The difficult part is the art of paint application--too little and you have  orange peel, too much and it runs.  The distance between the two is  narrow.

  

 Here's the thing.  When it's over, you forget the misery and  the time.  You fly and you're happy.

  

 LeRoy Johnston and David White in Ohio.  RV-6  Esperanza--flying.

  [quote][b]

luckymacy(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 3:02 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Thanks for reminding me why I won't personally paint mine and when the time comes will happily write that check to a pro!  

  

 They fly great unpainted.  It's hangared.  I suppose it'll get painted when I stop smiling every time I look at it and I'm glad I was flying instead of painting these past 6 months.

  

 Question I do have is what's the short/long term affects on the fiberglass parts that aren't painted?  I have some primer on some fiberglass parts but not all of them.  Spinner comes to mind as something that's not primed at the moment.

  

 [quote]-------------- Original message -------------- 

From: JhnstnIII(at)aol.com 

  I will chime in.  I painted our RV-6 at my house.  I believe it took about six months of steady night and weekend work plus some vacation days.   People tell me it looks very good and I think so, too.  Paint was Dupont Imron over Variprime, three colors.  Surface was etched but not alodined.   

  

 It was a big and difficult job, but then nothing about these projects is easy in my opinion.  This was my first airplane.  I would do it again  

  

 Talk to painters with experience first.  They will have many good tips. 

  

 I painted parts in a room in my house and later in the garage when the weather got warm.  In both places we rigged a powerful squirrel cage fan (from a buddy--it was like what is in your furnace) to exhaust the fumes to the outside.  We built a wooden exhaust plenum with three round outlets to split the exhaust into three flexible 6 inch dia. ducts about eight feet long that lay on the ground spread apart with bricks in them to hold them down.   The idea was to diffuse the exhaust so as not to paint the outside of the house.   For the inlet to the room/garage, we built a plywood door panel with two large furnace filters in it and a latch mechanism to alow ingress and egress. 

  

 In a separate room away from the fumes we had a Hobbyair respirator and the hose went through a hole in the wall to the paint room.  

  

 When painting I wore a Tyvek paint suit, painter's stretchy hood (like a balaclava) and gloves plus the respirator mask.  I always had fresh air flowing into the mask and could not smell the paint.   My understanding was this paint will kill you and you should take no chances on fumes.

  

 We have a large air compressor.  We bought a $400 system that goes in the line to dry the air, remove all oil drops, and remove all debris.  The cannister with silica that dries the air lasted the whole job without needing to be replaced.  I used a Devilbiss HVLP gun.  

  

 We filled all the rivets, not to go faster (unlikely), but to make the paint easier to flow out.  This is a lot of work but it sure is pretty later and it is easier to paint especially on the unavoidable vertical surfaces like the fuselage sides.  Still looking for a filler that goes on easy, sands easy, and is smooth.  We tried various.  Because we essentially sanded it all off, weight gain was negligible.

  

 I'm remembering now what a pain the filling of pinholes in the fiberglass parts was.  I hate them pinholes.  Not sure what a professional painter would do about them. 

  

 I'm not sure of our exact costs. I'm guessing paint, equipment, endless paper towels and gloves, sandpaper, etc, probably came to $3,000.  I did a lot of things over as I learned,  Imron can be sanded and I did plenty of that.

  

 The difficult part is the art of paint application--too little and you have orange peel, too much and it runs.  The distance between the two is narrow.

  

 Here's the thing.  When it's over, you forget the misery and the time.  You fly and you're happy.

  

 LeRoy Johnston and David White in Ohio.  RV-6 Esperanza--flying.

 	  Quote: 	
		  

	
[b]

pitts_pilot(at)bellsouth.
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:25 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Doug Medema wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		                 My plane is almost 3 years old and is greatly in need of a paint  job!

      

     I'm seriously thinking of painting it myself and have some  questions

     for those of you who were brave enough (or foolish enough??) to  paint

     your own airplane:

 	
 Painted a couple!    	  Quote: 	
		      Are you happy with the results?

 	
 Absolutely!    	  Quote: 	
		      Knowing what you know now, would you do it again or pay someone  else?

 	
 "Pay someone else" for something I can do isn't part of my game plan.  I seem to have higher standards than a lot of paint shops.  Look at older model airplanes with a new paint job.  Look real close.  See what I mean???  Anything will look good at 20 feet!!!    	  Quote: 	
		      Did you have any painting experience before you painted your  plane?

 	
 A little.  You will definitely learn quickly what areas of your painting experience need work.  Lay in a good supply of sandpaper and paint the smaller pieces first,     	  Quote: 	
		       Any idea of how many hours in prep and paint?

 	
 I'd say about 40 to 1.  The better attention to detail in the prep stage will make a lot of difference in the finished product.    	  Quote: 	
		      If you feel like typing:

     Which brand and type of paint did you use?

 	
 I've used Dupont Imron, PPG, Stits, and Sherwin Williams ..... and a few others I can't recall.  I like the 2-part urethanes best.  	  Quote: 	
		      What kind of paint gun?  If HVLP, was it with a standard  compressor

     or one of the special HVLP paint setups?

 	
 I've used both.  The turbines will heat the paint as it sprays which works better if you're in a humid environment, but the hose is a PITA to handle.  I tend to use the compressed air HVLP more than the turbine type ...... which I have to borrow.  Remember that building experimentals is for the educational experience .... and learning to paint is no different than learning to rivet or working with fabric.

 Linn

 do not archive

 [quote]     

     Thanks in advance,

     Doug Medema

     RV-6A N276DM  (just put on new main gear tires  today!)

      

      

        	  Quote: 	
		  

	
 [b]

smittysrv

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 67

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:37 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

I think I'm going to paint mine myself. A good friend of mine told me

practice on a my  metal trash can, to get the initial ah-ha's out of the

way. Besides, it will neighborhood association group something to talk

about.



Smitty

http://SmittysRV.com





--------------------------------------------------------------------

mail2web - Check your email from the web at

http://mail2web.com/ .

_________________
Smittys RV-9A
SmittysRV.com

chaztuna(at)adelphia.net
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:37 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

snipped

 	  Quote: 	
		   We have a large air compressor.  We bought a $400 system that goes in  the 

 line to dry the air, remove all oil drops, and remove all debris.   The 

 cannister with silica that dries the air lasted the whole job without  needing to be 

 replaced.  snipped

 LeRoy Johnston and David White in Ohio.  RV-6  Esperanza--flying.


	


LeRoy,

 Could you tell us more about the drier unit you used? What make and model? Where did you buy it?

Charlie Kuss

december29(at)bellsouth.n
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:35 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

Smitty,

  Trust me, anyone who builds an airplane in their garage/shop ("You mean 

real people can fly in it, is that legal?")  give the homeowner's 

association plenty to talk about...............now we need to talk to you 

about the nude sunbathing on the back deck.

  Next, I'm planning on building an Ark.  I've got this 

feeling.............anyone know how big a cubit is?  ha,ha



Later,



John

#80002



do not archive

---

pitts_pilot(at)bellsouth.
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:40 am Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

I think that's pricey. Â But then, I love 'toys' too!!! Â My system has the typical oil/water collector on the tank. Â On the end of the air hose that goes to my paint booth is a 'toilet paper' filter. Â Get it at any good car paint store. Â It's a cast aluminum 'can' that's split in half so you can put the filter in it. Â Comes with a spare filter if I remember right. Â It's paper that reminds you of crepe paper. Â I've used the original filter for a couple of years until I forgot to open it up and let it dry out!!!! Â That's a key. Â When you run out of the original filters, a plain old roll of toilet paper will work just fine.

 Linn

 

 do not archive

 

 chaztuna(at)adelphia.net (chaztuna(at)adelphia.net) wrote:

 [quote]    	  Quote: 	
		  --> RV-List message posted by: <chaztuna(at)adelphia.net> (chaztuna(at)adelphia.net)

snipped

        	  Quote: 	
		  We have a large air compressor.  We bought a $400 system that goes in  the 

line to dry the air, remove all oil drops, and remove all debris.   The 

cannister with silica that dries the air lasted the whole job without  needing to be 

replaced.  snipped

LeRoy Johnston and David White in Ohio.  RV-6  Esperanza--flying.

    	
   

LeRoy,

 Could you tell us more about the drier unit you used? What make and model? Where did you buy it?

Charlie Kuss

  	
 [b]

kboatright1(at)comcast.ne
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:52 pm Post subject: Did you paint your own airplane?

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