Weight of Paint

I have been doing a lot of research on paint for my RV-12. A number of posts have expressed anecdotal accounts of the weight paint adds to a plane. We have a Japan airlines school on the field with a fleet of 60+ A-36's and Barrons. Many of them are painted with paint from Sterling paint. I checked their web site and they have quite a lot of information. One table in particular gives the dry weight of their primers and topcoats. Since the weight is for specific mil thicknesses it may be accurate enough to give a close approximation for other paints. A 3 mil coat of their color coat is .0387 pounds per square foot. The epoxy primer at 1 mil is .0133 lbs/sq.ft, and the polyurethane primer at 2 mils is .0146 lbs/sq.ft. Using the epoxy primer and the top coat the weight of the paint on the wings would be 13.2 pounds. This is more than I expected. They do have a thin wash primer which weighs less, but also gives less corossion protection. This would cut the weight by 2.7 lbs. If I remember right, Van's didn't even use primer on one of the models they built, but shot the topcoat right over the Alodine.

Not that much

My naked RV-7 without wheel, leg and intersection fairings weighed 1034.

My painted plane with fairings weighs 1055. I am guessing that the fairings accounted for at least half those 21 lbs. I would also consider my paint heavy since yellow takes a lot of coats. The paint used was PPG Delta process. I hope this helps

Not a big deal

Over the years I've seen people really get concerned over the weight of paint. The reality of it is, it is not a big deal. My plane is a 4 color base/clear with a base toner, value shade for each color, the base and then clear. Weight gain, 13-14 pounds.

Bottom line, paint it the colors and scheme you want. You won't gain much weight at all.

It depends a lot on who paints the airplane.
I once inspected two RV-10s that were built by 2 friends, side by side in the same shop with exactly the same model engine, prop, avionics, and accessories. They were identical in every way except for paint. One was painted by the builder and the other was painted by an auto body shop. There was a 20 lb. difference between the 2 planes. The one painted by the auto painter was the heavier.

Did the planes weight the same before paint? That would be the only way to really know if the 20lb delta was due to paint alone.

McFly said:

PHP:

There was a 20 lb. difference between the 2 planes.

Did the planes weight the same before paint? That would be the only way to really know if the 20lb delta was due to paint alone.

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Yes, they did!

Sterling paint. I used the Stewart water bourne paint on the interior with mixed results. It is quality paint, but there is a definite learning curve. I had only used Dupont and PPG paints over the years on cars. I had my technique down pretty well. The water based paints are very different to use. For the exterior I am not willing to spend the extra time and money to learn how to do it. I talked to a couple of pro auto painters who have now had to switch to water based due to the new California rules. They confirmed that there are different techniques involved. They had the benefit of going to schools and getting hands on training. Their consensus is that it's great stuff, but they have to be more aware of temps and humidity. For one airplane, I will just use what I am familiar with. If I was going to paint planes for a living, I would switch.

Don't worry about the weight of the paint. Instead, put yourself on a diet. It is easier to remove weight from you than it is from the plane. Think in terms of gross weight rather than tare weight.

tinman said:

Don't worry about the weight of the paint. Instead, put yourself on a diet. It is easier to remove weight from you than it is from the plane. Think in terms of gross weight rather than tare weight.

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110% right! Put down the fork and back away from the feeding troff.

RV7Guy said:

Bottom line, paint it the colors and scheme you want. You won't gain much weight at all.

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Not having a go at you personally Darwin, but frankly I get tired when people respond to such a question with "don't worry about it".

"...much weight at all" means different things to different people. If you make that judgement then fine, but for some of us, we want to know the answer to the question! Reassurance ain't what some are looking for.

For me, weight of primer/paint is enough to avoid priming the inside of skins, except for the fayed surfaces. I will also be running a partially polished finish for the same reason. Many people think I'm nuts, but it's my bird. I will have the first 1000lb RV-8. Well, maybe I won't, but I will try my damnedest!

A

weight, weight, weight

Andy_RR said:

Not having a go at you personally Darwin, but frankly I get tired when people respond to such a question with "don't worry about it".

For me, weight of primer/paint is enough to avoid priming the inside of skins, except for the fayed surfaces. I will also be running a partially polished finish for the same reason. Many people think I'm nuts, but it's my bird. I will have the first 1000lb RV-8. Well, maybe I won't, but I will try my damnedest!

A

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Andy,

With all due respect, unless you are using a 0320 with wood prop, absolute minimal instruments with no interior other than a seat pad, your chances of getting 1000lbs probably isn't going to happen. It is a noble gesture to keep it light but what is that few pounds getting you? A little better climb rate, that's about it.

I have a crazy neighbor building a 7 that is going to go after a couple of CAFE records, (time to climb to 10,000 and time to climb to 25,000). He is absolutely driving everyone crazy about the weight. He estimates his weight will come out to around 1030. No lights, no Auto pilot. When I started asking if he considered, fuel lines, clamps, screws for the clamps etc, he had not. So, add another 15-20 lbs. He is polishing most of the plane with only the tail and cowl painted (Red Tail) design. He has spent hours and hours working on charts about what his climb rate should be, yet he has no real experience flying RV's. Paper and reality can be greatly separated. He's expecting a prolonged climb of 2500+fpm. Ain't gonna happen.

I challenged him to a distance flight when he is done. I said we could plan a 300 mile or so trip with formation take off to a preselected altitude. He said he will get there first because he will have roughly 100 fpm better climb. I said my 1133 lb 7 will get there just as fast if not faster because I will be flying a direct course with the auto pilot while he adds a few miles as he chases the line and altitude.

Regarding the paint, people get worked up about the potential weight of the paint. My point was simply that the paint doesn't weigh nearly as much as most think. Further, what are you going to do if it ends ups being 5 lbs heavier than expected, not fly it? I don't think so.

I wish you the best of luck on your light weight quest but be prepared for disappointment if you don't make your goal.

weight

I really enjoy reading posts about what some airplane weights. Some offer a light aircraft is better some say otherwise. I like to look at my bird and enjoy what I see. Others have complimented me as well on it's looks.
In the end build what you build what you want or can afford but with a caveat.

There are three ways to dispose of an airplane.
1. Sell it.
2. Crash it.
3. Donate it to some museum

Two options most folks can't accomplish. I suggest folks keep in mind this list and design or build what others are doing. In these forums you will find stories of airplanes that have sat unsold for over a year because something was NOT standard.
FWIW

I am already on a diet, and so is my 12

I used to own a Piper Warrior. I always had a laugh when I saw the factory "empty weight" It was empty all right, it was stripped! No interior, no radios, nothing except the minimum required instruments. It is so easy to add just a couple of pounds here and there, and then wonder where the useful load went. I posted the numbers above as the first concrete information I've seen regarding the actual weight that different combinations of paint make. With 12,000 pop rivets I;m not worried about a show plane mirror finish. I do want protection from the elements, durability, and a nice looking plane. It is easy to see how the example Mel gave can happen. On the antique cars I used to restore I never even thought about the weight that the primer and top coats added. The finish was the goal. An airplane can have a great finish, and still be light if you do it right.

Congratulations Van!

I'd like to congratulate Van on the best looking RV-12 I've seen yet!*

Love that polished look (and lack of paint!)




*I know I've not been paying enough attention, but I've just seen it whilst catching up with the latest RVator.

Now that a number of you have painted your RV-12, can you share with us the weight of the paint only?