Thoughts/opinons of paint scheme

I'm getting ready to spend the money and go to the paint shop. My wife and I have come up with a scheme we both really like. Just wanted to get thoughts/opinions. I haven't shown the painter yet, just wondering from those of you with elaborate schemes, how much more expensive is it to have the extra curvy wavy lines? Is it 100% more or just 25% more? Ballpark?

Note: I'm not a very good artist, but this is close to what we want.

Thanks!

I like the layout but can't help with cost. I'm sure others will be able to.

"Standard" pricing seems to be for a white base and two color stripes.
Some paint shops charge extra for a solid color on the bottom of the fuselage. In my case it was +$500. The red might count as that.
The third color might get you an extra charge over base...
I don't think the stripes are too excessive... since you are only using white and three colors, and I think they'll be able to paint the black over the grey.

Actually, you have made it a bit easier for the painter. You have no color on the flaps, ailerons and elevators, so the painter won't have to do any control surface fitting in mid painting to mask any paint breaks..... only on the rudder.

gil in Tucson

Rusty -
I can't help with the cost estimates, but since you asked...
Have you considered more of a swoop pattern for the wheel fairings?

Fuselage - looks great!
Fairings? a little "flat top"

Just my 2 cents.
BTW - wish I was as far along!!!

Lorin D
9A Wings (Tanks)

Scheme

Looks good. Having just painted my plane myself I can tell you the cost will go up dramatically with the addition of colors and curves. As an example, it took 66 hours to just mask my fuselage. The wings took about 40 hours. After you get one side done, the design needs to transfered to the other side. This involves using "pounce paper." Very time consuming. Now after that is done, you have to paint in some order, and remask the color you just painted. Repeat for every color. When all done, many hours of prep before clear coating.

You could probably save some money by using vinyl for the swooshes on the sides. The design process, cutting and application will be around a $1000 based on inquires from a couple of the scheme designers.

Lots of variables beyond the above. The biggest being the preparation of the airframe to quality standards. If the shop does it all, $$$$$$.

Certainly not trying to rain on your parade but I learned a lot painting my plane. I have over 600 hours in prep and painting. If I was to do it again, I would, 1) Use a much simpler design with less curves, 2) use a single stage paint, and 3) I'd probably let some one else do it.

Good luck. Keep everyone posted.

Rusty,

Your scheme looks pretty nice to me...but what really matters, is if it looks good to you! My criteria for deciding my scheme was "final' was that it had been on the wall of my office, on the refrigerator door, and my computer for three months - and I hadn't thrown it in the trash! I'm hoping to see it for real soon, and while I'm hoping others like it, the real criteria is if I enjoy seeing it when I open the hangar door.

Your design looks very much in the current style, so I'd show it to your painter, and if he squawks or talks about how difficult it will be (especially if he tries to talk you into something else), I'd think about checking with some other painters.

You've probably spent a big chunk of money on your airplane, and will spend a fairly large amount on paint. If it costs more to get the design you want, I bet it will still be a small percentage of what you have in the project - and if you settle for less, you might kick yourself later....

Paul

Thanks everyone for the great input

I think more "swoosh" on the wheel pants is a great idea! I'm still concerned about how much this is going to add to a basic paint scheme but it is what we really want! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks!

I would agree a swish on the wheel pants would tie things together. You can tell I'm not a graphics designer.

Tasteful?

JohnR said:

I would agree a swish on the wheel pants would tie things together. You can tell I'm not a graphics designer.

Click to expand...

Steal borrow copy cheat. Also keep it simple and tasteful. This last sentence is subject to individual personal opinon to what constitutes simple and tasteful. Clearly the cool trend is a simple monochrome base color with vinyl graphics. Other than that there is nothing new under the sun. G

Here's what we did.

I had to chime in on this one because your design has some similarities to what we did. We painted last November and I have about 100 hours on her now.
We used PPG base coat and clear. I can tell you it gets really expensive, somewhere around $2200 in materials alone. Add $700+ for a fresh air system, a real must for isocyanates!

Tom & Karen Lombardi
N71TL
Sedona, Az.

Very nice

Thanks for the pic, Tom. What brand/color red is that? I like it!

Rusty,

Ours has more "swoosh" on the wheel pants to give you an idea.



The red also looks like it's the same as Tom's, and if so it's JetGlo "Flag Red" p/n 576-676.

When Alan at TAC was doing ours, it seemed like graphic work was not a problem. The "Object of Desire" lettering was made by me in Word with the Word Art tool. I sent him the file and his computer was attached to a huge labeling printer that made the stickers he used to paint over. I'm sure something similar could be done with your "RV 7A" on the tail and the lines on the front. The long curvy lines along the fuse can be done with tape, which is an art in itself, and one of the many reasons we didn't paint it ourselves.

Rusty,

Like the scheme a lot! I agree that the wheel pants could use some of the same treatment, but that is your call. As for cost, I can only tell you what we did. I found a local painter who did all the metal prep (I did the fiberglass) and shot one color Imron for $1750 plus materials. Did a GREAT job and took no shortcuts. I did the second and third colors in vinyl myself for less than the cost of a quart of paint. Looking at your design, about the only thing that couldn't be done easily in vinyl is the spinner and carb inlet area. I did vinyl on the wing tip and that is about as tight a radius as I would be comfortable with. Also, you would have a little more in vinyl than I had, probably $200-300 worth. Getting someone to cut it could be a problem. I bought a cutter for about $800 and did it myself. I am using it enough that it hasn't hit ebay yet. Hope to post pics in a week or as I don't have the wings on yet. Vinyl is the way to go cost wise.

Bob Kelly, final assembly

Question

I have one question related to paint and design. Some have the area in front of the canopy bright white, isn't that a problem regarding glare in bright sunshine?
I'm asking this because I've not yet flown in a RV (but building because I'm pretty sure I'll like it.)

Thanks

pgroell said:

I have one question related to paint and design. Some have the area in front of the canopy bright white, isn't that a problem regarding glare in bright sunshine?
I'm asking this because I've not yet flown in a RV (but building because I'm pretty sure I'll like it.)

Thanks

Click to expand...

I flew my -8 for six months with no paint, and found that most of the glare I got that bothered me was from the top of the wings! The fuselage ahead of the windshield at the time was very light grey, and was no problem. With my paint job, I did a black "glare shield" because I like the way it looks, but since it is done with gloss black, it still reflects. What I have found in the few days I've had it back from paint is that it is kind of like a body of water - it reflects the color of the sky around you. None of it is bothersome however- just interesting.

My two cents - a flat black glarehield probably reduces glare, otherwise, the color doesn't really matter, as you're seeing very little of the surface, since you see it at a low angle.

Paul

hecilopter said:

Thanks for the pic, Tom. What brand/color red is that? I like it!

Click to expand...

It's GM Torch red.

pgroell said:

I have one question related to paint and design. Some have the area in front of the canopy bright white, isn't that a problem regarding glare in bright sunshine?
I'm asking this because I've not yet flown in a RV (but building because I'm pretty sure I'll like it.)

Thanks

Click to expand...

I haven't noticed any glare maybe because the angle is pretty steep. The top of my panel is done in flat black.

n250jg said:

Rusty,

Ours has more "swoosh" on the wheel pants to give you an idea.

The red also looks like it's the same as Tom's, and if so it's JetGlo "Flag Red" p/n 576-676.

When Alan at TAC was doing ours, it seemed like graphic work was not a problem. The "Object of Desire" lettering was made by me in Word with the Word Art tool. I sent him the file and his computer was attached to a huge labeling printer that made the stickers he used to paint over. I'm sure something similar could be done with your "RV 7A" on the tail and the lines on the front. The long curvy lines along the fuse can be done with tape, which is an art in itself, and one of the many reasons we didn't paint it ourselves.

Click to expand...

I did my N numbers on a printer using Photoshop, just printed on some plastic shelf paper and cut them out. I then shot the grey metalic and peeled them off.