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Paint

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Mike Coady

Well Known Member
Ok, it's time to paint. I have about 70 hrs on my 7A now and I guess I better get it painted instead of playing. I was first thinking of professional paint shop but the Price!! Wow!! I figured I built it and I probably can paint it. If some of you have undertaken this would be so kind to cue me o. The steps/process to give it a shot, I'd appreciate it. I am planning on buying good equipment for the job.
So, do I need to etch as I've heard, and how do I do that. Primer? With zinc chromate.. Etc. then the paint process. Your input needed....
Thanks
Mike
 
Suggest you start reading in the painting forum.
If you are a real novice there's a lot to learn. It seems to be an art as much as a science. I know, I'm a poor painter.
Be advised the best paints are quite toxic. Be sure to use proper protection for yourself and the environment.
 
If you are clueless, do your research and then go paint something else, like an old car, lawn tractor, neighbor's dog etc. you will learn a lot. Better to learn thise lessons on something less valuable than your plane. If you can build, you can paint. It's 90% prep.
 
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Mike, have you considered a vinyl wrap? It's much less costly than paint, weighs less, and from what I've seen, the results can be stunning. Years from now, if you don't like it, peel it off and do it over, or paint it later on if you wish. I'm seriously considering this for mine. And like your painting plans, I think I can do it from home.
 
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Sherwin Williams Paint School

Sherwin Williams puts on a 2 day painting seminar 4 times a year at their Andover, Kansas technical facility. It costs like 250-300, and well worth it as they teach you their product line, what types of paints and primers to use on what substrates, and....you get 2 sessions in the paint booth spraying the different products. Can't beat it. You don't have to be in business to attend, they do accept homebuilders. You can ask question after question and they will be patient with you. I bought my new gun to school and they helped me set it up and showed me how to use it.
 
So Mike, how much did Brandis say they wanted to paint your RV-7? (I'm thinking about a paint/polish combination scheme and was thinking of flying to TAZ to get an estimate from Brandis.)
 
I painted mine....well, except for the fuse, waiting to finish cawl and windshield. spent 4K on paint so far. lots O hours of sanding.....lots......and lots.........of.........sanding......did I mention lots of sanding....
 
Cost of a paint job?

bret said:
I painted mine....well, except for the fuse, waiting to finish cawl and windshield. spent 4K on paint so far. lots O hours of sanding.....lots......and lots.........of.........sanding......did I mention lots of sanding....
Click to expand...

I agree with Bret. I have my wings, tail, and fuselage painted. Still need to do the cowling and all fairings. I'm already at $4200 and counting. If Bret didn't mention it... There is a lot of sanding.:) One more thing, look into the thread on Cut and Buff.... Your gonna need it! BTW, Cut and Buff has more sanding.:)
 
Painting

Thanks everybody. This is a great start for me at least to make some decisions. And Mark, your website on painting your 8 is Awesome, I love it.
Thanks again,
Mike
 
Mark you painted your airplane assembled. Would you go that route again? I was planning to assemble the wings and check all the plumbing, then remove them for painting so I could make a much smaller booth. What would be the pros and cons of doing that?

Also, did the products you used not require alodine? What guarantee did you have that the paint would stick if you didn't acid etch/alodine? I thought you had to or the paint would fail, but I don't know anything about painting airplanes other than the stuff I read. Is there somethnig special about those products that allows you to skip that step?
 
I did the maroon scotch bright pads, sanded in figure 8s until you can feel it start to bite and get harder to sand, mechanical etching. epoxy primer, wet sand, base black, wet sand, checker pattern, metallic second base, air brush high lights, then clear. The only time line for my product was the base to clear for chemical bonding. a few expensive screw ups but that was part of my learning curve. a lot more cleaning preps and details but came out great. No orang peel and gloss wet look!
 
I had 10 hrs on my plane when the left wheel came apon a sink hole! I had hit the brake to turn around and it just sunk crushing my wheelpant. Im just now finishing rebuilding that wheelpant and painted it this morning. Im glad I painted my plane because I know how to make repairs.
 
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