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Plexiglass painting ?

ratc

ratc

Well Known Member
I'm trying to get away without a fibreglass/aluminium forward fairing to the canopy so just ran a PRC bead around the front edge. In doing so you can still see part of the sikaflex inside bead, is it possible to paint the outside of the plexiglass without damage from the solvents in the paint ?
 
My painter painted around the rear window and around the top edge of the canopy on my RV-12 with no problem. He just scuffed it and painted with enamel base coat/clear coat.
 
I painted the top of my canopy in 1993 and it still looks good today.

After experimenting with several primers, I found that scuffing the plexiglas with scotchbrite and painting directly with JetGlo worked the best.
 
Are you sure?

ratc said:
I'm trying to get away without a fibreglass/aluminium forward fairing to the canopy so just ran a PRC bead around the front edge. In doing so you can still see part of the sikaflex inside bead, is it possible to paint the outside of the plexiglass without damage from the solvents in the paint ?
Click to expand...

The RV4 is a very fast airplane. Make sure you are comfortable with the aerodynamic implications of not using a fairing here. If Van thought you could do without it, it would not be in an RV4 kit. I would have some concern the PRC would fail and the dynamic pressure from the front combined with the lifting action of the canopy bubble might cause canopy loss or failure in flight.
 
Skysailor, thank you for the input, I doubt that the SIKAFLEX would fail, this is the canopy frame to canopy sealant. The PRC is just the fillet seal !
Thank you all for the data, it seems painting the plexiglass has little or no effect.
 
Skysailor, just re-read your post. Are you suggesting that the forward canopy fairing is included in the RV-4 kit ? If so, mine did not come with one in the finish kit !
 
tech info is out there...

Andy, as Mel said, sanding greatly improves the bond.
Be aware of the solvents used, ESPECIALLY when painting polycarbonates.
here's a tech sheet as an example of a guide to painting; not the greatest, but a good start.

http://www.acrylite-shop.com/pdfs/Painting.pdf

good idea to test your paint on some scrap, to ensure the solvents don't attack the plastic and cause crazing, which is a real possibility.
( having re-painted dozens of old acrylic and lexan sign faces!)
 
flyboy1963 said:
Andy, as Mel said, sanding greatly improves the bond. Be aware of the solvents used, ESPECIALLY when painting polycarbonates. Here's a tech sheet as an example of a guide to painting; not the greatest, but a good start.
http://www.acrylite-shop.com/pdfs/Painting.pdf
good idea to test your paint on some scrap, to ensure the solvents don't attack the plastic and cause crazing, which is a real possibility.
( having re-painted dozens of old acrylic and lexan sign faces!)
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, plexiglas is not a polycarbonate. Lexan IS.
I'm NOT suggesting that you don't test. Before I painted mine, I tested every method on scrap first.
 
When working for a certain aircraft company one of the rules was "no Ketones". Ketones will cause crazing, and can be in paints, primers, sealants, goops. So look at the msds and sds, to see what's in the mix, no MEK, no Acetone, etc. I would call todds or airplane plastics (in ohio) to see if they have a recommended product. At the aforementioned job I did the same thing, painted the edges of some lenses to avoid the ugly and uneven look of the sealant touching it.
 
All really good information, thank you one and all !
I'll be sure to test any paint before I commit to the "real" thing..........Far too much work to sacrifice at this stage !
 
ratc said:
Skysailor, just re-read your post. Are you suggesting that the forward canopy fairing is included in the RV-4 kit ? If so, mine did not come with one in the finish kit !
Click to expand...

I think it is fabricated with layers of fiberglass. My canopy is bonded to the frame as well. My canopy skirt was made from fiberglass so I have a fairing all the way around from the skirt onto the canopy. Vans uses aluminum for the skirt I believe and has you fabricate the fairing from fiberglass between the canopy and skirt.

It is possible I misread your original post. Properly prepared, paint will adhere just fine to your canopy plastic and fiberglass. I do not think it will bond well to the canopy bonding agent.
 
Just completed the aluminium canopy skirt - Old school, not the easiest thing I've ever done on my project ! Now after riveting if I could only get the canopy hinge pin all the way through it should be good to go - just another job ! 12 + years into the build and at last it's starting to look like an aircraft. Very glad and excited to be back into "build mode" ! It's
funny how the thought of not having anything to fly in retirement concentrates the mind !
 
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