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Prepping Interior for Paint - Any Advice?

bkervaski

Hellloooooooo!
Testing
Hi all,

We're on page 32-08, getting ready to prep the interior for paint.

We've already established our paint process: SEM DTM Epoxy, 20psi through the 3M Accuspray gives us a very nice semi-textured application and it is very durable (we tested it a few times).

We have an interior going in so I doubt we will put any additional final coat beyond the primer. We're setting the primer up as a sealer per SEMs instructions by adding a urethane reducer.

We plan on cleaning with MEK then sanding with 220 and scotchbrite.

My question really is, to you guys that have done this at this same stage, what advice can you give on prepping the interior? What to tape off, etc.

Thanks for any help! Big step and not a painter ...
 
Some pointers from my experience.
1. Why use MEK when less toxic alternatives exist? It's like driving your 6.7l pickup to work when that Toyota Carolla in your garage would do the job just as well. I use Acetone for removing the red marking dye and plastic protective glue residue on the alclad and automotive wax and grease remover for general surface cleaning prior to paint. None of this is especially good for you, but the toxicity ratings are a lot less than MEK.
2. Paint more than less. If you are not sure exactly what and where your full interior will cover, paint it. Once the thinners evaporate off, the paint weighs very little compared to having to do things again because you missed a patch.
3. Put extra coats of paint in high wear locations.
4. Per Dan H.'s advice, keep the paint or anything flammable for that matter back an inch or two from the firewall.
Tom.
 
I was painting interior today. What I found with the -10 (and the -6 before that) is that on finish coats, you're better off masking large portions, spraying what you didn't mask, repositioning the masking a day later, and shooting the rest. On a -14 I think you could do it in two sessions, which is how I did the -6. The -10 took 3 sessions.

On the -10, I shot the baggage bulkhead, baggage floors, and passenger floors in one session, the sidewalls of the passenger floors and the walls of the passenger and luggage compartments in another session, and the front of the airplane in another session.

The reason is there are so many nooks and crannies and awkward positions, it is hard to spray everything and not miss something, all while keeping the hose from dragging through wet paint or getting overspray on something that is starting to dry.

A 90* swivel hose connection really helps keep the hose out of things, assuming you get enough airflow that way.

You can prime the whole thing in one session if you want...

By the way, if you're spraying in the driveway or yard one of the $50 "quick shade" 10'x10' canopies is an excellent dust and sun cover for your spraying sessions. 12'x12' would be even better. Something like this, but you can usually get one cheaper locally than on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Quik-Shade-E...F8&qid=1504054575&sr=8-3&keywords=quick+shade
 
Thanks for all the great advice!

I had no idea that painting the firewall was a bad idea and didn't even consider that stainless probably wouldn't hold paint very well.

On the nutplates .. should we put the screws in partially before painting?
 
I've had no problem with inserting screws into nutplates after I've shot paint, so I think you be fine. If you look at the total dry film thickness of most recommended paint systems, it really isn't much, plus the screw has the ability to cut through most buildup.
Tom.
 
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