This is a comprehensive thread about painting my RV12 at a car shop that had not painted a plane or aluminum before. Came out great! If I was doing it over I would consider vinyl.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=67760
Great write-up and result! Clearly you put the necessary time into researching and planning the job so that you could work with experienced non-aviation painters to get a great final job.
After reading the thread, I'd make 2 comments:
Use what your painter (or paint supplier) recommends just as Bill H did here. Any shop builds up experience with certain brands and processes. Do your research but come in prepared to take their advice and avoid stuff they've never done before. Bringing in an airplane is enough of a novelty. Agreeing on Imron non-aviation paint is a good example. The aviation products are designed for holding up at jet speeds through ice pellets... our flying is a bit less demanding, more like a high performance car.
If so inclined, don't be afraid to do the job yourself, it's not that tough. Afterall, you've already built a plane! I too was afraid of the actual spraying and was looking to take the same approach taken here. I had a neighbor who owned a paint shop (RVs, boats, trucks) who could have done it but I picked their brains instead. I did the same research and prep work done here. I found a paint supplier and got a lot of help there. But I had the space to setup a booth and the inclination to 'finish the job' so I did it. SECRET: spraying, with the right equipment, is the easy part. It's the prep work that's the hard work. Especially if you go the route of painting it white and using vinyl trim. White is easy, metal flake Autumn Sunburst is a bit more challenging.
Here's my Kitlog doc of the experience:
RV10 Paint Experience
It is surely not as nice as the '12 here but it is good enough.
As strange as it may sound, I have to say that painting was the most rewarding part of the build. The Vans kits are so highly evolved at this point that the outcome need never be in doubt.. but the painting is still 'optional'and not part of the kit.
Last note: whether you assist or DIY, the chemistry involved is TOXIC. Don't play around. The industry and the paint shops are full of mentally impaired people suffering from exposure to polyurethanes. It's kind of shocking when realize what you are seeing. Some shops are still pretty cavalier about the stuff. You need a fresh air breather to use the stuff or even observe its application.
