Paint

After researching the many threads on painting I want to do a simple single stage system.

1. acid etch
2. alodine
3. epoxy primer (not self etch)
4. color coat

Jet-glo gets rave reviews from those who have used it. The problem is there are limited dealers (none close to me) and it is expensive. The local paint store recommends PPG Delfleet. Has anyone used Delfleet and would you recommend it. I have searched Delfleet in the archives and cannot find it so any comments on it would be appreciated.

Jay Erickson, RV-7A finishing
Aerosport IO-375, Precision Eagle EMS
Grassy Meadows Skyranch, UT47

I don't know about Delfleet....

but I've used Dupont ChromaOne for years and love it. Never had a problem with orange peel, fisheyes, runs, and it's easy to use and tough. I also use the Polyfiber Aerothane with great success on metal and fabric. I imagine the PPG is just as good though.

I like Delfleet

Check with Mike Stadtfeld at Woodlake Aircraft Refinishers.

http://planepainter.com/oursvcs.html

He will help you with questions about painting it
yourself and uses Delfleet products himself.

He painted my 7A in 2007 with Delfleet.
I'm very happy with the people, the paint and
the job they did for me. I think Delfleet doesn't
quite have as much of a 'wet look' as the more
expensive products but is durable and easily repaired.
I call it tractor paint as I believe Caterpillar and
John Deere both use it. {;-)
Delfleet can be mixed from any PPG color chart.
Also, my fiberglass looked awful when I dropped
the RV off and looks great now. They had the
plane for about four weeks. My simple two color
ran about $6K, a more detailed paint job might
go as high as $10K.

There are some homebuilts shown in his gallery.
You can contact me directly if you want to at:
tomwebster(at)wowway(dot)com

Tom

Also look into Nason Fulthane. Very reasonably priced single stage and both the local paint store experts and painters (mostly custom car) I have talked with say it is a good paint for first timers.

Aeroperformance Coatings

Aeroperformance Coatings distributes Jet-Glo; I spoke with their Cahokia, IL office on Monday and they sent color charts to me via UPS (arrived today).

They told me that they are used to dealing in small quantities (one quart and up). The Sherwin-Williams website lists several offices around the country so you might have good luck with one closer to you.

Other paints may be more readily available from a supply shop in Salt Lake City. Here in KC some of the automotive paint supply shops sell aircraft paint since some products (like Imron) are popular with custom car shops.

Good luck,
Mike

Wolf said:

After researching the many threads on painting I want to do a simple single stage system.

1. acid etch
2. alodine
3. epoxy primer (not self etch)
4. color coat

Jet-glo gets rave reviews from those who have used it. The problem is there are limited dealers (none close to me) and it is expensive. The local paint store recommends PPG Delfleet. Has anyone used Delfleet and would you recommend it. I have searched Delfleet in the archives and cannot find it so any comments on it would be appreciated.

Jay Erickson, RV-7A finishing
Aerosport IO-375, Precision Eagle EMS
Grassy Meadows Skyranch, UT47

Click to expand...

I think you've identified one of the key issues with doing the paint yourself - proximity to the vendor. In my case, I found it extremely beneficial to have a Dupont dealer a 20 minute drive from the house so I could drop by and pick up the pint of catalyst or gallon of reducer I needed or to talk with someone who had actually used the product I was purchasing.

For these reasons, I recommend that the folks in my neck of the woods use PPG or Dupont, because there are several dealers for each in the area. You might consider surveying your local automotive paint dealers and choosing a brand that offers you easy logistics.

PPG

Thanks for all the information. I was glad to hear someone had used the Delfleet and was happy with it. The paint dealer highly recommended it and said it was used a lot in the area on helicopters. That seems to be the best option in my area and they do have the colors I want. If anyone has any other input I would love to hear it.

Jay

I should have paid attention to this earlier .... because of location.

A lot of us in the Salt Lake City area have used Sherwin Williams Genesis -- single stage. Rumor has it, that it's much along the lines of their aviation paints, but it's a high end automotive paint. Isn't cheap, but less than the aviation. It's flexible, extremely tough, stands up to every chemical a plane would have to worry about, and goes on well.

Picked up mine through Hillcrest Glass & Paint in Midvale, UT ( You can google that for address and phone number) They've supplied it for quite a number of RV's. You'd want to tell them an RV'er sent you, because it's usually cheaper than going direct to the distributer (as I did once).

L.Adamson --- RV6A

Delfleet

I'v painted two RV's with PPG Delfleet and am pleased with the results. Just follow the manufacturers recommendation, put on a lot of paint, sand and polish it out and you will be pleased. My first was in 2002 and looks today as if it was just painted. In preping seal all you seams with the left over Pro Seal. Mask each seam, apply with a stick and smooth with you finger dipped in liquid detergent. Paint sticks good.

Delfleet

Agough277

Drop in to UT47 Hurricane, UT some time, I would love to see the paint job. I'm on the North East end, first hangar on the taxiway.

Jay

Cirrus Aircraft has been painting it for a long time. Its not a bad product. I have used it for the last 5 years and I do not mind it.

The wet look is all in how you sand and buff the finish. The more time you put into it the better it looks.

If you have any questions in regards to this product please feel free to ask and I will help out the best I can.

I used Sherwin Williams Genesis with good results.

Alike Adamson, I used Sherwin Williams Genesis with good results. According to my dealer, FED EX trucks are painted with Genesis. It's durable and it applied easily.

I did not alodine before paint. My dealer claimed that's an obsolete procedure, a statement that's guaranteed to light many flames on this website.

I acid washed & scuffed at the same time using Scotchbrite. I wore gloves and a forced air respirator which is highly recommended given that the acid will irritate the inside of your nasal passages. Then I rinsed it clean, allowed it to dry overnite after blowing high pressure air thru every opening and crevice, used E2G980 etching primer next, P30 sealer, and finally Genesis. The only part I did not paint on a rotisserie was the fuse. When I squirt the 6A, the fuse will be on a rotisserie so the bottom comes out as perfect as the rest of it. Painting uphill is much harder and not recommended for a first time shooter.

201 hours & three years later, it still looks good.

Having each part of the airplane on a rotisserie made it easy. When one side of the wings was done (IE), I simply flipped it over and painted the other side. Wait for flash time, roll it over, do it again. In total, painting the entire airplane took 3 weeks. One day to weld a rotisserie for each section and prep the pieces, second day primer / paint, third day - tear it down, store the completed parts, clean the shop, & get ready for the next set of parts. For first time shooters, I would use the horizontal stab as my first airplane piece (after lots of practice). It's easy to handle, small enough to sand if you mess up the job, and has lots of breaks that enable segmented work. Good paint comes from good prep, follow the mixing rules, a good environment, good equipment, and lots and lots of practice using straight panels. The application of primer is different from paint so each product has it's own learning curve. All it takes is rhythm, practice, and note taking.

On most of the cars I've restored, I've used Nason products with good results too. According to my Dupont dealer, Nason will not guarantee color match to OEM paint, but that has never been factor for me. All of my colors are hand picked by me and when you are doing an entire car or airplane, matching is not necessary. Buy extra, plan ahead.

MrNomad said:

...
I did not alodine before paint. My dealer claimed that's an obsolete procedure, a statement that's guaranteed to light many flames on this website.

I acid washed the plane wearing a forced air respirator (highly recommended), then E2G980 etching primer, then P30 sealer, then Genesis.
...

Click to expand...

I too have been researching the Sherwin Williams auto paint, primarily because there is a distributor location by me.
My plan was;
for 3rd Dimension
1) scuff the surface with Scotchbrite
2) wash then clean with W4K157
3) Etch prime with DE830 (DER832 reducer)
4) Epoxy prime/seal with DE800 (DR633 reducer, DH600 activator)
5) Top coat with 3rd Dimension Single Stage

or for Genesis
1) scuff the surface with Scotchbrite
2) wash then clean with R7K156
3) etch prime with E2G980 (R7K981 reducer)
4) epoxy prime/seal with E2A933 (VS100 reducer, V6V943 activator)
5) top coat with Genesis Single Stage

I dont make many posts on here, cus they are always long Dont cut corners with your paint job! Its almost as important as the rivets! The paint job is the first thing people see, and the last thing they remember!
Stripping an RV is a pain in the butt (ive stripped several of them now because folks cut corners on the first paint jobs)

All major manufactures of paint also make a less expensive line.. PPG has ShopLine (used to be Omni) Akzo has Lessonal, and so on...
Remember the amount of square footage you are painting on your RV is about the same as 3 cars! Anything can happen during the paint, with good materials you can eliminate alot of guess work.

My 2 cents, stay far away from off brand anything.. Nason, Matrix, Wanda, Martin Senour, Valspar, Western, American Finishes (except for thier high build primer) Vandex, Rustoleum, Duplicolor, Krylon, and many many others! They are cheap for a reason!!! thier binders are sub-par, pigments arent color fast, UV protection is poor, and generally dont cover well.. There are acceptions to each of these but for the most part, if the paint is cheap per quart, it will take more material to cover.
Dont believe the auto part stores that say "oh our junk you never heard of is the same thing as 'blank' and its cheaper"
the cheap stuff is fine if you are trying to fix a little spot on a car you are selling or something.

My other 2 cents.. DO NOT cross brands.. if you start with PPG primer, finish it with compatible PPG Clear and all the way through.. this goes for reducers, cleaners, hardeners, blenders, flatteners and anything else that will be chemically dependant on the coat under it.
With ONE exception....
Etch and Alodine is the way to go! but not everyone makes a Zinc Chromate primer.. In this case i highly recommend using Akzo Nobel #S9001 for the zinc chromate and the Aduct is #S3001.. (see http://www.anac.com) This works fantastic with just about any urethane top coats.. I have painted a bunch of aircraft with this primer, and you name it on the top coats.. excellent stuff.

Additionally.. etching primers are ok.. but etch and alodine is how aircraft have been painted since they began making them out of aluminum.. and is still the best. Epoxy primers are ok too.. but tough to sand smooth, and are brittle and tend to crack easily.
Sherwin williams makes a good product, but is over priced for the quality of the product (i compare it to house brand stuff most the time)
SW clear is to thin, and has a yellow tint.

see, long comments..
and here is a youtube video of an RV7 i painted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGfVk2q2AbM
I painted this RV7 four years ago with PPG and Akzo zinc primer, Its holding up fantatic, and flies off a grass strip pretty often!
Maybe this can help ya a little

The Van's demo RV-7, RV-8, RV-9 & RV-10 are all painted with ("off brand") Valspar. The demo RV-6 & RV-8A are painted with PPG Durethane. Van's painted his own RV-10 himself with Valspar.

Even with these "off brand" paints, they still manager to sell many kits with the impression they make.

If I can do it, you can too.

This Nomad was painted by me using Nason base coat / clear coat. I am not a pro.

After squirting three coats of base, I opened the fan, increased the volume, and squirted in a random direction from 12" away versus the normal 6-8'. The result was a lot of the metal in the paint remained on the surface causing a great effect in bright sunlight, and said technique completely eliminates tiger stripes which plagues hi metallic paint jobs.

After the three coats of clear dried, I buffed the paint over the next week (I'm too old to do it in one day). The result is what you see. No runs, no sags, no hits, just real nice, almost show quality.

It's probable that Nason versus Dupont used a little more material, but the difference in price more than offsets.

Well some people like valspar.. personally i dont.. but thats the thing with painting. its a personal feeling and people generally stick with what the like.
I have seen a lot of problems with valspar on aircraft and on other vehicles.

But what i like doesnt really matter.. its what YOU are comfortable with when painting your airplane. Im not a salesman for any company, just throwing in my 2cents