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Panel Color?

What color should I paint my panel?

  • Flat Black

    Votes: 30 25.9%
  • Dark Grey

    Votes: 44 37.9%
  • Pewter (match interior)

    Votes: 14 12.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 28 24.1%

  • Total voters
    116

Chattin35

Well Known Member
Getting ready to paint the panel. What color should I go with?

jdhBXGV.jpg
 
What the Navy called "Gull Gray" is very easy on the eyes. Its the exact shade of color as the SEM gray primer.
 
Panel wrap

There is another option to paint. And that is a vinyl wrap. I had my panel done in a carbon fiber look wrap with the lettering done in white. Try Aircraft wraps.


William
RV8A for sale
RV7 ready to go to hanger.
 
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What the Navy called "Gull Gray" is very easy on the eyes. Its the exact shade of color as the SEM gray primer.

+1

I did light grey (primer) and it blends well and causes no distractions. I also covered with a clear coat (to cover my lettering) and used a flattening agent in it to keep the gloss down and avoid reflections. I think this is even more important than the color.

Larry
 
I have no idea what color You should paint YOUR panel....but I like the gray that the other guys mentioned on my planes becasue well....I'm used to it on other planes I've flown in my career, and it seems to work. No more science than that.
 
My interior paint is lighter in color and I get a lot of reflection off the canopy when trying to do photography. If I had it to do over, I would either go with the carbon fiber wrap, or paint it flat black.
 
Personally, I think black looks very old-fashioned and "Pipery" (as in, old Piper Cherokees and such). I like a lighter-colored panel, and I had mine powder-coated in the same color as the "grey" (always looked very "white" to me :)) powder coat that Van's uses for everything. Any visible portions of the interior I painted with the same color. I'm happy with it, but everybody's taste is different when it comes to panel colors and designs.
 
I strongly prefer flat or satin black. I don't want to see the "panel" or any reflections.
I only want to see the instruments.
 
I strongly prefer flat or satin black. I don't want to see the "panel" or any reflections.
I only want to see the instruments.
Agree on the flat or satin finish choice.

FWIW The guy who fabricated my instrument panel had just completed the 22 panels for the NASA T-38 fleet. They are painted a satin tan color which is very easy on the eyes and makes the dark colored instrument stand out when they are not on. Following his recommendation I used the same train of thought for the color on my panel. So I recommend a light color that matches your interior with a flat or satin finish.

My 2 cents.
YSV15DME_zpsb39639b4.jpg


... everybody's taste is different when it comes to panel colors and designs.
 
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Charcoal vinyl. Took about 1.5 hrs for two of us to do all the pieces. Took longer to put all the instrments back into the panels. Bevan

1twojo.jpg
 
I mixed black with just a squirt of white to just take the edge off, and then a moderate amount of flattener. I then put down the panel text and sprayed clear, with lots of flattener, over the top. Turned out great.
 
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I also have the CF as in post 3 but not installed yet.
 
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I have no idea what color You should paint YOUR panel....but I like the gray that the other guys mentioned on my planes becasue well....I'm used to it on other planes I've flown in my career, and it seems to work. No more science than that.

I strongly prefer flat or satin black. I don't want to see the "panel" or any reflections.
I only want to see the instruments.

IMHO, color is a personal preference but Dark and Satin would be my preference. The only reason I say Satin instead of Flat is from my experience the Satin will clean easier. I have seen some Flat paint that could not be cleaned or wiped off without changing the paint. That may just be the type or brand of paint used.

It is my opinion that if you like the color, can clean it, and it does not reflect or cause glare, then go for it.
 
I didn't paint mine at all. Took it to the local anodizing shop and had them anodize it in black, but they had a multitude of other colors (phosphorescent green among them:eek:) that they could also do.

Just another option.

Greg
 
Rustoleum rattle can textured pewter. No reflections and blends well with the usual dark gray boxes.

John Siebold
 
You guys who used textured paint, how did you do your labels for switches & stuff?

I had a sign shop make transfers. They are individual white letters (and tiny), and they stuck 'em on a piece of transfer paper so I peeled off the release (?) layer and simply stuck the labels in place on, under, or beside the switches and knobs. Then, I rubbed them with something hard to make sure they stuck and stuck the panel out in the sun for a while, per the sign shop's instructions. After 15 years, they are still looking good.
 
Color

Thanks for the replies all.

That carbon fiber looks sexy. So does the satin vinyl.

Plan right now is to spray it with the SEM gray primer and see how it looks. Game time decision from there whether to finish with a clear coat or paint flat black / charcoal over the top of that. Cover in vinyl if not satisfied with that.

Will update with pics once it's done (hopefully in the next week or so).
 
Everybody has hit on the key idea -- the panel itself should be relatively neutral, non-distracting color and not draw attention to itself.

You've probable seen pictures of some horrific panels in bright red or blue, and even some with designs painted on them.

On some factory steam gauge panels, they had lines to group related instruments. That may not be necessary for glass cockpits where the instrument bezels provide separation and grouping.

Ed
 
Non-distracting

Yeah, I agree 100%. I'm building my panel to be as simple and ergonomic as possible. After the comments about the color the Navy uses, I had to pull out some old cockpit posters from my USAF days. The fact that I couldn't remember what color the panels were is a good sign. Turns out, it was also the "gull grey".
 
Our interiors are similar in color, so here is a reference picture. My panel is a medium gray that matches the second color of my two-tone seats (not pictured) The baggage floor, seat pans, seat backs, and flap housing are/will be the same color. The panel is coated with a flat clearcoat and does not reflect at all.

Color is coat PPG Omni, I can look up the paint code if you want it. The gray is a shade darker in person than in the pictures (same as the underside of the forward skin) but the flat finish looks lighter under the flash from the camera.

FP29072014A0012K.jpg


Here is a better shot of the color with the flat clear, the flash is on, notice there is no reflection from the camera.
FP10022014A0001Y.jpg
 
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You guys who used textured paint, how did you do your labels for switches & stuff?

Katie, lay out exactly what you want (size, font, lines, etc) in Word or similar. Send it to Steinair with a few bucks, and get back a decal sheet with precisely what you sent. Spray your color coats, wet sand any nibs or garbage if necessary, transfer the decals as desired, they spray four or five coats of flattened clear to build thickness. When cured, block sand wet with 800 until the clear over the lettering is flush with the rest of the surface. Now spray one last coat of clear.

 
That is just the SEM self-etching primer.

Haven't decided on a clear coat yet. Was planning to test out a few before final finishing. I want to see what it looks like if I spray it over sticker labels.
 
Katie, lay out exactly what you want (size, font, lines, etc) in Word or similar. Send it to Steinair with a few bucks, and get back a decal sheet with precisely what you sent. Spray your color coats, wet sand any nibs or garbage if necessary, transfer the decals as desired, they spray four or five coats of flattened clear to build thickness. When cured, block sand wet with 800 until the clear over the lettering is flush with the rest of the surface. Now spray one last coat of clear.

Dan, your panel looks great! I was just curious about lettering on the texture paint because I couldn't imagine how anything would stick to it. I asked Stein about decals a while back (I think last time you suggested it!) and he said they don't do it anymore because they laser engrave their panels now. I'm going to try silkscreening my lettering onto a matte finish paint. Will let y'all know how it works out. :D
 
Color

It looks quite a bit lighter once it's in the cockpit. I'll probably re-spray with a darker color. This will do for the rest of the wiring and ground testing for now.

09ozUxh.jpg
 
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