Whither paint?

OK, time to tap into the tribal knowledge network. I have two questions hanging for the RV-12 contingent out there in VAF airspace.

First: What are the pros/cons of the paint-as-u-go tactic versus waiting to paint until after the plane is done and flying? I could at this point get the tail feathers and wings painted (well, almost on the wings... gimme a couple more weeks).

Second: How can I connect with someone in the RV village who can take my hideous 2D sketch of a paint scheme and convert it to a nice 3D CAD rendering? Before I pony up large $$ to paint the thing, I think I first ought to see what it would look like in something other than my mind's eye.

All advice freely solicited, some to be ignored (at my peril), some to be followed...and I humbly thank one and all.

Just paint the fiberglass and polish the aluminum. You'll save $$$ and weight.

In parts. See this detailed thread for reasons, may be applicable toyour situation. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=67760 and the accompanying link to a photo album showing the entire process. Used an auto body shop. Beautiful results, Imron. I didn't do a 3d model but I did use pictures of an rv12 and overlaid my paint job on top of it using a different lay in a free paint program. So I could tell how it would look. And I scanned the big scale drawing and did my layout on that so I knew exactly what rivets the lines would pass by.

Do you plan on any mods after flying off the test hours? I installed a number of inspection ports, and some canopy trimming that required painting, so I held off on the paint until everything was done.

When I started building I was thinking of painting pieces-parts as they were finished. A local RV-8 builder bemoaned the fact that he was in the process of sanding down his "six different shades of white" airplane to be repainted after taking that approach. Then I saw a stunning purple and black harlequin paint job on here that I think has been done in stages. I figure there has to be a secret to getting all of the paint the same color, even though parts are painted months apart.

At the local community college, they offer a class called "special topics in auto body restoration" or something like that. Basically eight weeks of either two 4-hour evenings or an 8-hour Saturday, with access to a nice, well equipped body shop and at least two paint booths with professional equipment. I took that once when I restored my '55 Vespa scooter. At that time they had one newer downdraft booth, and one larger one with filtered "barn doors" and LOTS of air flow. I'm thinking of doing that to paint the plane when it's all done.

Paint Question

A little off subject, and I just hate myself for dumb questions but, I'm not having much success getting paint to stick on the panels. Scuffed, Zinc primer, then paint. All cured, installed, and the screws pulled up chips. Paint came off in large pieces. Does this Alclad or whatever they are surfaced with affect this process? Thanks for any info up front.
Chuck

Painting Comments

"What are the pros/cons of the paint-as-u-go tactic versus waiting to paint until after the plane is done and flying? I could at this point get the tail feathers and wings painted (well, almost on the wings... gimme a couple more weeks)."

My experience is with two airplanes. I painted my RV6 years ago. A lot of work but I saved some money and have been happy with the result over the years. Also, learned to do it and used the experience to paint a restoration project car a few years later. A shop is now painting my RV12 - I decided to go ahead and spend the money this time. It has flown about 20 hours.

About your above question, my opinion is that if you plan to paint it yourself, wait until the end and then paint the pieces before assembling the airplane. Main reasons:

Painting is a messy, multistep process that is best done all at one time. I would not want to go through it several times during the build. I basically converted my shop to a large paint booth when the time came.

Doing it all at once means you will stay consistent with the products you use.

Painting before assembly lets you deal with small items first to get the hang of it. As you gain skill you can work up to the wings and fuselage. Also, you minimize the problems of sequencing the final painting on large pieces. With large pieces (like an assembled airplane) there are more issues with overspray causing problems on other parts of the surface, timing between coats, etc. I found it challenging to paint just the basic fuselage (no wings or tail}.

A downside is that there is a lot of handling and setting up. But I found that fairly easy as I got better at devising little "fixtures" to hold pieces while they were being painted. I did not have problems assembling the painted pieces (of course all had been assembled and fitted pre paint which is easy with RVs.) If allowed to set up a week or so the paint became fairly scratch and mar resistant.

You will save time and money by painting as many parts as you can at one time. Two quick examples. First, every time you spray paint some small amount that you mixed is left over. Mixed paint does not keep so it needs to be disposed of. Second, every time you spray you need to clean up your spray gun when finished. Paint and solvent both cost money and is this day and age none of it is cheap.