Has anyone painted their RV after full assembly

I built my RV-9 without painting the exterior. I want to paint it myself but I REALLY don't want to take the wings off. I know a paint shop would do a MUCH better job but I believe that painting is part of the build process. If I gotta take the wings off, I will, I just don't want to.

Any suggestions?

Robert

Mine was painted by a pro and he did not remove the wings or the HS/VS. He did remove the rest of the removable bits.

Robert M said:

I built my RV-9 without painting the exterior. I want to paint it myself but I REALLY don't want to take the wings off. I know a paint shop would do a MUCH better job but I believe that painting is part of the build process. If I gotta take the wings off, I will, I just don't want to.

Any suggestions?

Robert

Click to expand...

It is done that way all the time on RV's and legacy aircraft. Paint shops generally remove the fairings, tips, and control surfaces, do their prep work, mask, and spray. They <generally> do not remove the wings or empennage.

I painted my 6A with the wings on. Took off all control surfaces and fairings and painted them first. Next was the left wing. After that, the right wing. Then the fuselage and tail section. Last was the upper and lower cowling.

Wings are all white. Fuselage is red, white, blue, and gold.
Wing tips are red with a white stripe where it meets the wing.
Flaps are white on top, red/white checkerboard vinyl on bottom.
Cowling was painted last to match up with fuselage paint lines.

Start to finish took about 11 weeks which includes cleaning, scuffing, washing, taping, degreasing, priming, tapping, and finally painting.

Cost wise, i ended up spending as much as a quote from a quality paint shop.

Oh...this does not count the time I spent sanding and pinhole filling the fiberglass parts.

I painted the 6 before final assembly and will do the same with the 10. I don't know your skill level. However, while the pro's do it all the time, I would not recommend painting assembled for new painters. It is hard enough for a first time painter to put on proper coats, I couldn't imagine a first time painter doing that successfully on their back on a creeper. If you are semi-experienced with a paint gun, this is merely an inconvenience.

Larry

Take the wings and tail off.

I painted two RVs, one after flying and one before flying. Both with wings and all the eppennage off. The new plane will also fly before paint. Some thoughts:
- It is really not that hard to take wings off. Three guys and a couple of hours - done. It makes life a lot easier.
- Some 4? PVC pipe and two saw horses and you have a simple but sturdy way to flip a wing over to paint both side while flat.
- I built a paintbooth in the hangar for the RV-10 and this would have been close to impossible with the wings on.

One tip - the paint you choose should be easy for the amateur painter (like me). I only use PPG primer and base plus clear coat. It still requires some skill but you don?t need to be a master painter to have good results. Don?t skimp on the fine line tape either.

Carl

I am NO painting pro but I'm still gonna do it. I have a sheet of alclad that I can practice on. It may not look as spiffy as what the pros do but I'm okay with that. The plane won't win prizes but it will look better than no paint.

I am enjoying the plane right now and don't intend to do anything until at least next summer. I will do more research and get some quotes from shops.

Robert

Robert M said:

I am NO painting pro but I'm still gonna do it. I have a sheet of alclad that I can practice on. It may not look as spiffy as what the pros do but I'm okay with that. The plane won't win prizes but it will look better than no paint.

I am enjoying the plane right now and don't intend to do anything until at least next summer. I will do more research and get some quotes from shops.

Robert

Click to expand...

To be clear, I am not discouraging you from painting as an amatuer. Only that you spend the time to disassemble to improve you odds of achieving a job that you can be proud of.

I recommend SPI universal clear for new painters. It is one of the easiest clears to spray, in addition to being easy to buff at any time (no window that closes, like many harder clears). The quality is excellent and cost is low, plus good support for new painters. Their epoxy primer is also excellent and relatively easy to spray.

Larry

Robert,,,Like others have suggested, it will be far easier to paint as a novice with acceptable results with the wings and control surfaces off the plane where you are not laying on your back. You'll get lots of opinions on brands of paint, but one thing you should do is invest in a decent quality paint gun with the DeKups system so you can paint in all positions without drips. Then practice, practice, practice.

it's a lot of work but doable.

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