National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

how does one paint an aircraft? i want to change my aircraft from white to red, cause no one will see a white plane in winter if i go down for some reason, also the darker wings will melt off frost even on cold days . Can you simply paint over the white or do you have to strip it down to the fabric, then paint. i am not sure how it works and/or if i could do it myself. I assume that some would say that painting over the original paint would add some weight, but it cant be more than a few pounds right? well thanks, Logan

Logan,

Have not painted one in years so not real good with that but I would want to elmininate as much weight as possible, especially on a bush plane, so would wonder about painting over the existing paint.

What about painting stripes that could make the plane show up better against the snow or ground?

JoeA

A lot depends on the finish, as to the prep required. What is on the aircraft now? Paint adds lots of weight. More hp fixes that Why not split the difference and go with a starburst on the top of the wings and tail. The broken pattern may be more visible than a solid colour.
Ron

Like Ron says, you need to know whats on to begin with. Then use the same product on top of that. Your big concern is delamination between old and new, worse case large sheets start to seperate during flight. You can imagine what kind of a spoiler the sheet makes until it rips off. (This is what killed Steve Wittman and his wife in the O&O Special; delamination of fabric on the top of the wing.)

Respraying isn't that hard, but understand, the finish will not be pretty, or at least wont look like a new paint job. Without going into product specifics, which are different, all you need to do is sand the surface to give tooth adheasion for the new paint. Standard prep (cleaning and tack off dust) then shoot color. Fairly simple.

As for the weight:

wing area on a 7 series is 170 sq. ft. (thanks Derek)
1 gallon of Poly-Tone covers 200 sq.ft
1 gallon weighs around 8 pounds

It's been my experience, I can strech a gallon a little more, to around 250-270 sq.ft depending how much I thin and retard it. Second, reds cover very nicely, so you'll only need one light coat and one medium (wet) coat to get good coverage and color. All total, figure 1.5 gals to cover the entire wing, 2 gals for wing and tail.

= 12-16 pounds

Lay off the donuts and it can be done.

Other discussions on painting.... http://www.joea.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=505 ....

nkh

Nathan K. Hammond wrote:
1 gallon of Poly-Tone covers 200 sq.ft
1 gallon weighs around 8 pounds

But how much does it weigh after it dries??

I would start by cleaning it thoroughly, then spraying a couple coats of butysol on it. Then after it has softened the old dope, spray on the color. Spraying new dope on old dope won't provide much adhesion otherwise, and will start peeling off.
this is all assuming it is a dope finish.

weight isn't really a concern - most of that paint's 8 lbs is volatile and goes away with drying.

There have been maybe 3 times when my dark parts melted faster, and those were all because I was too lazy to put wing covers on. If you're planning to come to any part of AK near me, you'll get really good at wing covers and the paint color doesn't matter.

Same goes for crashing - if you're incapacitated enough that you can't get your wing covers hung out for visibility and it's cold enough that there's snow on the ground, the color of your airplane most likely isn't important.

What is important is the thickness of the paint. I've had a couple rejuvenated planes, and both of them started peeling off big hunks of paint about -20. At -40, thick paint is kinda like thin cheap glass.

The first thing I do is accomplish any repairs to the fabric. Then scuff sand the fabric using red Scotch-Brite, feather your edges as required. Wipe down the items a degreaser, I use alcohol, and tack rag prior to paint.
For paint I am using Enamel manufactured by Val-Spar. It is called LIC (Lightweight Industrial Coating) and is manufactured in a limited number or colors. A Champ size airplane will take about 4 to 6 gallons depending on coverage. The cost is appx. $80.00 a gallon plus the thinner cost. A hardening agent is also available for this paint if needed. Paul

Actually, the first thing you need to know is what kind of covering system and finish is on the fabric. I've never tried it, but I doubt dope is a good cover for Poly-fiber (for example). I'd think the logs should tell you what process was used to cover and finish the aircraft. You'd be more safe using a like system, rather than mixing them up in my humble opinion.

Mike: If one uses lacquer thinner on a rag in a less ovious spot and the finish wipes off or immediately softens, it's dope. Others like enamels will not be effected. Hell, Aerothane even laughs at paint remover. Eventually the paint remover will win.
Ron