"There is No Such Thing as a Simple and Cheap Paint Job"

That quote was from the counter man at my local paint supply shop, as I returned to buy yet another $100 quart of paint to fix yet another of my screw-ups.

The week of prepping, primer and painting was an exhausting marathon. As I write this, Rob is on the train on his way back to house and family.

Some of the good things were: getting to spend time with my brother, getting the benefit of his years of experience, getting to use the SIU Aviation Technology paint booth, getting help from some of the SIU students, getting rid of all of all that old cracked paint and filler, having Sandy provide critically needed logistics support, and finally, getting paint on the bird.

Some of the not-so-good things were; having the wrong tip on his new HVLP gun for the DuPont Centari and getting runs on the vertical stab, sticker shock at the paint store, and me mis-mixing the paint used on the main fuselage resulting in excessive orange peel which will require extra wet sanding after everything cures.

I really didn't want to repaint the thing, but now that I have, I'm sure I will be happy with it. But, oh man! What a job!

Getting the Primer On It

Moving day! I was able to get my main man, Robbie Hoskins down to direct the painting operation for this little beast. Again, I am grateful to SIU's Aviation Technology department for allowing me to use the facilities. In this case, it is there brand new paint booth.


After a week of sanding the epoxy wipe, I was ready for Rob and his magic paint gun. First, we had to tow it over to the AvTech hangar. Rob couldn't really believe it when I told him how were going to do this.


A little last minute sanding was in order.


We warmed up by prepping and shooting primer on the tail cone and the upper and lower cowl.

Now we had to figure out how to handle the fuselage. With the assistance of several AvTech students we lifted the plane and placed it on a large wooden dolly they had laying around. A few screws fixed it into place.

It was really great having Rob help and he really knows what he is doing. We finished the second day with two coats of primer on the cowling and tali cone, and one on the fuselage!

Doing the Epoxy Wipe

This is a great technique. I first became aware of it when reading an article about Cory Bird and his most perfect Symmetry.

In "the old days" we would apply filler, then use progressive grits of sand paper until we had a very smooth finish. Then we would apply primer, or maybe more micro, to fill all the pinholes. Then we would sand it off, only to find that the pinholes where still there. Over and over and over.

Using the epoxy wipe method I sanded with 36 Grit, then a quick once-over with 80 grit. The epoxy wipe fills pinholes, pot holes, scratches, gouges and all sorts of other sins. It also does a great job of hardening the soon-to-be-painted surface.

Today, we filled the forward fuselage, the tail cone, upper cowling, lower cowl and the upper surface of the canopy. I used West 105/206 epoxy and applied four skim coats.

The idea is to apply it, then squeegee off as much epoxy as you possibly can. When it gets tacky, repeat. With all the components I was working on, I just kept rotating through. It took us about 4 1/2 hours. It really helped having Sandy mix while I was working. It was warm in the hangar - 88 F degrees.

I also wanted to keep track of the weight I was adding. We kept track of every cup mixed and I figure we added 2.2 lbs.


Now, I'll sand it all with 180 Grit and it's ready for paint.

Sanding

Over the years, we have learned better sanding techniques than were called out in the original plans. I'd thought I'd cover some of the main sanding tools that I now use. (As always, click on the photo the the full size image).

Again, the main idea is to lay your filler material on THICK, then sand down the high spots until you just reach the fiberglass. There are two excellent on-line descriptions that describe best practices.

Chapter 25: The Contouring Process

and

Finishing a Composite Airplane

1. Sand Paper The first strong recommendation is to buy only automotive body shop quality paper. I think that the 3M paper is the best and longest lasting and is my preference, by far. I get my paper at a local automotive paint shop supply store.

Almost all of the work will be done with 36 grit paper and I keep a good supply on hand. I really like the stuff that comes with the adhesive backing. It's 2" wide by 16" long.

2. Small Sanding Blocks Try and avoid doing any sanding, at all, with just your fingers - always use a sanding block. If you use solely your hands, the paper will follow the contour of the thing you are trying to sand down and you will not get a smooth surface.

I make extensive use of the rubber sanding blocks - there are both 6" and 8" available. I stick the paper to both the curved and straight sides.

For fillets and the like, I simple stick some 36G on a piece of cardboard tube.

I have also used this single stick board for many years.

3. Long block I used some shelf board I had laying around and cut it to 32" and mounted a section of aluminum angle for a better grip. This length allows me to use two 16" sticky back strips. With fresh paper, this is a great tool and really cuts into the micro.

I strictly use 36 grit on the whole plane until I get the contours that I want. When I have that desired shape I switch over to 80 grit. All the 80 grit does is to knock off the highest cuts left by the 36G.

All sanding should be done at 45 degree angles.

Don't worry about deep scratches, pin holes, deep holes or black holes. The next step will take care of it all,

Next, comes the epoxy wipe!

Good to Be Home

I did Oshkosh for the whole week. Saw lots of folks and did lots of stuff.

Paul Fisher and his boy, Roy came out and helped with pyro. Yes - those are real sticks of dynamite!

When we shot the wall of fire, Doc and I peered over our standard issue cardboard blast protection. Roy ducked a little.

The minor irritation of the week came from some Vari-Eze driver who showed up with the Plastic Explosive label on his plane. He must not know who he's messing with.

Now, back to sanding.