Mike Campbell’s Giles 202 Primal Fear is an example of detail design and paint application that’s gone way, way over the top. And Campbell wouldn’t have it any other way.
In Search of … the Perfect Paint Job Part 1: It’s about understanding the basics so you don’t build a Frankenplane. BY RICK LINDSTROM
gly. Unless you’re confronting inclement weather blocking your route or a last-minute IFR routing that bears little resemblance to your initial plan, ugly is a word that you seldom hear in aviation. Good airplanes are inherently beautiful—the exceptions might be special-use aircraft built for singular mission profiles, but they’re no doubt beautiful in their own way. This natural beauty can be destroyed instantly by a badly designed or applied paint job. Perhaps it’s not fair, but the initial reaction to an airplane is governed by how it greets the eye. Whether it’s a
U
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pleasure to behold, or just makes you wince, is often dictated by how the paint job turned out. Ugly, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. And, boy, there are some real stinkers out there. You’ve probably seen a few yourself, hiding in dark hangars or tucked out of the way in a remote corner of the ramp. In many cases, these visual abominations are the direct result of impatience in completing the airplane, or bungling the design and application of the finshing touch. If that guy with the roll of masking tape and a can of Krylon offers to do the stripes on your airplane
for 20 bucks, there’s just one thing to do: Tell him to keep walking. Fortunately, you can easily avoid ending up with a “Frankenplane” with a bit of planning during the building phase and avoiding the temptation to rush through the final finishing process. You may not be building a future Grand Champion, but not having to make excuses for how your airplane looks is, on the face of it, a good thing. The goal of this series is to help the builder avoid the common pitfalls encountered when finishing the typical metal, composite, tube and fabric, or wood airplane. www.kitplanes.com
Form Following Function Paint does a lot more than improve the appearance of an airplane. It helps protect the surface of the airframe from corrosion and the harmful effects of UV radiation. Although many metal airplanes do just fine with a polished surface, composite, fabric and wood airframes owe their continuing airworthiness to maintaining a protective coat of paint. The design of the paint scheme makes a definitive statement about the purpose of the airplane. Military replicas usually sport authentic camouflage and unit markings, aerobatic performers tend more toward the bold and bright, and record-setting aircraft leave plenty of room for displaying their sponsor logos. Many classic aircraft feature painted accents over polished aluminum or naked metal fuselages mated with painted wings and flying surfaces. Some builders regard their airframes as flying works of art, opting to involve airbrush artists to create a one-of-kind paint scheme that pulls the observer in to a whole new level. Coming up with the ideal paint scheme for a particular airframe depends on the surface to be painted, the statement the builder wishes to make, and above all personal taste. Most designs complement the kinetic nature of the airplane, with the elegant simplicity of oneor two-color horizontal accents over a solid base coat. This is the most common design in certified and homebuilt aircraft due to its straightforward nature in both design and application.
Most homebuilders do not have a background in graphic design, so the design of an individual paint scheme is rarely hatched without some outside assistance. Noting what looks right (to you) on other airplanes is a good place to start while considering the requirements of your particular airframe. Most builders have at least a rough idea of what they want their finished project to look like before the big box is first unpacked, but others will put off even thinking about it until it’s time to begin the flight test part of the project. Ideally, planning your perfect paint job will start a year or so prior to
computer with a high-speed Internet connection, you can quickly browse a cornucopia of paint schemes that have worked well for other builders. Craig Barnett is the motivating force behind Scheme Designers (www. schemedesigners.com), an Internetbased company that specializes in creating custom designs for all things aeronautical. Having “grown up in the back of an airplane” and having significant experience in computeraided design, Barnett has taken his art to an unprecedented level. With a few mouse clicks, you can peruse myriad sample designs of many popular kits at no cost whatsoever. Although the services of Scheme Designers are in high demand from many certified aircraft manufacturers, they certainly haven’t ignored the homebuilder. “The Internet is a wonderful tool for discovery,” Barnett says. “And everyone can use some design help at some point.” Having provided designs for
A detail of Campbell’s exotic Giles 202. Airbrush artistry can lend a true “other world” attitude to your project.
the first flight. Strange as it may seem, your most valuable design tool may well be your personal computer.
Design Shopping Online You could start the design process with some airframe line drawings and a box of colored pencils, but why not see what’s been done before with a similar airframe? If you’ve already invested in a modern
Once upon a time when paint was expensive and saving weight was everything, many designs used polished aluminum with paint only as a trim color. Still looks good today, doesn’t it?
Neo-military paint schemes can help bring out the “inner fighter” in many designs.
Photos: Rick Lindstrom, Mike Campbell; Illustrations: Courtesy of Scheme Designers, AircraftColor.com
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almost every airframe from the Kitfox to the Boeing 727, Scheme Designers has a “soup to nuts” approach to their services. For a flat rate of $995, Scheme Designers will produce a custom paint scheme design based on the input of the client, as well as Barnett’s creativity and experience. This includes as many design revisions as needed to reach a final, approved design. Often a client will choose a particular scheme, and then have a change of heart after having lived with the high-resolution rendering for a while. So, the more time you have to live with your particular design before committing it to paint, the better. But if changes are required, so be it. The ultimate goal is to make sure the client remains pleased with the chosen design before the final detailed drawings and specifications are delivered to the paint shop. “We typically spend three months in the design process, from start to finish,” says Barnett. “But sometimes it goes much longer.” Clients are sometimes surprised to find Scheme Designers anticipating minor touches like the placement of logos or the pilot’s name under the canopy in various font styles. Indeed, the final specifications package provided to the paint shop may run up to 15 pages, including precise placement and measurements of accents. “No matter how good the design looks on paper,” Barnett says, “it always looks better on the airplane.” But if you’re building a taildragger, it’s important to consider how the proposed scheme will look in both attitudes. “Sometimes, it just doesn’t look right unless the tail is up on a box,” adds Barnett. If the thought of spending close
A well-executed design can lend some swoop and curve to even utilitarian designs—to very good effect.
Professional design help can give you a tremendous set of tools and, almost as important, another set of eyes to vet design concepts—even if you choose to start from a “canned” design like this.
to a grand for a unique, personalized paint scheme seems excessive, you can spend $39.95 at Scheme Designer’s sister company, AircraftColor.com, for access to 3000-plus canned designs. True, they may not have the individual personality of a custom job, but for the money, it’s a good place to start.
You can even download profile line drawings of many kit aircraft for free, although you should know that the number of kit types is greatly outnumbered by certified aircraft. If the color profile line drawing download you purchased seems inadequate to take to the paint shop,
Good design firms will show you mockups of your paint scheme as they would look on the ground and in flight. 44
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you can add on increasing levels of customization through Scheme Designers, who will credit the $39.95 toward further services. The $150 Base Package adds your individual N-number and a variety of color options without making any design changes to your specific aircraft type. Detailed specifications, however, are not included. The $300 Bronze Package adds custom colors, as well as detailed specs and drawings to ensure precise placement of accents. The $495 Silver Package adds the ability to rework a single design with as many minor design changes as needed to achieve the desired results. A client website is created to archive all of the design variations for future reference. The $595 Gold Package gives the client the option of modifying a design created for a different airframe type for use on another aircraft, with as many revisions as needed to reach the desired graphical effect. The $995 Platinum Package is the same as going straight to Scheme Designers in the first place, for a fullblown, highly detailed, custom design project with all the bells and whistles. If you use a Windows XP system, you can even work real-time with Scheme Designers once you’ve contracted for their design services. Being able to work interactively in real time saves the delay involved in the review and approval process for any given stage in the project. “You can see exactly what I’m seeing, while I’m doing it,” says Barnett. “Unfortunately, it’s not available to you Mac guys.” Another online design service is offered by Aircraft Paint Schemes (www.aircraftpaintschemes.com). For $39.95, you’re allowed to access the company’s database of 948 designs (as of this writing) for 30 days and download them in PDF format via Adobe Acrobat. These consist of color profile drawings, but no modifications or placement specifications are included at this price point. Line drawings of 378 specific aircraft are available at $19.95 each in various formats. Should you purchase a profile line drawing of your airplane, you can download free drawing software to try your hand at designing your own scheme. For $129.95, you can have a photo of a paint scheme from another airplane transferred to your aircraft type, in your desired colors with your
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N-number. Unlimited Custom Design is available for $650, where an artist is assigned to your project until consensus is achieved. The final design is first delivered via e-mail in a PDF file, followed by a full-color 8.5x14-inch laminated rendering for use by the paint shop.
Whether you need just a little or a whole lot of help in coming up with the perfect design for the perfect paint job, your computer can make the task of reviewing existing designs or creating a new one much easier. Best of all, it will certainly help avoid any possible disappointments when your freshly painted project is rolled out into the sunlight for the first time.
Preparing to Paint Once the final design has been nailed down, it’s time to start planning the finishing process. Most homebuilts are flight-tested without any adornment or in a primer coat only, other than temporary N-numbers, as there’s no reason to risk dinging up the beautiful paint job as the airframe is undergoing
Earl Hibler’s Baby Doll Reno racer uses a very specific paint scheme to make its intentions known.
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Inspiration is where you find it. It’s said that airbrush artists aren’t “like the rest of us.”
final adjustments and tweaking. Typically, a homebuilt will have a few flight hours on the meter once the pilot is finally satisfied with the flying qualities and is ready for the finishing touch. (Then again, some pilots never seem to get around to painting their projects, opting for the bare metal look as they swear they’ll finish the plane “someday” as they happily rack up the flight time in their pride and joy.) Whether you’re working with a paint shop or doing the painting yourself, the airframe will need to be prepared to receive the finish coats. As the preparation of different types of airframes (composite, metal, fabric and wood) varies, we’ll discuss the process for each surface type in detail later in this series. But no matter what your airframe is made of, there are some considerations that are common to all. All surfaces to be painted will need to be absolutely free of grease
Before you can start spraying anything resembling final color, you must have the overall scheme worked out. There’s no such thing as shoot first, think later.
and contaminants. If you’re tempted to apply corrosion-blocking compound (other than primer) to the inside of a metal or tube airframe prior to painting, don’t. These corrosion inhibitors have a tendency to fill gaps and voids in the structure and will migrate through rivet holes and joints to the exterior, preventing primers and paint from adhering properly. Composite surfaces and molded
airframe parts will need to have their pinholes filled and sealed, and primer applied and sanded smooth. Waterborne polyurethane primers can be applied with a foam roller or spray gun; they dry quickly and feature easy water clean-up and UV inhibitors. Dents, voids and low spots will need to be filled and sanded smooth; the filler material used will be dependent upon the airframe material.
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The best paint jobs result when the airframe is disassembled into its major component groups, such as wings, fuselage and control surfaces. It’s much easier to paint both sides of a wing when it’s detached from the fuselage, especially with low-wing aircraft. Because the weight of freshly applied paint can easily change the balance of the control surfaces, it’s imperative that the controls are rebalanced prior to reassembly. “Painting is 90 percent preparation,” says Steve Green of Steve Green Aircraft Refinishing in Ashland, Oregon. Green paints a good number of RVs and Lancairs every year, and is intimately familiar with preparing homebuilts for paint. “The builder knows the airplane best, so together, we disassemble as much as possible—right down to removing the canopy rails.”
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So now you’ve got a detailed paint plan in hand and an airframe that looks like it has leprosy from the filler and primer spots, and you just can’t wait to see your project resplendent in its new livery. But before paint can be applied to the airframe, we have a few more decisions to make. In our next installment, we’ll compare traditional spray systems with High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP) units and discuss the various primer and coating options available for each airframe type.
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In Search of … the Perfect Paint Job Part 2: Have Design, Will Paint. BY RICK LINDSTROM
Mike Loehle gives instruction on the application of the urethane coatings he developed. Preparation, no matter what material you’re working with, is critical.
y now, you’ve got the perfect paint job squarely featured in your mind’s eye. And if you squint just right at your airframe, you can almost see the base coat shimmering under the perfectly applied accents, lighting up the surrounding area with an incandescent glow. At least that’s what it looks like on paper, so now the challenge is to scale it up to the physical reality of a full-sized aircraft.
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Before you get to painting, your aircraft will probably have a few hours while the flight-test bugs have been found and vanquished, and various airframe parts have been removed and reinstalled in the process. So there might be some scratches and tool marks here and there, and a few actual insect-type bugs decorating a formerly pristine airframe. Throw in a bit of fuel residue, exhaust stains and oil from the
crankcase breather, and your aircraft is well on its way to looking like it’s being (hurray!) actually flown. Which is a good thing, assuming that you’re going for that polished bare aluminum look. But if you’re planning to apply some form of protective and decorative coating to that now slightly lived-in airframe, it will first need to be thoroughly cleaned and prepared before that ideal design can begin to appear. www.kitplanes.com
Skin Deep The combination of materials that make up your airframe will dictate exactly what to use for proper preparation for painting; we’ll discuss this topic further when we explore the intricacies of individual metal, composite, fabric and wood airframes. The other major consideration beyond surface cleanliness is smoothness, as that elusive perfect paint job greatly depends on what’s underneath to properly shine. Thankfully, sheet metal and gel-coated composites are already smooth; wood and fabric have their inherent surface textures to deal with, as do composites. But all surface types will require some form of treatment to make sure the paint will stick tight when subjected to the rigors of relative wind and rain. “Preparation is it,” says Edwin Krass of Kracon Aircraft Refinishing. “This is the key ingredient to any good paint job. Over 90% of what makes a good paint job is proper surface preparation.” Having spent the last three decades painting all types of aircraft, Krass has seen the paint industry change with time, usually for the better where materials and safety are concerned. “And wear gloves at the very least for everything, even if you’re just washing the airplane with TSP (trisodium phosphate) to remove the surface contamination,” Krass adds. Are there any common contaminants that create problems for painters? “Pledge!” Krass says. “I even called Johnson Wax to find out what they put in it, and it’s silicone. It may be good for keeping bugs from sticking to the leading edge, but I pity anyone who comes along later and needs to do spot work.” Many automotive waxes and even some spray lubricants have a silicone base as well, so be careful with the application of such chemicals if you’ve going to be painting anything in the same general vicinity.
On a composite airframe, every surface has to be smooth, smooth, smooth. Or else the final glossy coat will reveal every mistake.
Anti-corrosion treatments, such as ACF-50 and Corrosion Block, do work well to prevent aluminum airframe structures from deteriorating. But these chemicals will also weep to the outside of an airframe because they fill voids by design. This weeping usually occurs through rivet holes and lap joints and will definitely prevent paint from adhering. So wait at least six months after an airframe is treated before paint is applied to the outside.
Enter the Paint Police It wasn’t too long ago that you would go into the local hardware store, buy a conventional spray-paint gun, connect it to your air compressor and commence painting. If you were concerned about personal safety, you might even don a charcoal mask to help keep the fumes out of your lungs. Since then, the Environmental Protection Agency and many local municipalities have gotten into the act with mandates that address where you can paint, the materials you can use, and what equipment is now allowable. Beyond what the local city or county authorities say about spray painting, your local airport management may want to weigh in on the subject as well. If you rent your hangar, check your lease agreement for any prohibitions on painting before you build that ad hoc spray booth in the corner. Many interconnected hangars aren’t exactly airtight between sec-
tions, and atomized paint loves to travel and settle wherever it can. Although the recent introduction of HVLP (High Volume, Low Pressure) spray systems has helped this problem significantly, the prohibitions against spray painting still remain in many cases. The specific type of paint you may want to apply may be legal in certain areas of the country, but prohibited in some others. The best source for finding what’s acceptable in any given geographical area is your local paint jobber, who will know what finishing systems are currently being used and what primers and other chemicals meet the specifications set by local environmental entities. And the local regulations don’t stop with just the paint itself; they frequently cover such areas as ventilation, filtering, personal protection and other facility-related issues. Although the EPA may set standards on a national level, these minima may be (and frequently are) exceeded locally. Painters with a few decades of experience under their belts may be tempted to call “overkill” on these expanded regs, but others may well agree with the safetydriven intent.
That Light-Headed Feeling “If you can smell it, it’s getting into your lungs,” says Mike Loehle of Loehle Aircraft in Wartrace, Tennessee. Loehle
Even before applying the final coat, careful work practices are important. The work area needs to be clean and well ventilated.
Photos: Rick Lindstrom, Jeff Miller, Larry Vela, Courtesy Loehle Aircraft
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was painting and maintaining a fleet of certified airplanes long before bringing his line of replica kits to the homebuilt market. “Even when you paint a room in your house with water-soluble latex, the fumes will get to you eventually,” he adds. More and more, painters are seeing the negative effects of constant exposure to finish coverings typically used on aircraft and cars. “What you’ll usually see is body men or painters who will have their lungs plasticized,” says airbrush artiste extraordinaire Larry Vela, who has been painting award-winning show cars, motorcycles and aircraft for 31 years. “Essentially they’re breathing plastic, so eventually over time, these contaminants will coat the lungs. Not to mention that the hardeners are a nitrocyanate. “You’re dealing with some nasty chemicals. And any long exposure— over 5 minutes in a paint booth—it’s best if you have a fresh air supply instead of just a filter. Since the early ’80s, I’ve made sure I have my mask on when I mix the paint. And before I even open the cans, I have gloves and a mask on. I wish that I was this careful when I was younger.” Granted, the exposure of painting a single airplane is much less than experienced by those who do it professionally, but who wants to compromise their pulmonary system, even for
There was a time when tube-and-fabric aircraft made do with a semi-gloss finish. But modern product allow a deep, lustrous finish even on fabric.
a short time? And it’s not just the lungs that suffer from contaminants—eyes and mucous membranes also don’t take kindly to the volatiles floating around a spray booth. Fortunately, a bit of attention paid to area ventilation and air filtering will greatly minimize the work your personal protection system needs to do to keep you safe.
Where, Oh Where, Can I Paint my Plane... If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area with relatively few
environmental restrictions on painting, don’t rush out to the paint store quite yet. Ambient temperature and relative humidity will also influence your choices in finish materials, as some systems will work better than others in less-than-ideal application situations. “Ideally, you want less than 50% humidity and the surface to be painted about 10° warmer than room temperature—at least 75°,” Vela says. “Trying to paint in colder climates sets up a moisture situation that prevents the paint from adhering well, and you don’t want the paint flaking off when flying through rain or bugs. Generally, warmer is better.” Dust control in the immediate area around the paint booth is another area that’s often overlooked. “It’s a good idea to lightly hose down the area before you paint to keep the dust down,” suggests Vela. “Not so much if you’re just doing touch-up on the leading edge, but you don’t want dust and grit to become part of the paint job. And try to paint first thing in the morning, before the wind kicks up.” Of course, you don’t have to build a fully ventilated, lighted, temperature-controlled paint booth to get good results. Some builders have completed their grand champions by
HVLP—for high volume/low pressure—equipment is the rage. It can offer an excellent finish and goes easy on the paint supply. Plus, it’s less prone to overspray and other messes. 50
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It’s a bit hard to see here, but during the painting process, there’s a massive cloud of material hanging in the air. You definitely don’t want to be breathing this stuff.
just waiting for the ideal day to dawn without too many bugs, and paint and sand outdoors. If local regulations don’t prohibit such activity, and you have the patience, this might be an option to consider. Generally speaking, however, the fewer obstacles encountered by first-time painters, the better the paint job will be.
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It’s been quite a few years since the term aircraft paint usually meant Imron or Centauri, to be applied with a conventional spray gun hooked up to an air compressor. If you have an old spray system that’s collecting dust in the corner of the hangar, you may be tempted to pull it out of retirement and put it back to work. But if that old spray gun is more than 12 years old, it’s probably no longer legal for the application of aircraft or automotive finishes. The problem with the old conventional spray systems is a marked tendency to transfer as much material into the air as on the item being painted, which is not only a waste of material but is ultimately harmful to the operator and the environment. This transfer efficiency of 30-50% has been improved dramatically by the introduction of High Volume, Low Pressure (HVLP) spray systems, which allow for up to a 90% transfer efficiency, a marked reduction of overspray and much fewer volatiles making it into the air. This is accomplished by replacing the air pressure used in a conventional system with air volume, which is why the hoses on a HVLP system are so much fatter, like a vacuum cleaner hose. This also means that traditional compressors have mostly been replaced by multistage air turbines that run more KITPLANES June 2005
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quietly and efficiently. You can, however, just buy a HVLP paint gun to hook to your existing compressor. It’s easier than you think, as all of the paint guns currently on the retail market are of the HVLP persuasion. These conversion guns convert the high-pressure source air into low-pressure, high-volume air needed by the remainder of the HVLP spray system. But you’ll still have that
annoying compressor clatter every time it kicks on to repressurize the tank. For those of us who’ve grown up painting with conventional spray systems, using a HVLP system is just different enough to require some familiarization before undertaking a serious paint job. “I’ve just switched over myself,” says Ted Setzer of Glasair Aviation, who also restores and paints automobiles when he’s not being a kit aircraft magnate. “And I’m still learning. If you’re
used to hearing a certain sound and seeing the paint coming out of the tip of the gun in a certain spray pattern, there are going to be some differences. At first, it didn’t appear that enough paint was coming out of the HVLP paint gun when compared to my conventional gun. But once I got the right pressure dialed in, it sure went on nice.” Another difference in using a HVLP turbine system is the temperature of the air when it meets and atomizes the paint. Because there isn’t a large air storage tank involved as with conventional high-pressure spray systems, the air is actually quite warm at the spray gun, having just been mildly pressurized by several stacked stages of fans to less than 10 psi. “The most common problem is orange peel,” says Axis Products’ Jan Balsamo. “If you’re used to a conventional spray system, you might not use enough reducer in the paint because it feels too thin. But then it’ll go on too heavy, because the warm air will dry the paint slightly when it’s atomized.” Recognizing the need for air by both the spray gun and the painter, Axis builds a series of patented combination HVLP systems that also provides air to breathe while painting. “These are our most popular systems for people painting airplanes,” Balsamo says. “And our four-stage systems will spray anything Larry Vela, prior to painting Deception, suits up for the task. Full suits keep the paint off your clothes and muck out of the paint.
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from stains to gel-coats.” Is it possible for a first time painter to get good results? “You’d be amazed at the number of people who come by our booth with all these pictures of their freshly painted planes,” Balsamo says. “And most of them have never spray-painted anything big before.”
Go Ahead—Be Choosy As paint chemistry has improved along with paint application technology, the would-be aircraft painter has a bewildering array of paint products from which to choose. And these choices are no longer limited to single-stage aircraft paints, which will eventually fade and dull. Significant improvements in the automotive world have led to the suitability of two-stage systems, using a base and clear coat, for aviation. Like airplanes, automobiles are now frequently constructed of many different materials, such as steel, plastic, composites and others. There has been significant research into multistage covering systems that work well on different base materials, with aviation being a direct beneficiary of this automotive-inspired diligence. Many of the same finishing systems found in automotive body shops will work well on metal or composite airframes, but care should still be taken to ensure that paints and structures are totally compatible before you commit to a specific family of paint products. Take the time to query other builders to see
what has worked for them, and keep in mind that paint technology moves at a breakneck pace, so feedback that may have been accurate three or five years ago may not be as relevant today. Weigh your research accordingly to preserve its freshness. Fabric-covered and wood airframes demand other considerations from paint systems, given the porous nature of their surfaces and susceptibility to damage from UV rays. Frequently, a paint system designed for one type of construction fell short when applied to another, but there has been significant recent improvement in this area.
A New Kid on the Block One of the few products that seems to work well no matter what type of airframe material is underneath comes from Mike Loehle. His recently announced Loehle Aero Coatings employ a four-stage system that consists of urethane-based primers and paints, initially designed for fabric-covered aircraft. His Filler/UV Blocker primers are available in black or white, identical in their UV protection except for pigment. On a fabric airplane, the idea is to put down one or two coats of black primer, followed by a coat of white.
Mike Loehle discusses the theory behind his company’s line of paint products. Specialized needs in aviation have led to purpose-built products that work in demanding environments.
KITPLANES June 2005
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You’ll know exactly when to stop sanding the white primer—it’s when the black just starts to show through. In this way, any potential damage to the fabric itself underneath can be easily avoided. Then the primer coats are followed by the colored base and clear coats, which have shown remarkable longevity so far. “You’d be surprised how many people think our P-40 on display is freshly painted,” Loehle says. “They’re shocked when I tell them the paint is over 10 years old. It still looks wet, and it’s never been waxed.” Owners of composite and metal airframes can forego the black coat, and just use the white filler/primer to achieve identical results. Durability is another area where Loehle’s urethanes are unusual, as he frequently uses a cloth lightly treated with Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) to remove dirt and fingerprints from his display aircraft following airshows. As you know, MEK is a powerful solvent and can eat right through a lot of commercial finishes.
Ready, Aim, Paint In upcoming installments, we’ll look at the specifics of preparing different airframe types for finishing, including cleaning and surface preparation. Then we’ll discuss which finish systems work best for different airframe materials and pass along some tips from the experts in getting that perfect paint job on your aircraft. In the meantime, your personal computer can help you poke around cyberspace, and get more detailed information on the latest and greatest in airframe painting technology.
Contact Information AXIS PRODUCTS
www.axispro.com 888/458-1322 KRACON AIRCRAFT REFINISHING
www.kracon.com 916/645-1614 LOEHLE AIRCRAFT CORPORATION
www.loehle.com 931/857-8419 VELAVISION
www.velavision.com 480/970-8959 54
KITPLANES June 2005
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Jerry Gustafson’s RV-8 was painted by Kracon in a delightful Flying Tigers P-40 scheme.
In Search of … the Perfect Paint Job Part 3: Preparation for Your Creation: Metal and Composite Construction. BY RICK LINDSTROM
n the last two installments of this series—KITPLANES® May and June— we have looked into the tools and expertise available to help you create a pleasing design and have provided a survey of some of the new paint and applicator technologies on the market. Now it’s time to get more specific and examine what’s involved in painting metal airplanes.
I
Make Mine Metal Kracon Aircraft Refinishing is an aircraft paint shop in California’s Sacramento Valley founded by Edwin Krass and Rob-
ert Coon in 1972. With many hundreds of painted aircraft to their credit, from RVs to Citations, Kracon prides itself on an ever-growing list of satisfied customers. They’ve also amassed a wealth of knowledge along the way. “Aluminum is a very active metal; it doesn’t take long to start corroding,” Krass says. “I’ve even seen surface corrosion start where someone has marked on the airframe with a pencil or something, and then riveted it together, and it corroded right along those marks.”
Photos: Rick Lindstrom, Courtesy Jim Clark, Jerry Gustafson, Aircraft Finishing Systems
Krass stresses that surface contamination of metal airplanes is one of the most frequent obstacles to getting that perfect paint job. Because it’s typical for metal airplane builders to fly off the hours in bare aluminum livery, he frequently sees airplanes show up for painting in desperate need of a thorough cleaning before any further surface preparation can occur. Some of the contaminants that deserve extra attention in removal are lithium grease, anything containing silicone and many types of spray lubricant. A strong solvent, such KITPLANES July 2005
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time power tools cause bits to fly, and gloves should be worn any time you’re using irritating chemicals.
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as Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) may be needed (along with some elbow grease) to remove all traces of these chemicals from the metal to be painted. “Make sure you use a clean, fresh rag to wipe off the MEK,” Krass adds.
Dents and Other Obstacles: Part Of Life “I’ve never seen an absolutely perfect airplane,” Krass says. “So we usually figure on at least 4 hours of bodywork on any paint job we do.” A lightweight polyester filler, available at most aviation supply houses, should be used to fill in those unfortunate realities inflicted by a dropped tool or other mishap. The surface under the filler needs to be scuffed up a bit, since the filler needs a good mechanical bond to attach itself to the metal. Krass recommends using 100to 180-grit sandpaper for this task. Once the depression has been filled and the material has cured, the excess filler can be smoothed down with a dual-action sander, ending with 220-grit sandpaper. If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area where spraycan lacquer primer is still available, this can be successfully used on top of the
Cleanliness Is Next To...
Yes, we know it’s not a homebuilt. But this Cub was painted with Aircraft Finishing Systems’ waterborne urethane paint. It sure looks good from here.
filler. Otherwise, Krass recommends using a two-part catalyzed epoxy primer. “Most other spray-can primers just don’t have the solids needed for a sufficient build, so why take shortcuts?” Protruding rivet heads love to catch foreign materials where they meet the skin, and cleaning thoroughly around them can be a challenge. If your small brass wire brush doesn’t do the job, try using a small Scotch-Brite wheel chucked into a rotary air tool can help speed things along. Care should be taken not to gouge the surfaces needlessly, but the visible scuffing of the metal is normal and will disappear under a good primer coat. Of course, protecting your skin and eyes is an important part of the process. Proper eyewear is essential any
Once the dings have been filled, smoothed and primed, it’s time to prepare the metal for paint. Kracon starts with a good alkaline-based cleaner, such as tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) to knock off the bugs, grease and minor contaminants. Then, a phosphoric acid solution is applied to etch the metal, followed by treatment with a chromate conversion process (trade names Alodine or Iridite, but commonly referred to as just “alodine”) to prevent corrosion and create a good base for the paint to adhere. These are the wet stages, each requiring a good rinse with clean water after each step is completed. Both the phosphoric acid etch solution (such as Alumiprep) and alodine are usually applied manually. Kracon recommends using a red Scotch-Brite pad to rub the phosphoric acid solution into the section of metal being prepared, scuffing the surface as you go. Before it’s allowed to dry, it should be rinsed from the section with fresh water from a hose. “You can easily tell when you’ve got all of the surface contaminants off,” says Krass. “The water just sheets
Jim Clark’s beautifully detailed RV-8 was also painted by Kracon...no surprise when you learn that Clark and Gustafson (previous page) are neighbors in Napa, California. Both airplanes, incidentally, are powered by Powersport 215 rotary engines.
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Ed Krass, co-founder of Kracon Aircraft Refinishing in Lincoln, California. He’s smiling because he’s figured out the thousands of tiny details that make the difference between a good paint job and a show winner.
off the surface. If you see any kind of ripple or beading, you’ve still got something underneath that needs to be removed.” This is closely followed by the alodine treatment, and it’s not necessary to wait for the water rinse to dry. In fact, the sooner the alodine is applied after the etching solution, the better. If you’re working alone, you’ll probably want to treat a single, manageable section with both processes before moving on to the next. The alodine solution is usually brushed on and then rinsed off after five to 10 minutes. Available with or without a gold tint, it’s easier to see where spots have been missed when using the tinted variety. It will also stain your skin, so be sure to wear gloves and other protective gear. Surface streaks should be expected, and have no negative impact other than their appearance. After a good rinse with clean water, the freshly alodined surface needs to air dry before it can be primed. “It’s best to shoot the primer coat as soon as possible after the alodine,” says Krass, “ideally, within a few hours after it dries.” If you haven’t already masked off the areas that won’t be painted, this would be a good time to finish this step.
Whew! If this sounds like a lot of work, you’re right—it is. But this is how the painting pros at Kracon achieve such predictably good results with metal airplanes. Is there an easier way? According to the folks at Aircraft Finishing Systems KITPLANES July 2005
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of Missoula, Montana, there is. “With our finishing system, everything from start to finish is with either water-based or waterborne products,” says AFS technical guru Dan Stewart. “And that’s a huge difference, because solvent-based glues, thinners and paint are all hazardous—plus the cost of HAZMAT shipping.” Originally developed as the final steps in finishing fabric-covered aircraft, composite and metal aircraft can benefit from the AFS product line as well. Metal aircraft surfaces can be cleaned and acid-etched with the single-step Aluminum Etch and Cleaner,
This is some of Kracon’s work on a Cessna rudder. The dark spots are where indentations have been filled and sanded smooth. Once the primer coat is on, you’ll never see the color change.
Krass uses a Scotch-Brite wheel to rough up the area around rivets to make sure the primer has a good bite and to ensure that no grit or debris remains behind.
and then primed with the AFS Primer Sealer, which does not require a catalyzing agent. “Alodining is optional,” says Stewart. “If I were going to leave some parts sitting around for awhile, I’d alodine them. But we recommend going right to the primer sealer after cleaning and etching.” For composite and fabric airframes, AFS recommends its CecoFILL high-build primer that also provides UV protection through the use of flumed carbon in a water-based latex material. According to Stewart, the best results are obtained by using between four and six light spray coats on the surface, each applied 90° to the previous one. Typically, sanding can be started within an hour of applying the last coat, and top coat application should be applied within 10 days. If you want to wait longer, you can, but you’ll need to clean and scuff the surface first.
Waterborne and water-based finish materials haven’t always had the best reputation in the past, and Stewart recognizes this. “When the technology was new and introduced to the market, it took off like gangbusters. The problem is, it wasn’t very good. The single-part topcoat would crack, and wouldn’t hold up very long. The technology has advanced so much, that the finish now is really good. I’ve got one (fabric) plane that I painted seven years ago, and there are no cracks in the finish, it’s still beautiful—and it’s a waterborne polyurethane.” Aside from fewer preparation and application steps, the AFS paint system is entirely water-soluble when cleaning up. The only time you need to use a solvent or thinner is to clean out dried material. “The nice thing about these chemicals, you only need a charcoal respirator to safely use them,” Stewart adds.
Smooth As Glass When you see all of those sleek composite airplanes on the flightline, each sporting almost mirror-smooth finishes, they’re flying proof that mere mortals can and do achieve impressivelooking results. Of course, a surface free of rows of rivets and lap joints is just begging for snazzy paint job, and
the sky really is the limit. Almost. Composite construction doesn’t have many limitations, but there are a few. Depending on what type of composite material you’ve used, you may be limited to a very light base color to keep the skin temperatures within an acceptable range while sitting out, baking under the hot sun. The best authority on this is the kit manufacturer, who can guide the builder through the various implications of color selection on specific airframe material type. If you take a weekend stroll down a hangar row where airplanes are being built, you’ll probably hear some grumbling about sanding and filling interspersed with a few choice epithets. For all the advantages that composite construction has to offer, preparing the airframe for finishing requires a good amount of filling, smoothing and sanding before it’s ready for the base coat. It’s really tempting to rush this part of the process, but patience and perseverance will pay off with a shiny, reflective finish. Trust us on this one: Steps hurried or skipped in the preparation of your composite aircraft will show through stunningly well when the final coat has dried. Pinhole is another word that gets uttered a lot by composite kit builders, and not in admiration. Pinholes are left behind after the composite-molding process is completed. As the primer soaks into the weave of the cloth, the
Skip Long completes a Lancair IV project. Here he is carefully wiping down the surface before applying primer/surfacer.
result is often a small void on the surface that looks like...well...a pinhole. Left unfilled, these pinholes can wreck the appearance of an otherwise smooth painted surface. There is a plethora of products on the market designed to prime and fill, and many can be applied by several methods, including squeegee, brush, foam roller or spray. It’s very important, however, to pick a pinhole filler that is compatible with the rest of your covering system. Most major auto paint manufacturers, such as PPG, DuPont, Glasurit and Sherwin-Williams will have compatible companion filler products if you’ve decided to use automotive-type finishing products on your project. If not, a quick look at the catalogues of many aviation supply houses, such as Aircraft Spruce or Wicks Aircraft, will disclose a wide choice of preparation and covering products specifically designed for aviation applications. As with the automotive paint product lines, you can avoid all sorts of ugly compatibility issues by sticking with a single covering system (such as Polyfiber, Randolph or Loehle), and not mix primers, base coats and top or clear coats from different manufacturers. That being said, there’s always an exception. “You know what works really well as a pinhole filler?” Glasair Aviation’s Ted Setzer asked. “Spackle! No kidding. It’s light, it dries fast, it fills pinholes really well and it sands really quickly. What I do is add a bit of food coloring when I mix it up to make it stand out from the primer when I sand it down smooth. Its only job is to pro-
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vide the paint a bridge over the void, and so far, I’ve had great luck with it.”
Too Smooth? Painter Jeff Miller of Arlington, Washington, dry sands the composite surface with either 150- or 220-grit before applying the primer. After the primer dries, Miller block-sands the primer with 150-, 220- and finally 320-grit before the base coat is applied. He also smooths out the paint under the final clear coat, using 320-grit for nonmetallic and 500-grit for metallic or pearl
Believe it or not, the most effective way to lay down the first few coats of primer/surfacer is by a roller. This method helps the material sink down into those pesky pinholes. The product he’s using is Polyfiber’s UV Smooth Prime.
While the Lancair’s cowling may look like the outside of a cantaloupe now, it will be sanded completely smooth and, likely, primed and filled again before the final coat of paint goes on.
colors. “All this does is give the sealer something to bite,” Miller explains. “It’s important not to go too smooth, because the paint needs something to adhere to. With 320-grit, you’re not going to see sanding marks with most colors.” Kracon’s Ed Krass sees no real need to sand between the top and clear coats, but he does keep a piece of fine (220- or 320-grit) sandpaper handy to knock down any imperfections that might mar the smoothness of the finish. “I do keep a tack rag handy,” Krass says. “Any time you sand anything, make sure all the dust is gone before applying the next coat, and that goes for the alodine as well.” But Krass does scuff up the base coat a bit in the area to be covered by a trim color, just to provide an extra measure of adhesion. Larry Vela, of Velavision in Phoenix, is a self-confessed nut for making sure his “canvas” is as perfect as possible before he applies his artistry—and he’s found some interesting things along the way. “What people commonly call ‘fisheyes’ aren’t really fisheyes at all,” Vela says. “They have nothing to do with surface contamination. Some-
times you’ll get a random electrically charged particle coming out of the paint gun, and it will repel the paint around it on the surface.” The solution, according to Vela, is to use an alcohol-based anti-static mist (usually available from the paint supplier) between the primer and base coats, essentially neutralizing any stray charges that might affect the finish. Another common impurity that frequently and incorrectly gets attributed to improper surface preparation is a small bead of desiccant that makes it past the filter and into the paint itself. “It’s really important to make sure your air is as clean and dry as possible,” Vela says. “Unfortunately, some of the desiccant systems that dry the air can actually introduce a small bead into the air instead.” The solution is simple: a good filter after the desiccant and before the spray gun.
Ready, Set, Paint Whether you’re planning on doing your own paint job, or preparing your project to be painted by someone else, surface preparation is universally considered to be the major portion of a pleasing and long-lasting finish. “It’s not rocket science,” Krass says. “It just takes a bit of patience, some elbow grease and attention to detail.” Coming next month: Preparing fabric and wood airframes.
Contact Information AIRCRAFT FINISHING SYSTEMS
www.aircraftfinishing.com 800/653-7200 AIRCRAFT SPRUCE AND SPECIALTY
www.aircraftspruce.com 877/477-7823 JEFF MILLER INDUSTRIES
http://jeffmillerind.tripod.com 360/403-1683 KRACON AIRCRAFT REFINISHING
www.kracon.com 916/645-1614 VELAVISION
www.velavision.com 480/970-8959 WICKS AIRCRAFT SUPPLY
www.wicksaircraft.com 800/221-9425 Skip then applies the primer in strips, trying to keep the overlap consistent. 40
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