Folks,
This reminds me of the 3-tier hourly rate:
1) Normal Rate: $80 per hour.
2) If you watch: $160 per hour.
3) If you help : $210 per hour.
Seriously, all the warnings about pitfalls of painting an aircraft are true, and I could add a few more horror stories.
And how many us have horror stories of ending up with disasters and paying through the nose for some of the so called experts WITH all of the approvals?
I have had 3 aircraft repainted... and I'll NEVER do it again. I sell it, scrap it, give it away, pay to have it taken away... ANYTHING but not get into painting.. ever!
It takes for ever, (one took 6 months after being 'quoted' 5 weeks - and not because it was worked on for more than about 3 weeks all up either!) the 'estimates' are just a joke, all of them looked nice and shiney when they came back but actually were quite dissappointing in their detail finish and durability (not that they were actually finished.) In all cases its been a matter of having to pay someone else to remove stripper, finish off something, remove masking properly, sign something out properly etc etc) And as for 'under the supervision of LAME'... that really makes me laugh! My advice/experience would be 1. Dont do it! or 2. if you must do it, do as much as possible yourself and keep a VERY close rein on anyone you are paying... I've heard its over-exposure to paint fumes that causes the problem.
Seriously though, it really is a cr@p job. Fumes, chemicals, dust, water, heavy, backbreaking work. Frustrating as I've found it, can't help having a bit of sympathy for those guys too.