Paintjobs etc....

[PH-UKU]

Anybody out there got any recent experience of getting their trusty aero-steeds painted ?

Any recommendations for good work ? Or for that matter ones to avoid ?

Rough idea of price for a standard 4 seater ?

And then ...... can anyone recommend a good interior job ? And suggest a ball park price for leather covering seats and re-doing carpets ?

Looking for good work at a fair price (ain't we all ?)

Cheers

PH-UKme

[smarthawke]

Give Mick Allen a ring at Turweston - 01280-840661. Really nice bloke and a true aviation enthusiast - family run business.

He also has a pet trimmer to use when required.

Prices vary on the size of aircraft and the scheme. Trim prices depend on materials and extent: seats, carpets, sidewalls etc.

Beware those shops who are a lot cheaper and have no queue.

When you get quotes, find out exactly what you get for your money - for instance most offer stainless steel screws but these need nylon washers under the heads on non-structural screws to prevent digging into the paint. Mick takes the tank access panels off Cessna 152/172 - not many have that attention to detail.

Weighing is not mandatory after a paint job but Mick always has ot done - most planes haven't been reweighed since they were put on the register!

[Monocock]

A decent "basic" paintjob without lots of stripes will be around £7,000. Add some fancy bits and you're looking closer to £8k +.

Leather seats and new carpets will be arounf £3k in my experience.

[Small Rodent Driver]

We recently had our C172 carpets replaced for less than £150. Fire retardant treatment was another £25. Automotive carpet manufacturer Coverdale carpets in the Wigan area have the pattern (taken from our old one). Nice job. All edged in blue and with good heavy duty heel pads. Certainly beat the £800 we were quoted by the outfit we approached initially. As for paintwork and upholstery afraid I cant help with those although if you remove the seats and have them done by an automotive trimmer, I think you may be pleasantly surprised how relatively in-expensive it will be.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Colton at Little Staughton in Cambridgeshire.

Not cheap but very good.

FD

[Kolibear]

Don't laugh too loudly, but is it possible to get touch-up pots like you can with cars? Do Cessna & Piper etc have their own in-house colours or am I reduced to trailing around car spare shops looking for a small tin of metallic light green? Can I use car paint to touch up the odd paint chips?

[Ludwig]

Colton at Little Staughton have always done an excellent job, but do get very busy. Used Windmill Aviation at Spanhoe recently and was very unhappy with the job quality, and delivery. Also seen some low quality work from Turweston.

You might try your local car body spray shop. Use car paint and you can buy touch-up cans from Halfords!

[smarthawke]

Kolibear

Most decent paint (automotive) suppliers will be able to scan a panel (provided you have an easily removable access panel in the desired colour).

They can then make up a tin for brushing or an aerosol in the desired colour. Some aircraft will have been painted in car shades anyway but scanning should take into account any fading.

When Mick Allen painted up one of the ex-Hong Kong Bulldogs, he rang Slingsby to find out what colours they used on the Hong Kong T67s. 'Dunno' was the answer, 'Bert went down the local yacht chandlers and chose a couple of tins....'

Obviously you must make sure that the paint is of a compatible type to that already used. Speak to an aircraft painter for all the griff and what's best to do when touching up.

[max roll rate]

ludwig you said " Also seen some low quality work from Turweston." i would love to know what it was as i have seen every plane mick has done and i cant put my finger on the bad one ,please tell!

[smarthawke]

Ludwig

I too would love to know which aircraft you saw out of Mick's hangar that was/were of poor quality. I presume you can back that statement with registration(s)........

[david viewing]

Just had the Warrior carpets done by Pam at Hinton C/O Holdcroft (01295) 810287, very nice job, not easy as had to fit in with existing trim, £400. Plane previously painted by Mick, absolutely no complaints.

[max roll rate]

Well it would appear that Ludwig can’t back up the statement about Mick so maybe we should disregard his slightly detrimental comment, I know for a fact that there has been one aircraft which had a problem due to a chemical reaction with the paint but Mick put this right and to my knowledge there have been no other poor quality jobs. I am sorry to rant on about this but I do not think it is fare that someone who works so hard and is so meticulous about there work can be slated by another person who may not know all the facts.