Aircraft Painting

[colorman]

Hello all,
ive noticed not many threads on this subject ,
If anyone is in need of information or advise i would be only to happy to help?

[john_tullamarine]

Colorman,

Perhaps you might start the ball rolling by launching into a discussion of a problem area of painting which might be of interest to the group ?

[411A]

Have had two exec aircraft painted in the past with Imron, and indeed my present aeroplane is painted thus, and the paint still looks good after fifteen years.

Imron gave lots of problems in the early days due to poor surface preparation, but once these areas were ironed out, I personally have found no other paint to be as tough and weather resistant.

Am considering purchasing a twin turbo-prop exec aircraft in the near to mid-term and wonder what other paints are available.
The only aircraft painting that I have had done recently is on a TriStar fuselage...Boeing grey, not my choice.

[FlyingForFun]

And, since you've raised the subject:

My Europa group has been talking for a while about the possibility of getting some art-work on our otherwise plain-white aircraft. I've found a friend who is a little more handy with a paint-brush than any of us, who is willing to do our "decorating" in exchange for a flight, but she wants to know if there are any restrictions on paints and other materials she can use. Obviously we wouldn't want to use anything which will react with the composite construction...

Thanks,

FFF
---------------

[colorman]

To answer the first question on another type or name of paint ,
i personally use an American paint called sherwin williams , (jet glow and acry glow top coats).

Their is not many products which come close for sheer shine and mirror finish from the gun (without polashing).

I see your an airline pilot ive painted many airline companies aircraft around Europe and as far away as Nigeria,

but thats another story ?

Thank you for posting a question by the way,

Areospace coatings nothing less
car paints do not hold the same flexable properties and will cause problems sooner rather than later.

These can be applied to most airframe surfaces without complication

Also i do hope you are kidding when you mentiond doing the job with a brush ,
Your aircraft should be treated like your ideal lady and work carried out 100% nothing less

Im not actually sure if i can give company details on this page so if you require further info drop me an e mail

I hope this has helped in some way and have fun ,
like you say if its not fun get someone else

All the best

[colorman]

Like everything else the times have changed, so you do not have to be the budding artist to apply a new design.
The adhesive fasons can be purchase from a graphic design company.

Some of the affects are great , like the British Airways livery change when i was at Southend and Stansted .

It starts off when completely applied like a large paint buy numbers.
peel off one desired part then remask when dry then proceed untill all the colours have been applied, then totally demask the fin then mask where needed and apply clear coat.

It wasnt untill the aircraft was waiting outside that the true affect of the design was fully appreciated

Or you can cheat a little where you get the design on the fason itself but be warned to put these on without getting air bubbles is a knightmare

Even the small BUBBLES SHOW UP LIKE A BLIND COBBLERS THUMB .

Ihope i can be of help with any questions

colorman

[colorman]

This is the common thing people over look, the disposal of waste .

No matter what painting has been carried out there will inevitably be waste .
This can cause concern as waste thinners and paint removers are classed as haserdous material waste,

So its best to check with local authorities to check on cost for uplift

:eek:
I think it will take your breath away



colorman

[Vizsla]

Last time I had my a/c painted - AA5B - I had problems with the lamination affected by the stripper.
Is red still a bit of a problem colour with the UV effect?

A sharp pin is the answer to the bubbles!

[colorman]

Ever since i started working on airframes , i was repeatedly told no sharps to be used

The best way to apply an adhesive fason is with water ,
the fason can then slide into your designated area.
Then useing a small plastic spreader or fason roller squeeze the water from under the edges
From centre outwards making sure no water or air is still trapped underneath (it definately works)

seriously you may think a small pin can not cause damage
but it can and will .

over pressure may scratch the airframe surface or if its a material surface (paint and dope) can even make a tiny hole.

you may think im over reacting but ive seen it all?

metal objects no matter what, cause dissimular metal corrosion

And on the material side of airframe coverings, a tiny hole in a sealed dope system is all it takes to cause unforseen damage

Re/ the stripper causing problems, paint removers are very nasty indeed but they do the job which is required

never think you have masked for stripping ( excuse the expression) perfectly,
always check and re check, ingress of paint remover and the damage it can cause is horrific especially around windows and undercarriage areas.


:uhoh: :eek:

Can you elaborate a little on the uv effect and im sure i can help?

[Blacksheep]

...and when you're all done with the painting, don't forget to have the primary flight control surfaces balanced and the aircraft re-weighed before you go flying again... ;)

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[Lu Zuckerman]

Speaking of dangerous chemicals used in the painting of aircraft Boeing has a special facility where they strip all of the contaminants on the airframe prior to painting using MEK, which is sprayed on the skin. I believe all of the MEK is then collected, strained and reused.

For paint removal a firm has come up with a system where dry ice crystals are sprayed on the painted surface under high pressure much like sand blasting. The localized cold fractures the paint bond with the skin surface and it is blown away.

:cool:

[colorman]

Yes your absolutely right,
all flying controls must be re balanced and checked to enable a CRS (certification of release to service).

But the aircraft does not in all cases have to be re weighed,
this is for the engineer to decide if he sees fit.

This was spoken to me by a member of the CAA.

In all the aircraft i have been involved with painting, (and im talking hundreds) none had to be weighed before release to service

But does it vary in diffrent areas of the globe?.
This i dont know

I couldnt very well tell everyone the life story on aircraft painting now could i blacksheep?.

If i had then this post, should have been opened and closed in one foul swoop, after all im offering my service to whoever needs advise, and if idont know i will try my hardest in finding the answer

cheers
colorman

[colorman]

Hi lu, i have heard about this form or paint removing
but still prefer the nasty stuff because of the speed in which these products work. (MY PREFERANCE)

high pressure water jets have also had trials and i believe are being used to remove paint

Paint companies also introduced water based paint but it isnt very nice to paint with , and this being the opinion of many an aircraft painter

Please dont think, because these paints are water based there is now harm can come to you .

Any paint which is atomised is HARMFULl TO YOUR HEALTH

Lu can you let me know more on the mek with boeing ,
the reason being,when i was in the Royal Air Force the use of mek was to totally banned, (nasty ****).
Mek it is one substance i dont use any more EVEN IF I AM SUITED AND BOOTED


Cheers
colorman

[Blacksheep]

Good stuff colorman, keep it coming.

On the subject of weighing, individual cases vary widely, but adding paint often increases the weight by surprising amounts, as does stripping off excessive layers of earlier paint. The last time we stripped a B767 bare and repainted from scratch, it came out around 500 Kgs lighter - half a ton is certainly significant when you consider that we note all weight changes in excess of 0.1 Kg in the weight and balance record...

What do you think of Hi-Sol or High Solid paints? We don't have a lot of choice these days, as we are being driven in this direction by our suppliers.

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[colorman]

Hello black sheep,

why are the suppliers pushing for you to use high solid all the time ?

They are good , but in some cases like everything else are not suitable for the job at hand .

I have used quite a varied amount of high solid paints some i get along with and some are not so good (for the work in hand ).

My suppliers tend to let myself decide on the coatings i preffer to use , unless the client chooses other wise
One drawback with high solids coatings, you can not polish? as you might already know. (but not all)

But what i like and others like are two diffrent things ,
each to their own

Thanks again
cheers
colorman

[colorman]

Come on folks ,
there must be questions , or tips on this subject you would like to ask????????????

[Tinstaafl]

You mentioned you prefer some types of paint for some jobs & not others.

What do you prefer for what, and why?

T.

[colorman]

Not only prefer, but what paint is cost effective.
Large airliners with nothing to view at eye level and are admired from afar ,would usually have say high solids used for the artwork.

But small private jets would have plenty to view at eye level and the paint work would be like a mirror finish.
But the paint is normally more expensive.

Having said that ive work on a few aircraft and the expence has not been spared and thats on aircraft like a 747.
even gold leaf in with the paintwork

iI hope this answers you question

cheers
colorman