Repainting Cyclic & Collective

[2001ft]

The cyclic and collective in my 206 is in need of a repaint as it has lots of chips etc in.

I think of myself as a bit of a dab hand in all things DIY, before I rub down and spray with hammerite anybody have any do's, don'ts?

thanks

[nigelh]

I think the safest method would be to land first.

[Darkhorse30]

I assume you are talking about the controls in your hands and not the push-pull tubes routed within the fuselage. I would contact your nearest Bell technical representative and ask him (or her). There are some coatings on Aluminum alloys that may reduce fatigue tolerance and this situation could cause premature failure. Not pretty on helicopters.

[birrddog]

Originally Posted by nigelh

I think the safest method would be to land first.

Then how would he paint the underside of the collective?


Tongue firmly in cheek

[Hughes500]

Use hard hat paint, better than hammerite. No problem rubbing down and painting it is all that your maint company would do for £ 55 an hour

[Tailboom]

Its quite possible to make a real difference to the appearence, i repainted a cyclic once and it looked like new, if you use a good cleaner on the plastics on the grip its amazing the difference that makes they are usually covered in years of sweat !!!!!!! ugh

[deeper]

Are you kidding??? I don't believe it.

And then darkhorse, what is the world and unfortunately the helicopter world coming to???

[ianp]

Apolgies for thread drift but....

"Hard Hat" ? Whats that when its at home, can I get it in the UK? I want to give the centre stand on my motorbike a tidy up and if it tougher than hammerite sounds just the stuff.

[FACT Pilot]

I just re-sprayed the dual controls of our 206 at our company. I took a risk and used a light sand paper to remove a layer of gunk that had acumulated on the cork grip. I then covered the grip with masking tape and sprayed the rest of the surface with matt black spray apint. They look brand new now. I even went to the extent of taking tip-ex and running it into the grooves where is sais "Open/Close with the arrow"

Let me know if I can help at all. Just make sure you use the right colour of black...

[Hughes500]

Hard Hat is the paint blade shops use to touch up. Easily available commerically, suppose a goggle search will pull up !

[unstable load]

Your structural repair manual or maintenance manual would probably give you the approved paint specifications if you were interested, but SATIN BLACK not flat black really looks good if you are not too fussy.

[topendtorque]

Then how would he paint the underside of the collective?

An upside down paint brush

Tongue firmly in cheek

[nigelh]

you would say that being in oz.....

[topendtorque]

An upside down paint brush

Tongue firmly in cheek
Told that to a 'femme fatale' who was working for me once.
She was only there because her boyfriend could operate a bulldozer,
mind you his nickname was plod;
I got a dumb look.

Says I, " Even without getting out of th motor car, don't yer think i can't bloody see that you haven't painted under the rails?"

Most people of course, already 'em in their kit.
Which i think you will agree,
is the astounding part about this whole thread.

[2001ft]

Is it only me that is totally lost with topendtorque's post?

thanks for the replies - Hard Hat sounds good

FACT Pilot - sounds like you have done just the job - check your PM's - not sure about bloomin tippex though????? tippex? you sure?

[Taff Missed]

White chinagraph works well in the twistgrip lettering. Probably easier to clean up than Tippex too.

[blackhand]

While you at it may as well carry out track and balance MR and TR, what the heck sack the mechanic and do it all yourself, any DIY could

[500e]

Combination - UK Rustoleum Supplier for Spray Paint, Metallic Paint, Rust Paint, Anti-Slip Solutions and Specialist Coatings
Hardhat appears to be a trade name.
They also do a good anti slip paint
blackhand
It is nice to see someone with a pride in their ride rather than some of the "tips" out there.
Also read threads on Robo blades regarding paint erosion, (paint or die)
In some environments it could be a weekly job, on the 500 paint don't last to long on the first few feet of blade, I know balance could be a problem.but with a bit of care you can get it correct, and at least if the vibes are going up it should be noticeable to any pilot, and the eng can do the business.
Always makes eng feel good to be wanted, loved even, + they can mutter about know it all pilots.