Bearhawk painting finally completed...

[Aero_tango]

I'm done painting my BH...and I finally start seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
I have used the Endura paint system. The EP-2C primer/sealer FC is compatible with fabric and aluminum, which make things a lot more straight forward. The top coat is EX-2C SFC.
The 1st coat of primer is brushed on the fabric, followed immediately with a spray coat. I had to spray 2 to 3 coats (until I can't see light through the fabric). After some sanding , top coat was applied. Two medium white coat was enough to cover the green primer (actually dark green...primer is not available in light color...). On aluminum, I've only sprayed 1 coat of EP-2C primer/sealer FC. All aluminum part were washed with dish-soap, acid etch/scotch-bright and Alodine prior to priming. Lots of prep work for aluminum...

Overall, it's a good 10 feet paint job.
Here is some photos...Moving on to final assembly. Hope to be flying next summer.

Mike
C-FYMR (BH) in progress
C-FZMR (RV-7A) built and sold

[Battson]

Nice looking finish and a good looking build, very tidy! I like the colour scheme which you've chosen!

Nice custom gear legs too, a creative solution to a small garage with a low ceiling.

I hadn't heard of this paint system before, it sounds a lot easier to apply than the old school Polyfiber / Stitts / Randolf lines or products. Good choice.

[Bdflies]

I'm still in the midst of painting, myself. It still amazes me how many hours of prep are involved in the process, followed by a few minutes of spraying paint... Mike, your project looks great!

Bill

[Flygirl1]

Looks like a lot better than 10 feet! We have 2 horizontals, 1 rudder and a few small pieces to finish in the top color then we'll be done painting too. A long and painful process. We tried to go with the aero thane and what could go wrong did. Ended up using PPG Evolution and a "professional" painter for the color coat. So far the painting part was by far the longest and hardest part! We researched different paints and may have seen the one you chose on a web site for auto refinish. Looks like a cut and buff in the photo's. Very well done. Please post some more photo's when it's all together. D.

[rv8bldr]

I've been over to Mike's a few times since he lives less than an hour from me. His work is really, really good. There are a number of his ideas that I have (in the words of Eric Idle from Monty Python) lovingly ripped off. Did you notice the sea-plane doors (although I'm not doing those)? And that finish is excellent. The last time I saw his Bearhawk he only had the white and red on the fuselage and the finish was perfectly smooth and looked really deep. It convinced me on the Endura product is the way to go. They had a booth at Osh last summer in hanger B (I think). They even had an oil barrel painted in one of the colors I'm going to use!




Mike (Michel....which do you prefer ? :-) I'm hoping that you will be the first to land at my place in your Bearhawk. If you use Bing Maps (not Google Maps, their imagery is really old) Go to 45.276746, -76.327070 and turn on the satellite imagery.

[whee]

Looks fantastic!

Where do you access the piano wire to remove/install it for the cowl closure? I like that idea.

[Flygirl1]

Juat checked out Endura Aviation on line and WOW. Wish I would have seen that before I started painting. Although I suspect we still would have had a "professional" guy do the job. The paints today are way too expensive to be wasting!! It does offer a paint for the fabric that offers the needed flexibility. The web site has a Bearhawk in it's gallery thats worth the visit to the site. D.

[corefile]

Interesting Bearhawk in the that gallery - I don't think I've seen one with Yokes before.

[Aero_tango]

Thanks all for the good comments.
The paint scheme I'm trying to achieve is very similar to the Maule MX-7-180 (see youtube link below).
As someone mentioned, yes it's a long and painfull process. I've probably invested more than 150 hrs for the whole painting process, and that doesn't include the time spent to convert my garage into a paint-shop. I did paint my RV7-A many years ago and I've told myself back then "never again", but when I looked at the amount of $$$$$ i would have paid to have it professional painted, well, I did it again.
No I didn't "cut and buff". The Endura top coat flows pretty well. The finish is "as is" after spraying. Mind you that I have some orange peeling, but it will not be visible at 5000' !!!
Pricewise, Endura was cheaper than the PPG concept I've used on my RV7 . The Endura EX-2C SFC top coat (RED) is $175/gal (component A) + $110/gal (component B). At a 1:1 mix ratio, you end up with 2 gallons for $285 (~$142/gal). White is ~$120/gal. BTW, this is $CDN. So for you guys in US, you'll pay even less...

Piano hinges are used for cowl doors closing. This is very similar to what I did on my RV. The hinge pin is accessible from inside the cockpit. Once it's engage in the first few hinge loops, you just slide it in.The good thing too with this design is no one can access your engine compartment from the outside (I don't have any camloc fastner on my cowl). The only way to open the cowl doors is from the inside.

Mark, I'll certainly land at your place, hopefully next summer:-)

Mike

[whee]

Seems like it would be hard to get the piano wire started if you have to do it from the inside but it looks so clean; I'll have to see about doing something similar.

I just talked to a guy at Endura Aviation and he just finished a fabric airplane application guide and he said he would post it in the next couple days. I'm pretty interested in seeing how the system goes together. I've been planning on going with Stewart's but at over $300/gal for the topcoat color I want I'm looking for an alternative.

Thanks again for posting Mike!

[rv8bldr]

I've been talking to Aaron Soos at Endura and he sent me that guide. It *should* be attached to this post...he says hopefully...

[Aero_tango]

Hey Mark,
This is weird...I looked at the Endura guide you've provided in your post and the paint system is not the same as what I've used, and what I was recommended to use. Even more, the guide for fabric painting that I used is copy of your guide, but list a different paint system !!!.
You can download it from Endura website. See link below.

http://www.endura.ca/pdf/coating_systems/endura_aviation_EP-2C-Fabric.pdf

I was wondering if they just re-brand the paint system, but when I compared the data sheets, they are different.
Both guide claim that "Endura Flexible Coatings have been used on fabric covered aircraft for over 35 years"...well this newer version hasn't been around for 35 years for sure.
Anyway, this is water under the bridge for me, but it should be clarified with their tech support team.

Whee,
It's not too hard to get the piano wire started. Mind you that I have "gull wing" doors, so I don't have any restriction to get my arm inside the cockpit and access the piano wire, while holding down the cowl door.

Michel

[rv8bldr]

Holy smokes ! Really?! That is the guide he sent me last week,

That being said, the guys in the booth at Oshkosh said they were doing a reformulation specifically for aviation that was going to be more flexible and you wouldn't have to do any additives yourself. Maybe that accounts for the discrepancy ?

As you say, talk directly to the tech support people and don;t believe everything you see on the internet :-)

[jaredyates]

What a fancy looking Bearhawk! I hope you'll write a Beartracks article about it!

[patrickh99]

Mike,
Nice looking Bearhawk!
Do you have any more pictures of the gullwing doors? Changes needed to clear the struts, or any drawings...?

Keep up the good work,
Patrick

[Zac Weidner]

Did you fabricate the cowlings, and in particular, the air intake scoop yourself, or where did that come from? It looks very nice and clean. I like the scheme and color choices also.