Bearhawk Aircraft Bearhawk Tailwheels LLC Eric Newton's Builder Manuals Bearhawk Plans Bearhawk Store

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Airframe Primer

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Airframe Primer

    I've been looking for a epoxy primer to paint my airframe with. Because I'm going to be painting in a makeshift booth on my RV pad I'm trying to find something that is less toxic and won't kill the neighbors dogs. Something water based so I can use my Graco airless sprayer would be awesome. I also want to brush the paint into the weld clusters to ensure good coverage. It was looking like I was stuck using Stewart's EkoPoxy till I found this stuff: http://www.paintdocs.com/docs/webPDF...prodno=B73A200

    I don't know enough about paint to be able to tell much from the data sheets but it looks pretty awesome. Water based true epoxy, don't even need a respirator with adequate ventilation, can use a brush and my airless sprayer, and it is reasonably priced. Everything I've found on the internet indicates it is a great primer. Lots of guys using it on their boat exteriors and garage floors. Haven't been able to find much about its use on steel but since that is what it was designed for it should work good. Like any epoxy primer it needs a top coat so it doesn't yellow from UV exposure. There are several different products available but I'd likely go with the UV stable clear coat.

    Any thoughts or experience with this stuff?

    Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

  • #2
    Looks good, have you checked on price.

    Doug
    Scratch building Patrol #254

    Comment


    • #3
      $? for their 1 gallon kit.

      Edit: Price I had was for the wrong paint. I'll have to call them again with the correct paint number.
      Last edited by whee; 08-20-2016, 05:06 PM.
      Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

      Comment


      • #4
        I'd buy the smallest package I could get and do some tests. When cured, how does it hold up to MEK and acetone? Unless you go with Stewart, I'd think all the other systems use those solvents. Even if you go with Stewart's, you might use a solvent as a degreaser/cleaner in the future.
        In 'a previous life', my company used a lot of paint to keep gas cylinders looking good. When I decided to move away from solvent based systems, to water based, we struggled quite a bit. South Louisiana rarely sees less than 80-90% humidity, so the water based systems wouldn't dry very quickly at times. When painting a cleanly blasted cylinder, we frequently encountered flash rusting. The liquid water remained in contact with the steel long enough to cause the corrosion we were trying to prevent. Part of our solution was to avoid painting, unless the weather was fairly dry... Not great for our application. Not sure where you are, or your weather conditions, but I couldn't use a water based system over a blasted steel fuselage.

        Bill

        Comment


        • #5
          I agree on the testing Bill. They say it is chemical resistant but who knows what the really means.

          Dry time isn't a big deal where I live. I could probly just leave the frame unpainted and it would last for a decade.
          Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

          Comment


          • #6
            This looks like a good product I plan to research it further. I will contact my Sherwin Williams rep to see what kind of pricing I can get I will probably use their top coat as well.
            I paint for a living and use an airless every day even with the smallest tip the overspray and waste would be incredible I think I would like to use a conventional spray gun connected to a pressure pot.

            Comment


            • #7
              Look forward to hearing what you think after further research tf104. I stopped in at the local SW store and they didn't know a thing about it. After going over the data sheet with them they thought it would work great but recommended a product they were more familiar with, Macropoxy 646. 646 seems really awesome but it does need better breathing protection. Remembering that I have protection for myself and it is my neighbors I'm concerned about I'm not sure I'll switch to the 646. The tile clad seems like just what I am looking for.
              Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

              Comment


              • #8
                Man why can't I have neighbors like you!

                Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

                Mark
                Scratch building Patrol #275
                Hood River, OR

                Comment


                • #9
                  I got some prices.

                  Water Based Tile Clad Epoxy Primer: Part A $108 (gallon) Part B $26 (quart)

                  Water Based Tile Clad Epoxy Finish: Part A $108 (gallon) Part B $26 (quart)

                  Looks like I need to use both the primer and the finish so together it is pretty expensive. However, my local SW store can't even get the 1 gallon primer kit so they suggested using the ProCryl water based primer ($73/gallon) with the Tile Clad Epoxy finish. That actually seems like an ok way to go...though still kind of expensive.
                  Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The one gallon kits are out of stock and there is not a batch scheduled for production at this time.
                    I ordered a five gallon kit and it will be here tomorrow. my pricing is closer to the $90 for both a and b.
                    I plan to break this up into 1.250 gallon kits when it arrives and do some test samples.
                    I am looking at the tile clad epoxy finish ( $90 per gallon) and the hydro gloss single component water based urethane ($50 per Gallon)
                    I plan to order a gallon of each after I pick a color and do some samples.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thought I'd give you guys an update. We used the ProCryl primer and the Tile Clad Epoxy finish on our project. Our gun gave us some trouble because both these paints are very thick even after being thinned to the max allowable in the instructions. We were anxious to get it done so we kept pressing forward which was a mistake. It left us with a rough finish because it went on so dry. We fixed our equipment issue, got a gun with a 2mm tip, and sprayed all the small parts and did touch up on the fuselage. Those parts look pretty darn good for a noob painter. Only time will tell how this paint lasts.



                      Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Nice Jon! How's the setup working out? My garage is starting to look like yours. Ventilation is just an open door.
                        Last edited by Chewie; 09-26-2016, 09:13 AM. Reason: auto-incorrect
                        Mark
                        Scratch building Patrol #275
                        Hood River, OR

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Chewie
                          Nice Jon! How's the setup working out? My garage is starting to look like yours. Ventilation is just an open door.
                          Not too bad really. The paint doesn't stink too much. We wore respirators as recommended by the MSDS and opened a door to the garage. If I were to ever paint a fuselage again I'll probly use these same paints unless I find it isn't very durable or something.

                          In all honesty I doubt I'll ever paint a fuselage again but only because now that I've experienced painting a tube frame I'll just have it powder coated next time. I don't want to get into the paint vs powder coat debate, I just wanted to offer full disclosure.
                          Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

                          Comment


                          • JCD23
                            JCD23 commented
                            Editing a comment
                            How is your paint holding up? Would you still recommend it?

                          • whee
                            whee commented
                            Editing a comment
                            It’s fine so far. I haven’t noticed any issues. If I were to do it again I’d just get the frame powder coated.

                        • #14
                          Now I can fly under-water ....

                          I am finishing up the wing structures of my Patrol, doing a lot of riveting.

                          I am priming all the aluminum spars and ribs. I found out that I was perhaps 1-cup short on primer. I had purchased my primer from PTI when I started the project a few years ago. When checking with the "major" source of home-built aircraft supplies I found that they were asking more that triple the price I originally paid. So I found the web-site for the manufacturer, found their price list, called their 800 number to order a quart of paint. And when they quoted me the price they too gave me the ridiculously hight price. I complained. I found that PTI's phone system had forwarded my call to the same "major" aircraft parts vendor. I told the sweet lady "Sorry, I never buy anything from you guys any more, you are far too expensive" and hung up on her.

                          I decided that for the small amount of primer I needed, rattle-can primer would do. Besides being less expensive, for small spray jobs I really hate trying to clean all the catalyzing epoxy out of my spray equipment. However I had been turned-off with the couple of rattle-cans of zinc-based primer I had purchased a couple of years ago at the OSH booth of the same "major" supplier. It proved to be no better than the Tempera-Paint I had used in grade-school. It would easily rub off, and even after weeks of curing would easily wash off with paint thinners.

                          After a lot of online research I finally ordered a few cans of Mar Pro zinc-chromate primer in rattle-cans. Found it for about $7 for a 12 oz can. I dries fast, sticks well, does not rub/wash off. It is described as self-etching so is not spec'd to require alodine pretreatment. It is marketed for use under-water and often sold as part of a kit for refinishing outboard motors and lower-units. Finished up almost all of my priming now with just one can and saved myself $100. I think I have a winner here.

                          Comment


                          • #15
                            Hi all, new to the site although I have been lurking for some time now. I'm still waiting on my plans, but there are some parts that I would like to build now... has anyone considered the following product for priming/painting their fuselage?



                            Jon, I would be happy to get my to look like yours.. good job.

                            Regards,

                            JM

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X