AirTech Fabric covering

[Mark Goldberg]

Robbie Stanton, a Bearhawk builder and very experienced fabric guy, is now the owner of AirTech fabric covering. Robbie just called me to offer a discount on covering supplies to BH and Patrol builders. I suggested he put together a "package" of materials to show builders what they need.

If you are wondering what fabric process to use, you might give AirTech some thought. Especially since the pricing will be good. Mark

[bcbearhawkLSA]

IMG_20180502_101032 (1).jpg Hello everyone,
As a previous user of AirTech Coatings I'd like to chime in here for a few sentences. First off let me just say it is a great system and it actually won us an award at the Kamloops International airshow some years ago. Way back when... :-) The paint can be sprayed with a basic vacuum cleaner HVLP system such as a Wagner or similar Home Depot sprayers. The results are astonishing and the flow, coverage, finish are everything one might want. Quite the opposite from Stewards which is much more finicky to spray and finish (I find) and you'll need almost a full on spray booth and high end equipment to get a similar finish.
HOWEVER, ...please be aware that with AirTech Coatings you really should use a high end fresh air supply while spraying their Products. They contain isocyanates which the body absorbs but can't get rid off. They build up until one day its enough, ..and everyone has different tolerance, so I've been told. They are highly toxic and a regular leaky filter mask will not do it. I scared myself with it pretty bad. That came after the work was finished and I ended up talking to a representative at the Arlington Airshow. Haven't used it since!
Again it is a great product and if you don't mind the extra money to buy a fresh air system, suit, face mask, go ahead. I'm back to old faithful, mainly Polyfiber that is, some Stewart and am seriously intrigued by the new Oratex - Better Aircraft Fabric system. Like I said, for Homey's like us, keep the wife and kids safe from bad vapours wafting in from the shop, they'll appreciate it. Just my .02 cents! Best Regards, Willy T.

[Mark Goldberg]

That is a problem with all the two part systems including the Aerothane that PolyFiber makes. Not the one part PolyTone. You have to have fresh air respirators. A mask with the standard charcoal filters is not adequate. Mark

[Steve W]

Don't fool your self that the Stewart's is harmless or VOC free. I must have a sensitivity to chemicals as suggested by Stewart's staff. I am getting close to finishing my Patrol and this is the second plane I used their products on. Initially, I was getting bad headaches after painting using a high quality 1/2 mask respirator with new standard VOC filters. I had a fresh air system so I used that. Better but still had some symptoms. I figured I was getting some skin absorption so moved on to a full head suit with the fresh air. No headaches. Only if I was out checking the paint for a few minutes after spraying during flashoff, would I have any trouble. My booth is sealed and filtered, in and out, with a strong cross flow drawing from an 18" exhaust fan. I will not use solvent based paints because of the risk of explosion plus the odor exposed to my neighbors.
I started with the glue this past winter and immediately had the same problem. So, all gluing was done with the filtered mask with a good air exchange in the shop.
Stewart's is very hard to gloss and unless you have a lot of lighting from all angles to view it's reflection, you will have orange peel. More so with colors compared to white. It is extremely different that the solvent based stuff which allows you to "blend" the coats with much better results. Temperature is everything with Stewart's too. I got better results with cooler temps which allowed the paint to flow, sometimes up to three-four hours afterwards. You then have to give a long, long "tack up" time. I'm on the prairies so it is very dry. Keeping the floor totally wet all the time helps. I will say the acrylic was better than the premium.
Just thought I'd throw this out there. Because of the terms used in relation with Stewart's, water, EPA friendly etc, it is still harmful to some. DO NOT paint with little to no protection like what you view on the "how to" videos. I don't care what anyone says, a ball cap and regular glasses does not cut it. At one time, smoking wasn't considered harmful along with thalidomide, asbestos and fiberglass. I know there is some toluene in the glue so...........Protect Yourself!!!

[rstaton]

Everyone one here has hit the nail on the head about being cautious. The harmful part of our system is in the hardeners. Anything, like Mark said, that has a two part , be careful and respect. Even the ones that have a harmless sound to them,remember if you eat enough dirt at one time,it will kill you. To get the results ,chemical resistants ,and shine to airtech ,we use a two part system . In our shop at central arkansas aircraft repair, we have used ALL the systems out there and they are all good . It’s just comes down to what you are use too. We can produse a show winner with the least amount of work with airtech,,,but thats our shop . We also have-produced the same quality with superflight and stitts urethane. So go with what you know. We just want to be here to help you make the best out of your project. We will have two tech guys available. Come by our booth at oshkosh and say hi. We will be at #357 by javron.

[Zzz]

So how much is the discount for a Bearhawker? I have been aware of AirTech for several years but it didn't really stand out for any reason. Been looking at Superflite as well. Is there any clear advantage to, say, the glue, or the filler, or anything up to the urethane top coat step?

[Mark Goldberg]

Robbie's cell is 501/680-0482. MG

[rstaton]

The discount is 15% for bearhawk builders

[Gerhard Rieger]

I like this product, but getting it to South Africa with all the dangerous goods permits is the thing