Need some painting advise

[Russellmn]

[QUOTE=rodsmith;n60900]

I'll preface this with admitting I've never sprayed a plane, just lots of cars. That being said, if you can't get a good paint job out of an Iwata, it's not the gun. Not trying to be rude, but unless there was something wrong with the gun (unlikely), the gun will do exactly what you tell it to do.

I had better luck getting a uniform look with silver metallic using the Iwata. It is great gun. Problem was it was designed for metallics and spraying at 10psi. At 10psi I got a lot of orange peel texture. Stewarts needs higher pressure to avoid orange peel. I tried using it at 20 psi and it blew out the center of the paint pattern. Went to the Tekna and 30 psi and no orange peel, but I haven't yet found a technique to avoid the striping. In November I talked to a Stewarts tech who has recently been painting a Waco silver metallic. Got some good tips from him but haven't been able to try them out because the weather turned too cold to paint with my setup.

One thing it seems many people aren't aware of, and gun manufacturers are poor at emphasizing, is that the 10psi pressure recommendation is most likely at the tip, not the inlet. With an Iwata, I would guess you want somewhere around the 15psi number INLET pressure to get 10 at the tip.

[Nev]

Tiger Striping
I just had my first attempt at spraying the filler coat on. I’ve already brushed on two coats and sanded them. I’m using the Finishline spray gun recommended by Stewart’s Systems, and have set it up exactly as they suggest. So I was a bit surprised to see tiger striping right away. I went back in to watch their video again - the only remaining variable was whether the spray nozzle was 90 degrees out. It was. I had assumed that way the nozzle looked - wide vs narrow - dictated the spray pattern. But it was 90 degrees out to how they show in the video. Hoping this solves the issue.

[Nev]

It has solved the tiger striping issue right away. Much better results now.

[Bcone1381]

I've learned here that Metallic paint is not easy to paint. Silver and Yellow are not easy. What color is the simple and easy to paint?

[Russellmn]

Solids are easiest, black is simple to spray, but hardest to prep for, though in airplanes you're not as concerned about perfect body lines so that makes it easy. White is the hardest to spray, just hard to see the wet lines on multiple coats.

[Nev]

I’ve nearly finished painting the fuselage fabric and I’m now fully endorsed on :

Tiger Striping
Solvent Pops
Runs (including really big ones)
Sags (not quite a run)
Orange Peel.

This has been the most educational part of the build process so far. Having some (any) previous experience with a spray gun would be a huge advantage.

[svyolo]

Sounds like you did great, as your endorsements don't seem to include:

bugs
fingerprints when checking for dryness
pet hair on the paint, and paint on the pet

[Nev]

Syvolo you’re definitely a glass half full type of guy, thanks for talking me back from the edge
I can now add overspray too. Experimenting with how to remove that......

[Battson]

Are you really painting today Nev, in this heat! That will make it challenging to get a good finish! Maybe you are better at this than you thought you were

[JimParker256]

It took me about three beats contemplating the sadness of Battson losing his mind before I remembered that he lives in "that other hemisphere"... LOL I think I'm the one losing it!

[MitchG]

Silver sucks - but not as much as yellow.

Not to hijack the thread but, talk to me about yellow(my next color of choice). I have experienced the silver issues and understand them, so no silver for me in years. Yellow is new to me and I have heard from more than one source it can be finicky, but no one expands on it. I do have some old covered flight surfaces that are yet to be uncovered so they would make good test canvases. Paint of choice for me will be https://www.enduraaviation.com/produ...-coat-topcoat/ as it is some what locally available and economically priced. I always thought yellow would be a solid micro-pigmented paint and would be easy to spray vs silver?

[Nev]

Mitch, what I found as a complete newbie to painting is that it took quite a few light “tack” coats to cover the grey primer. Apparently white primer is easier to cover. Anyway, I just added a number of tack coats until I was happy, then the top coat. Mine was very much a learning exercise.....

[Battson]

Yellow is easy, all you need to do is prime with a good even white coat first.

[Nev]

Battson I wish I were better at it ! But no, not in the heat. I started very early this morning and stopped when it got to 22c. Now 34c so nearly beer o’clock.

Actually now that I’ve finished, I’ve managed to rectify most of the issues. Just left with the overspray problem that I hadn’t thought of - painted the top and bottom the day before, then painted both sides yesterday and didn’t realize that the overspray would dull the already painted parts.

Anyone has any ideas please let me know. I believe that some automotive detailing clay may be the answer.


827931AD-06DC-4AC6-B964-B69D91BC7739.jpeg

[JimParker256]

Man, that is a really nice color! I'd be stinkin' proud of that paint job!

[rodsmith]

That looks really good, very nice gloss. You will be the worst critic of your paint job as you know where every flaw is, others won't even notice.

[robcaldwell]

I found that 91% isopropyl alcohol works ok in removing overspray.

[N942VT]

Bright yellows are very translucent and need a white undercoat and have good lighting to be sure you have full coverage. They aren't particularly difficult for overall jobs, more so if you're trying to match an existing yellow. Yellows like Nev's here are easier, more toward orange.
Looks good Nev, I've done the same thing and you can let it set up a while and try buffing the overspray off. Some will come off but I've not had great success with that in high vis areas. Clay won't touch it. Hate to say it but I'd mask it off and re spray the top while your all set up. One tack coat and one good wet coat.

[MitchG]

Thank-you for the above. Like I said, I have heard many times yellows can be a challenge, but no explanation as to why. So it seems the issue is with color matching on partial work due to the yellows transparency. That's good, as I'm looking at a full spray on new cover. White base it will be. Thank-you for your clarification.

[Nev]

I'd mask it off and re spray the top while your all set up. One tack coat and one good wet coat.

N942VT Thanks - I was wondering about this. At least I’d be happy with the results, maybe I’ll do that today.

[Battson]

Be wary, every coat adds weight - we are not talking a few grams, we are talking many kilograms, several coats is even worse. Will you notice once there are years of bugs and dust on the plane?

[Nev]

Jim, Rod, thanks gents ! Appreciated.

[PaulSA]

Looks good Nev - man you are building quickly!

Looks like the same cub yellow I'm using. You've got a much higher gloss than I did using PolyTone but I'm happy with my semi-gloss finish on fabric.

IMG_1971.JPG

[Nev]

Thanks Paul ! Great to see you’re enjoying your retirement too
Actually I gave mine a final “touch-up” paint coat to the fuselage this morning which has resulted in a satisfactory job overall.

Then Battson took me flying this afternoon in his Bearhawk, which lifted my spirits enormously.