Thorp Air Command - T18.net

Admittedly, I have nothing to compare TCP paint with since prior to this I had painted nada. And respectfully defer to all the pro's in our group about best practices. However, what my statement said was "I was happy with their 2 part process" it was simple for a simple minded guy like me. I would imagine there are other paint manufacturers (arguably better) out there that offer the same process.
I think however there is a bigger picture, at least for me, and that is the sense of accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, I don't know if I'd ever take on that task again. However, to sit back and stare at it and know I designed the scheme and painted it is very rewarding and it cost me less than $1000 (probably shows). I think one has to decide what it is there looking for in a paint job. God bless the original builder of my plane, however, it'll never win any building awards at OSH. Frankly, I don't have a show piece, so, painting it myself was less of a concern. My hangar mate along with others I've met through the years have never built anything in their lives and spend years hopefully "properly" building their own aircraft; one that safely flies their carcasses around these United States. Only to say "you better have a professional paint it" I've never understood that mind set, I guess it's a personal choice and how much risk you're willing to wage. I say go for it!

As stated my paint job will never win any awards, but, man do I love just setting back and staring at it knowing I did it myself and that's worth it for me!

Chuck: I hear ya on not painting anything this large ! All the prep, getting all the gear together, the right compressor. Filtering the air to get the water out. Which gun to use ? Do I need a booth to paint ? Do I have enough paint ? What if I screw it up...well that's a given for parts of it ! If I screw it up how do I fix it ? Etc, etc, etc ! I started out painting a few small parts to gain confidence and that seemed to work. Painting in the driveway also presented challenges here in San Diego. The morning fog and mist. Had to wait until the stuff cleared, then there was the afternoon on shore breeze and the higher temps. So I had a VERY narrow window to paint...about 4-5 hours ? For the most part I was very happy how the paint came out. My saving grace was a hot rod video that explained how to remove imperfections from the AU paint ! My major problem was "Orange Peel in a few areas." Even my 2012 Frod Edge has Orange Peel in the paint and even some other high end cars I've seen on the road had the stuff ! The way the guy in video showed it (removing paint inperfections) made it look easy, but it was very time consuming. Let the paint "dry" for a few days, then wet sand with 1200 grit paper until the peel or inperfections (drips) are gone. Then wet sand with 2000 grit paper until smooth as a baby's butt. Then get out the buffer with polishing compound and buff until the gloss appears in the paint. It was a several week process. Some of my parts I did not need to do this. Mainly the smaller parts.

It was a major learning experience and one I do not care to repeat having to repaint several wing sections. The good part is this AU paint lends itself to spot touch ups that can be wet sanded and buffed. As I understand the 2 stage paints this is not possible. Dan will correct me here if I am wrong.

Did I do the right thing and paint my A/C my self ? YES ! Having seen several A/C that were "professionally painted" I give my paint a B+ and the fact that it cost me less than $500.00 (paint, tape, paper, solvent, etc) I feel good looking at my A/C in the hangar home garage !

RB

Urathane paint is forgiving, you are right Rich, it is easily repaired. You can paint this year, and then clear next year if you want. Just clean it and scuff lightly and on goes the clear. If you see some peel appearing, use a little more reducer. Cut and Buff will take care of imperfections, it is tough stuff after it cures. My paint will never will any awards, it is not remotely close to show quality, I done it from start to finish in 2days and One evening. I don't have one spot of filler on the metal or fiberglass, 1 medium wet coat sealer, 2 med wet coats of color, it hasn't been cut nor has it been buffed. I tried to keep it as light as possible. It is coated and should be fine for years as is, but the Urathane is so easy who knows, might just add a bit more to it...Dan

By The way, Bill is right, Paints such as PPG Imeron and such do have a much higher solids per Gallon than the TCP thus they are some more coin. The color will achieve depth with less material because of the high solids per gallon. Sherwinn Williams has a very good Paint for our application but I have never used any of it, It too is a bit pricy but it is good material from what I have seen....Dan

I'm using Tremclad.

FWIW...one last story on paint. I was tasked to pick up one of our Navy DC-9's at the Midway maintainence facility at KMIA. It was sked for a D check and a complete paint strip and repaint. On arrival I could see 2 AF 737's in the paint hangar. I was a good 75 feet away and I could see paint runs! My first clue ? Our DC-9 was out on the ramp and look good ! Not being a paint man I assumed all was good. After the 737's, I did a good walk around of my A/C looking for "drips !" We fueled up and launched to KNZY...non-stop. On landing the Crew Chief asked me to take a look at the skin over the foward door. There was a patch of paint that had peeled off at Mach .76. It was 4ft x 10ft. Needless to say the A/C went back for a touch up. The paint was Imron, but it was applied in MIA in an open hanger with no climate control. During the nite the dew had settled on the skin and they painted over the "wet" skin ! For you old guys the Midway maint. facility was located in "Gasoline Alley" at KMIA.

I feel pretty good as an amatuer painting my A/C as my paint has not peeled off !

RB

I used Imron AF400 Single Stage paint. I don't recommend it. It easily chips and is difficult to apply in hot weather. My paint shop buddy who paints a lot of planes recommends and uses JetGlo.

_________________
Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

My paint may be a mid grade paint, but it is very chip resistent. I have yet to see any chips in the paint ? My custom trailer that I use to trailer the A/C to the airport was painted with black Imron ( I did not paint it) and it already after 2 years shows signs of wear...chipping/flaking. I pressured washed the trailer and sprayed on a qt. of Rusto gloss black. Looks good.

RB

I have notice that myself Rich, it is durable,and it holds it's gloss. It will definitely give you a big bang for the buck.I think the paint cost me about 400bucks, they shipped it for free. Dan

N51863 was painted with Imron 30+ years ago, still looks like a fresh coat of paint. I don't think theres much argument on the durability of polyurethanes .. I personally don't use them due to the health risks.

Rich, if that trailer is showing signs of age after a couple of years someone had you ... It was not painted with Imron, the stuff is tough as nails!!! But then again toxic as hell...

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

I think it was not prepared properly for the paint. I suspect not degreased completely and I didn't see any evidence of a primer coat. He said it was Imron, but I don't having anyway of knowing for sure.

RB

There are about 10 different Imrons, ranging from the AF series for airplanes to industrial grades. I can buy Industrial "Imron" from the local sandbaster for about half of the price of the AF series. Makes you wonder about quality.

Lee said it, whatever you use make sure your filter cartridge will protect you, most of the good stuff will hurt you. I shot some Diamont 88 on a 53 Chevy, it was a 3 stage system and the clear just about got me, I was in a stooper for an hour. Protect those lungs and eyes, it's hard to do without either of em being in good shape.......Dan

Let us know when you have fully recovered from painting that 53 Chevy ! A funny thing about Imron. The State of Calif. would only let us use (Navy NAS North Island) 1 qt of the stuff in a certain period of time. We painted (touch up paint) our A/C in the hangar bay with the painter in full body suit and face mask fresh air respirator, but the rest of us could move around the hangar bay unprotected ? Even the office spaces were Ops normal ? I never did understand that logic ? To get around the C.A.R.B regulations (Calif Air Resource Board), we flew our A/C to NAS Dallas and we could paint the entire A/C with no regulation on the amount of paint used.

RB

So Chuck, what "color" of TCP white did you use? Suggestion? I'm looking for the brightest white and red available. I'll get a color chart, but even that might not be as good as seeing it in living color...

Les.