Thorp Air Command - T18.net

Dean: We need pics of your paint progress no matter how painful it is ! I know "Pappy" Dan is more than up to the task !

RB

LOL. Okay! I will see what I can do. I really made a mess of the fiberglass and I am now paying for it. I will try to post some pics soon

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Dean Cuke
Visalia, California
N772DM
KVIS

No problem "Pappy" Dan is a whiz with fiberglass ! The goo runs thru his veins !

RB

We have had a good time workin on Deans airplane, he did a fantastic job setting up a ventalated booth, Dean has done all the hard work and I have stood around drinking sweet tea and snorting the fumes. The glass needed some work but Dean is doing fine he's just modest. The ole Black mamba is lookin more like white lightnin now. .......Dan

A good time painting an AC ? I had a better time going thru SERE School ! Probably an easier process with two of you sharing the pain rather than just me in the driveway trying to keep the paint hose off the fresh paint ! I know there are no "Barley Pops" involved , but with the AU fumes you will sleep well at nite !

RB

Ok, Rich. Here are a few pics of the painting process. My garage is now turned into a fully-functioning paint bay (shhhh! don't tell the EPA). So far so good. I am thinking that once I am finished hanging airplane parts from the ceiling, that I might use the hangers to cure some meat.

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Dean Cuke
Visalia, California
N772DM
KVIS

Dean : Looks like you did a great job setting up the paint "Booth ." I tired to do a similar set up with a HF portable garage , but there was not enough light and I was tripping over the paint hose and the "fresh Air" hood with it's hose ! Kick it all to the curb and went to open air driveway ! From the initial pics you have a good finish on the parts ! Do not worry about any orange peel or runs as they can be wet sanded out and then buffed . White is a good color and along with some vinyl graphics it will look great . It is a LOT of work , but in the end you will be proud you did it yourself ! I wouldn't worry about the EPA , but your wife with all the over spray !

RB

I just saw the chair ? Is that for Dan to sit in and suck in the fumes ? He could you a few minutes in the "chair" to straighten out his "disposition !" Dan...you know I am kidding ! You don't need the chair !

RB

What are you using for a ventilation system?

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Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

Here here now, I have to have that chair, I point the gun and pull the trigger, Dean then waves the part around in front of the paint stream whilst Im sitting in the chair drinking my Iced tea and holding the gun with the trigger depressed. You auta watch this process, Dean moves faster than a cat!! works up a sweat he does!!.....at the end of each session of spraying IM tuckered out, holding that trigger whilst sitting in that chair drinking tea is hard work. There is filtered air going in the booth via a HVAC filter, can be seen in picture 4, a carboard box duct then ends outside the garage door with a box fan to keep a suction on the booth. Dan

A mask with filters are not effective with the new paints, full face mask with outside air source is best. We had a fellow here in Florida that built a booth ,painted his plane without any protection , finished the plane ,walked outside the booth and promply fell over dead

Wow!! no protection is not good that's for sure Bill, The mask that we use are quite effective we do protect ourselves, Urathane is not something to mess with. I shot a gallon of Diamont in a booth at another time and I think the rating on my mask was not right as it gave me a headache. I agree any of the high VOC stuff can kill you especially if don't have any protection at all, the stuff is deadly.....Dan

Bill's right... with the isocyanates in polyurethane paints, there isn't a self-contained filter mask made that can give adequate protection. At least that was the case when I painted my Thorp. You need a remote air supply & full "hood". The stuff is absorbed through the skin also, so you really need to cover up. Don't take the warning lightly - even if you don't appear to have symptoms right away it builds up in your body. NOT GOOD!

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John Evens
Arvada, Colorado
T-18 N71JE (sold)
Kitfox 7 SS N27JE

I did a little research after my last post, & found out that the proper type of self-contained respirator CAN now be used for isocyanate protection. As I said, it was well known that this wasn't the case when I painted my airplane. It is important to carefully calculate when to change out the cartridges, using manufacturer-supplied info & recommendations, since there are not necessarily any obvious symptoms of exposure soon enough when a cartridge is no longer effective. I'm glad this topic came up. Skin protection is still a must!

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John Evens
Arvada, Colorado
T-18 N71JE (sold)
Kitfox 7 SS N27JE

I think (hope?) that I finally finished prepping all of the fiberglass pieces. They should all be ready for priming tomorrow.
I did make sure that the masks that Dan and I used for painting were safe to use with isocyanates. We also have fresh outside (filtered) air with a powerful outtake ventilator (also filtered) to keep the paint bay clean and keep the air moving. The outtake filter needs to be replaced about every 3 hours of painting as it clogs up pretty quickly. Fresh outside air, clean filters, ventilation and proper face masks are not only helpful but critical.

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Dean Cuke
Visalia, California
N772DM
KVIS