REFLECTOR: RE: AWLgrip Paint Times
Scott Derrick
scott at tnstaafl.net
Sun Jun 19 09:04:54 CDT 2005
Bob,
I need to build a wing jig to paint my wings. What supports the end of
the wing when you rotate the jig while your painting?
Scott
Bob Jackson wrote:
> Hello Ronnie,
>
> Thanks for the idea about a two step process with walk boards over the
> strakes -- I think that might work.
>
> Concerning AWLgrip recoat times (I'm not sure why I'm capitalizing it
> that way, but I like the way it looks!) -- there are actually two
> separate key times, first what I would call the "coat continuation"
> time, and second the "recoat without sanding" time. We have found the
> "coat continuation" time to be about 1 hour (in Florida during the
> spring at least). The "recoat without sanding" time is about 24 hours.
>
> "Coat continuation" means that you could paint a portion of the a coat
> (like say the fuselage top), then remove the walk boards, clean-up,
> and then continue completing the coat onto the strakes and fuselage
> bottom, provided you don't wait more than about an hour to continue on
> with the strakes and bottom. Otherwise, the paint "seam" between the
> fuselage top and strakes will not blend together.
>
> "Recoat without sanding" means that you can paint a second coat
> anytime up to about 24 hours without having to sand between coats.
> AWLgrip experts have told us (as rookies) to take advantage of the 24
> hour recoat time (rather than trying to shoot all two or three coats
> spaced an hour or so apart) in order to minimize problems with runs.
> The weight of the second and third coats seems to be cumulative so
> that you will be more likely to get runs using quicker recoat times.
>
> We seem to get the best results by spraying a complete coat in one
> step (i.e., not relying on the coat continuation "grace period"), and
> even doing these coats in a single pass (i.e., not painting one pass,
> then a second immediate pass perpendicular to the first). This is a
> dangerous approach because you have to get the full amount of paint on
> in the single pass (and this risks putting on too much and getting
> runs), but it produces the least amount of orange peel and gives the
> "deepest" looking and shiniest result. With AWLgrip you cannot paint
> light coats (as for example you would generally think of for a first
> "tack coat") otherwise these sparse spray particles become the "seeds"
> for more prevalent orange peel on the second pass. At least in
> Florida, we've also found that you have to use a higher percentage of
> reducer (like around 30%) than advertised in order to minimize orange
> peel.
>
> With AWLgrip there is a critical balance between the "drys" (not
> getting enough paint on), too much orange peel (for the reasons
> described above), and runs (which can not be be repaired as you would
> traditionally by sanding out the run, re-top-coating in a local area,
> then buffing out the boundaries) because AWLgrip is more like a
> plastic and cannot be buffed. What this means is that if you get a
> run, you either have to live with it or resand the surface being
> painted and repaint. Of the three types of errors, the pros seem to
> consider runs as the least objectionable.
>
> I don't think you will be able to paint the bottom of the fuselage,
> let it dry, then paint the top (as you've described below) unless you
> don't mind having an obvious oversprayed, rough boundary between the
> two areas. We're doing all our painting with all parts (wings,
> fuselage, canard, etc.) disassembled. We created a jig so we can
> paint the tops and bottoms of the wings in a single pass, which has
> worked well except for the drys/orange peel/runs problems described
> above. Here's a shot of our wing painting rig (you will need to have
> your Email program setup in HTML mode to view the photo embedded in
> this message, otherwise it should appear as an attachment):
>
> AWLgrip painted wing, with a pipe through a hole in the sawhorse to
> support the wing tip
>
> Primer-painted wing, showing the wing root end of the paint jig, which
> is free to rotate in the 2x6 hole
>
> AWLgrip is used on boats and on airplanes (by Cessna and Airbus, among
> others). It is a great paint with outstanding durability and beauty,
> but because it is painted in a single step (no clear top coating
> afterwards, and no ability to patch and buff in corrections) it has
> been very hard, at least for us, to get right. We painted, sanded
> down and re-painted one wing five times and are still not really happy
> with the result, but admittedly we are rooky painters! I guess that's
> why they call us experimental/home builders! We would rather have a
> paint job that we've done ourselves -- including some imperfections --
> than a professional looking job done by someone else. At least next
> time we paint the fence it should come out looking better!
>
> Please let us know how yours goes and what new techniques you may
> discover,
> Bob Jackson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* reflector-bounces at tvbf.org
> [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org]*On Behalf Of *Ron Brown
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 18, 2005 9:44 PM
> *To:* bobj at computer.org; Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
> *Subject:* Re: REFLECTOR: Set-Up to Paint (Top of) Fuselage
>
> Hi Bob,
>
> I'm also in the process of painting and I am going to use
> Awlgrip. My understanding is that you put on a second coat within
> an hour or so of the first. I was planning to use a couple of
> step ladders and a walk board over the strake, paint the top, then
> clean up the strake and paint the top of the strake and the rest
> of the fuselage. I don't think there will be any problems as long
> as the adjoining areas are painted in an hour or two of the last
> coat.
>
> The product sheet says "Recoatability - spray applications consist
> of two to three coats applied over 1-4 hours."
>
> Have you painted your wings yet?
>
> My plan is to paint the bottom of each wing, one at a time. Then
> paint the bottom of the canard and cowls. Then the fuselage
> bottom. I am planning to tilt the fuselage up and let the back of
> the engine rest on a stool so that I can paint the bottom. I
> figure I can tilt the fuselage up about 45 degrees. Then
> depending on how lousy of a shooter I am, I'll shoot or hire
> someone to shoot the tops. Then the top of the wings and top of
> the fuselage.
>
> Let me know - or I'll let you know in a couple of weeks how it goes.
>
> Anybody else that has been there - done that can chime in!!!
>
> Ronnie
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Bob Jackson <mailto:bobj at computer.org>
> *To:* Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders List
> <mailto:reflector at tvbf.org>
> *Cc:* Bob Jackson (Home) <mailto:bobj at computer.org>
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 18, 2005 9:10 PM
> *Subject:* REFLECTOR: Set-Up to Paint (Top of) Fuselage
>
> Could someone give us some ideas on how you painted your
> fuselage, please? We've created a 'jig' to suspend (without
> gear) our plane in a wings level, or slightly nose-up or
> down attitude, but now we're wondering what kind of
> scaffolding arrangement others have created to allow them to
> reach and cover the very top of the fuselage. We're using
> AWLgrip, which is great paint if you can get it on, but it has
> to be put on in a single pass -- once it's on, you can't go
> back, sand out runs or blemishes or blend in a patch top coat
> in small areas.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob Jackson
>
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