Aircraft paint prices 2019-2020

MooneyDriver78 said:
They are on my short list of places to call when I pull the trigger, I very much would like a PIREP when job is complete...PM if you want it to remain private.
TIA

Tom
Click to expand...

Hello Tom.
So far Bruno, the gen mgr has been great. Has sent me pics of the project at each stage. Sat with me for all the time required to detail the paint scheme. I’ll be glad to post the final product with PIREP. PM not needed on my end 1F985527-2E20-40E0-AE31-743A2B333750.jpeg BED8D49E-4A80-4466-A2C2-E3DB53700DCB.jpeg unless your preference. The cat is out of the bag. Here’s the latest pics Bruno sent yesterday. sent yesterday.
 
n2230b said:
Hello Tom.
So far Bruno, the gen mgr has been great. Has sent me pics of the project at each stage. Sat with me for all the time required to detail the paint scheme. I’ll be glad to post the final product with PIREP. PM not needed on my end View attachment 81626 View attachment 81627 unless your preference. The cat is out of the bag. Here’s the latest pics Bruno sent yesterday. sent yesterday.
Click to expand...

Thanks, why did they take off the winglets? I thought they just would remove the plexiglass covers?


Tom
 
I am glad that the paint job is going well. I always thought Commanders were beautiful planes. I would love to have a freshly painted one.

Just to comment on some assumptions / misinformation in this thread:

That airplane is NOT being sprayed where it sits in that large hangar with other planes. It is being sprayed in a paint booth (which might be in that hangar, or elsewhere). Planes go in and out of the paint booth many times in the process.

As to painting yourself in your hangar, it CAN be done. I have painted three planes and one car in my hangar and I challenge you to find evidence that any painting was ever done in there. An no complaints from neighbors. You just have to build a booth in the hangar with control of air in and out. For me this meant disposable furnace filters on the intake, and filters before a fan for the output. Yes it takes time and effort and on a dollar per hour you won't save much if any money. But if it's something you want to do then you can get good results. I make much more per hour in my day job than it would cost to pay a paint shop--the planes I've painted are either ones I have built or restored and I wanted to paint them as part of the process. My paint jobs have been admired on the airport, and people have asked me to paint their planes. I politely decline. Have had a couple people be pretty persistent, so I just then give them a quote, but I quote the labor hours at my "day job" rate and thats the end of that...
 
Last edited:
Snowmass said:
This discussion makes we wonder about forum posters. Are you guys all too old to try something new in life? The advantages of DIY painting are huge yet no one seems to even show interest. For example many will take on building an entire kit plane which is vastly more time consuming but a few weeks painting your own plane seems out of the question even though you could use your A&P and a local auto painter to help you. It s really not that difficult.
Click to expand...

I know more than a few RV builders, and I've been in HBC camping at OSH more than once... It's not hard to tell who DIY'ed the paint and who paid for pros to paint or wrap.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," as the saying goes.
 
Kevin Holbrook said:
I am glad that the paint job is going well. I always thought Commanders were beautiful planes. I would love to have a freshly painted one.

Just to comment on some assumptions / misinformation in this thread:

That airplane is NOT being sprayed where it sits in that large hangar with other planes. It is being sprayed in a paint booth (which might be in that hangar, or elsewhere). Planes go in and out of the paint booth many times in the process.

As to painting yourself in your hangar, it CAN be done. I have painted three planes and one car in my hangar and I challenge you to find evidence that any painting was ever done in there. An no complaints from neighbors. You just have to build a booth in the hangar with control of air in and out. For me this meant disposable furnace filters on the intake, and filters before a fan for the output. Yes it takes time and effort and on a dollar per hour you won't save much if any money. But if it's something you want to do then you can get good results. I make much more per hour in my day job than it would cost to pay a paint shop--the planes I've painted are either ones I have built or restored and I wanted to paint them as part of the process. My paint jobs have been admired on the airport, and people have asked me to paint their planes. I politely decline. Have had a couple people be pretty persistent, so I just then give them a quote, but I quote the labor hours at my "day job" rate and thats the end of that...
Click to expand...

Thanks Kevin,

You are correct they have 2 hangars one paint, one prep. But they do paint large coorporate jets in the big hangar.
I think it takes great patience to paint. As in multiple thin coats. More like art than labor. I'm afraid I don't have the temperament. Also the prep is the key and I think that is the hardest part. Although I haven't had any opportunity to try. I'd like to learn to weld and paint.
So many projects/so little time.
Regards,
 
Ravioli said:
I know more than a few RV builders, and I've been in HBC camping at OSH more than once... It's not hard to tell who DIY'ed the paint and who paid for pros to paint or wrap.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," as the saying goes.
Click to expand...

A DIY'er can do a great job. But only if s/he is prepared to put in the work. I'm still very proud of my airplane's paint 19 years down the road.
 
kyleb said:
A DIY'er can do a great job. But only if s/he is prepared to put in the work. I'm still very proud of my airplane's paint 19 years down the road.
Click to expand...

And if you have the expertise, like I never thought of having to remove the winglets. Also, the degree of difficulty goes significantly between painting a virgin plane versus a 30+ year old plane.
For example, on my plane, they painted the comm antenna, which I have been told is a nono. This was a shop, not a DIY job.


Tom
 
Just got paint for a 172s, white with 3 tone graphics, 12,500 in Mena AR.
 
Just bought 1 quart of blue paint today. $250. no reducer, no catalyst, just 1 quart of color.
 
Almost done
 

Attachments

  • DEF7DFBA-6370-4A5B-A803-914B15C12C93.jpeg
    DEF7DFBA-6370-4A5B-A803-914B15C12C93.jpeg
    217.4 KB · Views: 122
  • 5005A72F-7325-4D95-A683-68944B2280D5.jpeg
    5005A72F-7325-4D95-A683-68944B2280D5.jpeg
    224.4 KB · Views: 106
  • 256EB12D-5BF7-414B-A371-182BB7690B43.jpeg
    256EB12D-5BF7-414B-A371-182BB7690B43.jpeg
    214.3 KB · Views: 110
  • 8ED792E8-8CBF-4DAE-BB6D-2405B0221EE2.jpeg
    8ED792E8-8CBF-4DAE-BB6D-2405B0221EE2.jpeg
    185.8 KB · Views: 108
That is one beautiful airplane. I love the colors and the elegant simplicity of the design. You are going to turn heads every where you fly!
 
Bell206 said:
Having been the A&P on a number of DIY paint jobs it usually has nothing to do with difficulty on the owner side. Rather it's the lack of facilities available to the owner to disassemble their aircraft. Quite a few public owned airports prohibit "heavy mx" in their "storage" hangars. So for most owners their only option is to fly it to a airport based paint shop.
Click to expand...

That.

Being a guy that does pretty much everything in life myself, I'd love to paint my own. Problem is, I have no idea where I could do it. I could probably pull it off in my hangar, but as heavy mx is prohibited, I would be in breach of my contract if anybody came sniffing around.
 
Home again for about one week now. Okeechobee Painting Center did an absolutely outstanding job. The attention to detail, the attentive ear to what I wanted to accomplish, keeping me in the loop with pics, thoroughness of prep and prime, Gen. Mgr. Bruno’s responsiveness and enthusiasm and the superb craftsmanship and mirror finish of the final product were phenomenal. Good luck finding this kind of result in 2020 SOFLA. would recommend this shop without reservation.EB61B5B8-AE3C-4E9A-ACEA-19C11B2BF081.jpegE7965C44-B55B-4DAB-B90C-4CD1BDEB4B63.jpeg
 
I wonder what these professional paint shops are using for stripper now? Everything I've tried blows! I came across one store that had some leftover Methylene Chloride based stripper and bought all their remaining inventory but am starting to run low.
 
I'm contemplating renting out a hangar, making a poor mans paint booth (out of tarp with blowers), purchase paint gun ($500), paint remover, and other chemicals, (~$700), air compressor 13-15 CFM, ($1500), filters, dehumidifiers, etc ($500), EXOTIC PAINT (2 tone -Metallic finish with clear coat) ($600 for 2-3 gal) and maybe about a months time for work. Maybe even request assistance of a guy that does cars - I'm guessing it would come under $5000 for a really good paint job that you have full control on. Not to mention spending atleast 100+ hours on this project.

Real question is how much is your time worth?

Let me know if you guys think above numbers are unrealistic?
 
Grum.Man said:
I wonder what these professional paint shops are using for stripper now? Everything I've tried blows! I came across one store that had some leftover Methylene Chloride based stripper and bought all their remaining inventory but am starting to run low.
Click to expand...

Tried Klean-strip Aircraft Paint Remover?
 
Grum.Man said:
I wonder what these professional paint shops are using for stripper now? Everything I've tried blows! I came across one store that had some leftover Methylene Chloride based stripper and bought all their remaining inventory but am starting to run low.
Click to expand...
I’ve been told they use a debonder, that break the bonds the paint has on the aluminum, and it literally falls off. Don’t know what they use on fiberglass or composite.
 
Grum.Man said:
I wonder what these professional paint shops are using for stripper now?
Click to expand...
FYI: You need to look on the commercial end. Trying searching under "aircraft depainting." For the past 20 years have used products from Solvent Kleene as the technologies have changed. The strippers are in most cases non-hazardous and can ship standard mail. Now it's the lead-based aircraft paint you remove that makes the scraps hazmat. I also found Klean-Strip works on older Acrylics but not high-solids or powder coats.
 
Would you guys consider painting your aircraft in Monterrey, Mexico? I've noticed big savings with ALE SC
 
InterXtra said:
Would you guys consider painting your aircraft in Monterrey, Mexico? I've noticed big savings with ALE SC
Click to expand...

I’ve heard the same about DR.
The problem is a paint job can look good at first, but if chemicals aren’t properly cleaned off, etc you can have problems later.


Tom
 
Doing a bit of research it appears several places are using Hybrid-Strip from Hybrid Aero. I tried e-mailing them and it was returned deliverable. Tried calling as well and didn't get through nor got a call back.
 
PLANE_1.jpg IMG_79.jpg Backe old paint.JPG DSCN1194.JPG Try again...painted at Tejas n San Marcos
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top