Ceramic Coating on Paint & Plexiglass, & Paint Shop PIREP

[JohnAJohnson]

Plane is fresh out of the shop with new paint and plexiglass all around, and I'm thinking about applying Ceramic on the gear doors, front of cowling, leading edges, etc., and am also wondering if the Ceramic coating will harm the plexiglass. Please share your experiences!

Paint and Plexiglass were both done by Wiregrass Airplane Co in Florala AL. The workmanship is spectacular and I recommend the shop without reservation. They have a waiting list of a year or so but it is worth the wait. This was a full strip and paint with four colors, no decals (all paint for everything). There was a fair amount of filler - They smoothed out areas I would have never noticed or cared about. Cost was $12,500, and shop labor for plexiglass and other non paint items (both guys are IAs) was $55/hour.

 

[3393RP]

Looks great.

 

[AggieMike88]

Very nice. Scheme and color look awesome.

Regarding what to do on the plexi and paint, your local top end automotive wrap and custom shop might be a source of information. In the Tesla groups I haunt, many new owners report having it done and their shops providing reliable info in addition to quality product/workmanship

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Thanks RP and Mike

 

[Jumpmaster]

That looks very nice

 

[frfly172]

Nice looking airplane

 

[NordicDave]

Fantastic looking paint.

 

[Possum]

Plane is fresh out of the shop with new paint and plexiglass all around, and I'm thinking about applying Ceramic on the gear doors, front of cowling, leading edges, etc., and am also wondering if the Ceramic coating will harm the plexiglass. Please share your experiences!

Paint and Plexiglass were both done by Wiregrass Airplane Co in Florala AL. The workmanship is spectacular and I recommend the shop without reservation. They have a waiting list of a year or so but it is worth the wait. This was a full strip and paint with four colors, no decals (all paint for everything). There was a fair amount of filler - They smoothed out areas I would have never noticed or cared about. Cost was $12,500, and shop labor for plexiglass and other non paint items (both guys are IAs) was $55/hour.

View attachment 75670

Looks great!!!! Thanks for posting the price. Question, How long did it take the paint shop to complete the job???????

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Looks great!!!! Thanks for posting the price. Question, How long did it take the paint shop to complete the job???????

Thanks Possum. They originally had me on the schedule Q4 this year and claimed 8-12 week turn around, but they called in April and said they could squeeze me in if I wasn't in any big hurry to get it back. Their main business is A&P work maintaining a string of dusters/banner planes (and they also have local clients) and this was their busy time of year for that. I wasn't in a big hurry since I'm doing interior and avionics right now too. I had planned on doing the plexiglass (prior to paint) myself but instead, I brought it to them and had them do all 8 windows and all the external antennas with new low drag types that I supplied. I did put new fiberglass tips on the wings, stabilator, fin, and rudder before I brought it to them, and removed all the interior since I wanted them to paint the jambs, etc. The airplane was jacked, the gear swung, run-up, and blessed "done" 10 weeks after I delivered it to them. Not too bad at all for the amount of work they did in addition to the paint job.

 

[bluerooster]

Fine looking Cardinal. I want a Cardinal, no need for RG, just the strut gone is enough for me.

 

[Possum]

Thanks Possum. They originally had me on the schedule Q4 this year and claimed 8-12 week turn around, but they called in April and said they could squeeze me in if I wasn't in any big hurry to get it back. Their main business is A&P work maintaining a string of dusters/banner planes (and they also have local clients) and this was their busy time of year for that. I wasn't in a big hurry since I'm doing interior and avionics right now too. I had planned on doing the plexiglass (prior to paint) myself but instead, I brought it to them and had them do all 8 windows and all the external antennas with new low drag types that I supplied. I did put new fiberglass tips on the wings, stabilator, fin, and rudder before I brought it to them, and removed all the interior since I wanted them to paint the jambs, etc. The airplane was jacked, the gear swung, run-up, and blessed "done" 10 weeks after I delivered it to them. Not too bad at all for the amount of work they did in addition to the paint job.

Thanks for the information. Did you design the paint scheme yourself?????

 

[JohnAJohnson]

Thanks for the information. Did you design the paint scheme yourself?????

Negative, I don't have any creativity. Wife picked the exterior colors and I picked the interior colors, which was the easy part - all black (seats, carpet, trim, headliner, everything).