Comanche Needs a New Paint Job

Need a airplane painter for my Comanche

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Dean Chesnut

Dean Chesnut

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Dec 22, 2021
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Dean Chesnut
I am looking for a very reasonably inexpensive airplane painter. Will fly anywhere to them. DeanComanche.jpg
 
Cliff Weaver Circle W Restorations. 717 624 4248. Look to your left to see his work.
 
Dean Chesnut said:
I am looking for a very reasonably inexpensive airplane painter. Will fly anywhere to them.
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I hear you can get very inexpensive paint jobs in the Dominica Republic, but don’t remember the actual shop name.
 
Pilawt said:
Roger Zeledon, near Las Cruces NM, just painted my Six. It wasn't quick, but he did a terrific job. (575) 642-0966‬.

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Wow - That is NICE. How much did your paint job cost? Nice work - Dean
 
Scuff sand and paint it your self or hire a local automotive painter to spray. Airplane paint is auto paint. In my case I stripped myself which took about a week and then sprayed it with Imron. This was in 1981 and the paint is still OK except that I needed to touch up on wing leading edge due to erosion. One tip: spray in sections such as left wing and tarp, right wing and tarp sprayed portion, then nose half and finally tail. It is easy to do this on a metal plane since you have natural places to isolate the sections. This is to avoid same plane overspray and fatigue83y front left quarter.jpg . Cost? Probably a few thousand if you use low pressure spray guns.
 
if you don't see metal, don't strip the paint. Also, Alexseal has come out with a rolling additive that pretty much elimiates brush strokes. It's a Marine paint, top notch, that will definitely last in aviation.

You just need to sand, cut and buff after to get it laser straight.
 
midcap said:
if you don't see metal, don't strip the paint. Also, Alexseal has come out with a rolling additive that pretty much elimiates brush strokes. It's a Marine paint, top notch, that will definitely last in aviation.

You just need to sand, cut and buff after to get it laser straight.
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Boy, that stuff looks great! Low VOC so it's available everywhere, large color selection of metallics and can custom blend colors. 2k and 2k clear so it'll harden up. And the prices are good, probably on a par with Imron but the color choices are far superior. Wish I had heard about this before I re-sprayed my Jeep last spring.

After having shot several cars now, the only real concern I would have with shooting a plane is dry spray if not inside a hangar. Just a little direct sunlight can wreak havoc.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Boy, that stuff looks great! Low VOC so it's available everywhere, large color selection of metallics and can custom blend colors. 2k and 2k clear so it'll harden up. And the prices are good, probably on a par with Imron but the color choices are far superior. Wish I had heard about this before I re-sprayed my Jeep last spring.
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Used to use Imron alot, this stuff is was easier to work with, plus you don't need forced air respirator.
 
Assure it includes Control Surface Balancing to prevent surprises.

In flight or next Annual.
 
midcap said:
if you don't see metal, don't strip the paint. Also, Alexseal has come out with a rolling additive that pretty much elimiates brush strokes. It's a Marine paint, top notch, that will definitely last in aviation.

You just need to sand, cut and buff after to get it laser straight.
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I don't quite follow the intent of this post; are you saying skip the stripping and use brushes/rollers for the new paint job?
 
jbDC9 said:
I don't quite follow the intent of this post; are you saying skip the stripping and use brushes/rollers for the new paint job?
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if you don't want to spend a fortune, yes

there is zero reason to strip paint if there is no issue with adhesion. Piston planes aren't going to pebble beach for awards.

google Alexseal rolling additive.
 
I shopped around for quotes on painting my plane while at Osh last year. I only got one quote back, and while the price wasn't bad, after doing some quick google searches the paint shop didn't have the best reviews. Now, I get it, could be just a few out of many that will never be satisfied, but it kind of scared me off. I did fly to a "local" paint shop that has a very good reputation, I never did get a written quote from them, but guy that looked at my plane verbally quoted a "we don't want the job" price. The paint shops just didn't seem very hungry for business. I'm still looking.....
 
midcap said:
there is zero reason to strip paint if there is no issue with adhesion. Piston planes aren't going to pebble beach for awards.
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Weight.

Adhesion might not be an issue for 5 years but in 15 I guarantee a scuff job won't last as long as a full strip and repaint.
 
The full strip is only better IF done correctly.

Most stripper contains paraffin ( wax) .

If not removed completely from around rivets and seams the primer will

fail to adhere.

Once that’s done etching and alodining take place.

Some car painters are not familiar with aluminum and skip a process.

It then gets ugly.

If a DIY process is considered stripping lacquer off a belly will have

you regretting it.

Scuff n sand has problems too.

Using power sanders that remove rivet head markings is a biggie.

Suggest getting ALL the paint mfg directions and reading carefully.

You may find something in the process you can’t do.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Weight.

Adhesion might not be an issue for 5 years but in 15 I guarantee a scuff job won't last as long as a full strip and repaint.
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weight is negligible especially after the paint off gases

and you can't be sure of that it won't last as long, that's impossible to prove, you are comparing a known adhesion of coating to a new coating which may have contamination issues.
 
midcap said:
there is zero reason to strip paint if there is no issue with adhesion.
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Weight and film thickness come to mind as reasons. Excess weight is never good. Excess film thickness results in cracking paint when things flex.
 
midcap said:
weight is negligible
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Define negligible. There are ways to estimate final dry paint weights provided you can get the data. But a quick look at the Axel website I doubt the paint weight will not be negligible on a small single aircraft especially if you were to roll it on.
 
kyleb said:
Weight and film thickness come to mind as reasons. Excess weight is never good. Excess film thickness results in cracking paint when things flex.
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literally boat paint, boats flex bigly
 
Bell206 said:
Define negligible. There are ways to estimate final dry paint weights provided you can get the data. But a quick look at the Axel website I doubt the paint weight will not be negligible on a small single aircraft especially if you were to roll it on.
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we aren't painting a 747 here, 15 gallons pre dry for alexseal

30 lbs isn't gonna make of break the useful load.
 
Bell206 said:
Define negligible. There are ways to estimate final dry paint weights provided you can get the data. But a quick look at the Axel website I doubt the paint weight will not be negligible on a small single aircraft especially if you were to roll it on.
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And, paint on airplanes generally moves the CG aft. That's not usually a good thing.
 
Weight for my C-210 is almost never a problem as it has a huge CG range. I have been to a DA of 23,000 feet with moderate weight to stay above icy clouds and cruising quite well about 160 MPH TAS. Imron is very tough and I doubt it will crack. I also painted the Caddy in the pix twice by scuff sanding only and no cracking.

Another thing is to keep colors off of horizontal surfaces which invites much more sun damage. White fades to.....white.
 
midcap said:
30 lbs isn't gonna make of break the useful load.
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No. But if adding it to an existing paint job it could affect the useful load in the big picture. I've stripped/painted enough aircraft to see that. And as mentioned above, if you're not careful in the application or the layout scheme you can move the EW CG enough to affect the useful weight as well. Is there something that makes Axel advantageous over the current aviation products I'm not seeing?
 
GBSoren said:
I'm still looking.....
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FYI: Depending on how adventurous you and your APIA are, another option is to disassemble the aircraft and take the big pieces to a local paint shop. With the right plan, work place, and equipment it can offer a cost effect route to a great paint job. I went this route once the local EPA/airport rules started clamping down on various types of mx.
 
Lacquer loses weight when drying.

Polyurethanes cure and lose little weight.

Painting control surfaces can make the tail heavy and subject to “ flutter”.

Sorry I can’t send a link but google “ Commanche Tail,Flutter “

and then comment of it’s serious.

Trust your painter?
 
Bell206 said:
No. But if adding it to an existing paint job it could affect the useful load in the big picture. I've stripped/painted enough aircraft to see that. And as mentioned above, if you're not careful in the application or the layout scheme you can move the EW CG enough to affect the useful weight as well. Is there something that makes Axel advantageous over the current aviation products I'm not seeing?
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holy ****....you serious?
 
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