Hanger Wheel Line Paint Recommendation

ARFlyer

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ARFlyer
I'm starting to get tired of having to sight clearances when trying to park two 172s in a small hanger. So I thought I'd add wheel lines, wheel boxes, and propeller warning boxes to the hanger floor.

Which type of paint do y'all recommend? Also whats the easiest and cheapest way to make it look nice? Just tape it off or just have a steady hand?
 
Get red paint and one thin brush. Dip the brush in the red paint and dribble it on the floor in the approximate area of the prop. Tell visitors that the last person to visit got a little too close to the prop.....


Or, park the planes in the hanger where everything comes out close to where you think you want it. Use colored duct tape. After many trial and errors and finally everything lines up the way you want it, then paint.

And why a prop box in the hangar, are you planning to run the engine inside?
 
Depends on where you live, but for me duct tape wouldn't come close to cutting it.

It's also ideal to have the lines come out of the hangar a little ways, allowing you to get lined up before you're already inside the hangar, where the damage would be done.

For the instance I have, we have 3 lines, one is a center line for the third wheel, with a line across for the stop point, then two lines for the mains, now these two lines are not for the mains to be on, they are the max that the mains can be off without hitting anything, so as long as your mains aren't outside of these two lines, you're safe.

Paint wise this is the stuff, maybe you can buy or rent the little cart, makes a long lasting, even in extreme weather, professional crisp line.

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I also don't get the point of a prop box
 
I used just regular old Rustoleum paint in a can. I parked my plane where I wanted it (which was so I can walk around it and the nose cleared the hangar door) and then taped off with wide masking tape. I pulled the plane out and sprayed the lines (which extended out of the hangar for about 4') and boxes for the wheels.
 
I prefer overhead markings like a chain or rope hanging down as aim points. They are easy to see when pushing and you keep the tail lined up until your nose is in a taped box. Much easier to revise when needed.
 
I used just regular old Rustoleum paint in a can. I parked my plane where I wanted it (which was so I can walk around it and the nose cleared the hangar door) and then taped off with wide masking tape. I pulled the plane out and sprayed the lines (which extended out of the hangar for about 4') and boxes for the wheels.

+1 for this method, regular old can of spray paint inside the masked area. Lasted the 10+ years I was in the hangar
 
Whatever spray paint is sitting on the bench, whichever one will still spray. I did my minimum-door-opening lines with black hi-temp exhaust paint.

It ain't worth overthinking. Repeat if it wears away too quickly.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Ask the airport management if they have anything. Sometimes they'll do it for free, especially if they're getting ready to restripe other taxiway markings.

Otherwise, Striping paint at your local hardware store will do the trick. A piece of colored duct tape on the backside of the hangar is a good idea too.

Agree that a prop box seems unnecessary.
 
Get some Radioluminescence paint. Glows in the dark, chicks dig that I guess.
 
OK, I give. Googles says "Prop boxes" are groups of dramatic play materials that are organized around specific themes. Those themes range from simple subjects like the beach or the farm to the more complex bank, dentist, or science lab."

I'm guessing that's not what you guys are talking about? :dunno:
 
OK, I give. Googles says "Prop boxes" are groups of dramatic play materials that are organized around specific themes. Those themes range from simple subjects like the beach or the farm to the more complex bank, dentist, or science lab."

I'm guessing that's not what you guys are talking about? :dunno:
Oh, and if you ARE, then I agree it seems unnecessary in a hangar! :biggrin:
 
The following won't help Andrew (the OP) but it may be beneficial to those with typical t-hangars (well, item "b" may actually help him a bit).

a) Rather than stripe the floor I've found that I'm far better off to put a piece of bright tape at the bottom of the door, centered (if it's a bi-fold) and then one up high on the back wall of the hangar, centered. Just aim the tail at the stripe on the door and then once it passes the door aim it at the stripe in the back wall of the hangar.

b) if you must stripe the floor, then stripe one of the main gear's paths, not the nosewheel. I prefer the right main.

I've found it to be far easier to maintain C/L of the hangar using one the the above because the tail and main gear tell you where you're going. The nosewheel tells you where you've been.
 
Colored duct tape. Lasts a long time and is far easier to modify if you need to make changes later.

Yeah that might work.

And why a prop box in the hangar, are you planning to run the engine inside?

My boss is very particular about people being around the propeller.

The issue with doing ropes or other visual guide on the back wall is the fact one of the planes has to go in straight then angled to avoid a staircase and a electrical box. Plus I'm having to push the aircraft up a pretty good slope and I can't often see the back wall.
 
I don't have stripes, but I have boxes for tires. Blue painter's tape. On a broom finished concrete floor, after being stepped on and rolled over a few time, they are well stuck, but can removed relatively easily, compared to paint. Might not work so well on slick polished floor.
 
I don't have stripes, but I have boxes for tires. Blue painter's tape. On a broom finished concrete floor, after being stepped on and rolled over a few time, they are well stuck, but can removed relatively easily, compared to paint. Might not work so well on slick polished floor.

I have a smooth concrete floor with epoxy paint. I also use painters tape and it works just fine. Biggest problem was getting old tape off after a few years when we rearranged the hangar after selling the Bo. (But likely easier than dealing with paint :) )
 
@ARFlyer. datapoint

Slick floor. Tape 3 years old. 421 that leaks oil like a sieve. Holding up okay considering the amount of oil that's been dumped on it:
IMG_20161026_083531159.jpg
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IMG_20161026_083544054.jpg

Same slick floor. Tape 2 years old. 182s that don't leak. Looks almost as good as the day I installed it:
IMG_20161026_083558667.jpg
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IMG_20161026_083609680.jpg
 
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I'm in a county-owned hangar. I took a can of whatever was in the hangar...either white or bright orange. Sprayed fromwhere the nose wheel was parked out to the middle of the area between the rows of hangars. Didn't worry if it was super straight or not. If and when the airport gets around to striping, I'll be amazed. Its promised new striping in the hangar area for years, hasn't happend.

But its spending a fortune trying to become the Spaceport in Colorado.

Call me when that happens.
 
the guy who had the hangar before me put duct tape on the floor. I've had the hangar 6 years, and the tape is still there.
 
We use hazard yellow tape (material a bit tougher than duct tape) to mark the aisles in our manufacturing facility. They get run over with forklifts and pallet jacks with 4-10K lbs steel blocks loaded on them all day long. We sometimes have to replace small sections of it every 6-9 months, but I don't think that would be much of an issue with a 2K lbs aircraft with pneumatic tires being pulled in/out a few times a week. Definitely easier to change/remove if the situation calls for it.
 
Duct tape is holding up OK on my floor which is slowly returning to nature, gets wet when it rains, and has a coating of ice on it for much of the winter.
 
We use hazard yellow tape (material a bit tougher than duct tape) to mark the aisles in our manufacturing facility. They get run over with forklifts and pallet jacks with 4-10K lbs steel blocks loaded on them all day long. We sometimes have to replace small sections of it every 6-9 months, but I don't think that would be much of an issue with a 2K lbs aircraft with pneumatic tires being pulled in/out a few times a week. Definitely easier to change/remove if the situation calls for it.
The correct name for it is "lane marking tape". Same stuff used on gymnasium floors. (I used to work for a tape company)
 
The correct name for it is "lane marking tape". Same stuff used on gymnasium floors. (I used to work for a tape company)

I'm in Accounting/Finance, it's referred to as "other factory supplies" as far as I'm concerned, lol!
 
+1 for Tim's tape proposal. We bought 3M General Purpose Vinyl Tape 764 in Orange.

Removing tape will be a lot easier when you want / have to remove the markings one day.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I have a suggestion that was not previously listed. I just repainted the lines in our hangar. I went to Lowe's looking for the striping paint mentioned above, but although the system showed a case in stock, it was nowhere to be found. Instead, I opted for a foam roller and John Deere Yellow Tractor Enamel.
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We use hazard yellow tape (material a bit tougher than duct tape) to mark the aisles in our manufacturing facility. They get run over with forklifts and pallet jacks with 4-10K lbs steel blocks loaded on them all day long. We sometimes have to replace small sections of it every 6-9 months, but I don't think that would be much of an issue with a 2K lbs aircraft with pneumatic tires being pulled in/out a few times a week. Definitely easier to change/remove if the situation calls for it.
APT, Multi Color Marking Tape, Premium Safety Marking and Dance Floor Splicing Tape, 6 mil Thick (1 Roll, Yellow) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCJMQ19/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_KAWMJSCMS4FAWE1N9FE3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
 
I used just regular old Rustoleum paint in a can. I parked my plane where I wanted it (which was so I can walk around it and the nose cleared the hangar door) and then taped off with wide masking tape. I pulled the plane out and sprayed the lines (which extended out of the hangar for about 4') and boxes for the wheels.
:yeahthat:
 
And why a prop box in the hangar, are you planning to run the engine inside?
Its a good question. I'm for it. Forgive me for a moment of hyper sensitivity. A good friend had a prop strike to the head inside a hangar. He was showing off a Cessna 177RG to friends & family. Somebody touched the prop. It kicked over and Dave was inside the arc. He survived, but it took years to make something like a comeback. I'm not being pickey and its a rare event, but Dave was a good friend.
 
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Sorry for Dave's misfortune.
"Somebody" did a lot more than "touched the prop." I'd like to hear the story.
 
Sorry for Dave's misfortune.
"Somebody" did a lot more than "touched the prop." I'd like to hear the story.
Sure. Dave's day job was a CH-54 Skycrane driver. He was showing off his favorite ride at the Ft Benning Aero club hangar. A C-177RG. I leaned to our Mooney and Cherokee. As I said, He was inside the prop arc and it fired hitting his head. I do not recall the findings. The possible factors are: Faulty P-leads (bad mag ground) and the last one to fly it shut it down with the mag switch, not starve the engine with the mixture control.

I always shut down by pulling the red knob till it stops. Mags off. When I went into helicopters it was the Hiller OH-23D (civ model 12D). It had no mixture for the Lyc O 540, so the checklist said " Fuel Valve off. (wait 60-90 seconds). Mags Off". Also, all the military checklists (recip) had an addition to the mag checks. The grounding check. After checking R, L & Both, go to idle and momentarily check L Off, Off then R Off and look for the interruption. Did that for all the military TCM, Lycs, Pratts & Wrights that I flew. Write it up if it failed the grounding check. A prop box on the deck is a nice thought. A "Hands off" sign on the prop also works if a lot of non-pilots are milling about. I wince when I see someone pull a plane by the prop.

Anyone remember Max Conrad ? He was the Pilot that did all those record long range flights for Piper in about all their models. He did that after recovering from a prop strike to the head.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I have a suggestion that was not previously listed. I just repainted the lines in our hangar. I went to Lowe's looking for the striping paint mentioned above, but although the system showed a case in stock, it was nowhere to be found. Instead, I opted for a foam roller and John Deere Yellow Tractor Enamel.
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Did you tape the lines to get them straight or just used your steady hand?
 
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