Paint estimates for 2008 Cessna 182T?

Sachin

Sachin

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imsachin
My club's 182T is due for a paint job, and I'm gathering some numbers...got estimates from one shop in MD for $19K and another in PA for $16K. Never done this before, so not sure if these numbers are ballpark?

Nothing special, just a regular paint job using vanilla pattern and colors.
 
Devil is in the details. Strip and repaint? New windows? Certain colors do cost more, but the most laborious part is the prep. If you're spending money to strip, repair any fiberglass, tape everything off, alodine, prime, paint base etc. Might as well spend a little more and get exactly what you want as far as color and scheme. It doesn't take that much longer to make a scheme and doesn't take any longer for a premium color. Labor is the most expensive part. Nasty job. If it's in writing it should mention details. If it's verbal, its ballpark.

10 or so years ago the pa32 was stripped and painted. Was around 14k for 4 colors. White, black, gold, and silver. Only the silver looks more like a gun metal grey and the gold needed more metallic. Might re spray those one of these days.
 
I just got an estimate for 21k to paint my Musketeer. Sounds like you have found a bargain.
 
I think we'll have to strip and paint...the paint is stripping around rivets already and bare skin is showing. Its especially bad on the top of the wings, so that may be our only option.
 
Paint costs depends on number of colors, which colors (red is most expensive), type of plane, scheme, etc.
$16k sounds cheap to me.
 
Don't cheap out on it if you intend to keep the plane for a long time or you care about who you sell the plane to. I paid 25k for my vanilla paint job and frankly for the quality I received and the amount of labor they put into it - I think I got the better end of the deal. I would expect 24k-30k for a quality paint job. A couple places quoted me a "**** off" amount of 50k+
 
If looking in pa check out N30. Our local shop at KHZL uses a mx shop at cherry ridge all the time for paint. Supposed to be pretty reasonable
 
Clip4 said:
With paint you will get what you pay for if you go bottom shopping and you won’t be pleased with the result.
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Yes, and possibly (probably) illegal work.
 
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BFBA3912-E261-46E6-AAF3-EA79DDEAAB85.jpeg 0B70902C-96B0-478B-9996-22C5FE16F044.jpeg C5857BF3-889D-491A-9F51-3E9162DCDEE8.jpeg This may not be too relevant these days, but I paid $14k in Sept 2019 for a strip and repaint of a 172xp at Ormond Aircraft in FL. Quality of their work is excellent.
 
Be careful. Do your homework. Lots of illegal paint shops out there. Ask if they are a FAA repair station, or if they have a mechanic “on duty” that’s readily available (in person) at the location in which the work is being done. That right there will take out a number of the illegal bottom feeders.
 
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https://www.aviationconsumer.com

Aviation Consumer recently had a terrific deep dive on what makes a quality paint job and the questions to ask. Aviation Consumer mag is a pay for resource, but worth every penny.

Paul Bertorelli and Larry Anglisano & team do a great work.
 
NordicDave said:
Aviation Consumer recently had a terrific deep dive on what makes a quality paint job and the questions to ask.
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Sounds like an interesting read. I scanned the link, but couldn’t locate the article.
 
Jdm said:
Sounds like an interesting read. I scanned the link, but couldn’t locate the article.
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Here's a sample list of paint articles on Aviation Consumer. Hopefully this is helpful. The annual subscription cost is less than fuel cost for 1 go-around.

paint articles.png
 
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Thanks, I’ll definitely check it out. Currently have a customer who’s rather deep:) into a repaint job. I’ll be sure to pass it along..
 
@Sachin I made inquiries about my own plane. Started with the list from https://schemedesigners.com/paint-shop-referral-list/ Seems like up here it's about 18k+ for a quality job. I can wait but 50J can't.

The guys that did the Silver Eagle conversion recommended 2 shops, one everyone knows and another I hadn't heard of.
 
I paid less than those quotes for my Sundowner. Check Circle W Restorations in East Berlin, PA. He has a very nice 2400' grass strip that is immaculately maintained. Cliff Weaver is friendly and easy to work with. The results are in my avatar to the left. The results were thrilling to me, and I've gotten nothing but compliments. For example, the N numbers and "No Step" on the inboard flaps were hand-painted with shading.

Circle W just did one of the original Musketeers which was sent to the Beech Heritage Museum last year. The exterior was an exact duplicate of how it left the factory, including a slight error in the font the factory used. Amazing work.
 
I stripped and painted entirely by myself in 1981 and the Imron is still in good condition. Today materials might be $3000. It took me a couple of weeks part time but it is not difficult. Today I would get some teenagers to strip after getting them rubber gloves and boots so maybe a week full time for me. You use Reynolds Wrap to protect plastic during stripping. I am not a spray painter but it's not difficult to learn or hire a local auto body shop painter. One secret is to paint in 4 sections: Left wing, right wing, nose 1/2 and tail 1/2.This way you can use a standard low pressure paint gun without a paint pot and it is less fatiguing. You tarp off the previously painted portions. And you can paint over several days if you choose. A protective head hood can be bought for a few hundred dollars.

There is no need to fly to specialty paint shop and you can still use your plane until the last few days when you do the actual spraying. An A&P can check the control balance which should not change. Several planes have been painted in my own hangar.

Remember, you city slickers, that DIY is tax free but if you hire someone the money you earned to pay them would be taxed at your Fed and state tax bracket rate. So painting my own was probably the highest hourly rate of income I ever made after saved taxes and travel.83y side.jpg
 
It's even easier now because of the advancements in strippers. Many are citrus based and low odor. You can do it outside and pressure wash the plane off, and then vacuum up the old paint.
 
Snowmass said:
I stripped and painted entirely by myself in 1981 and the Imron is still in good condition. Today materials might be $3000.
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I’d probably do the same thing, but I’m able to sign my own work. It has to be signed off by a licensed mechanic. Also have to remove flight controls for paint, and balancing, or it’s illegal. Most owners are just not qualified for this sort of job. I’ve seen airplanes damn near destroyed by unqualified owners attempting paint work.
 
Jdm said:
I’d probably do the same thing, but I’m able to sign my own work. It has to be signed off by a licensed mechanic. Also have to remove flight controls for paint, and balancing, or it’s illegal. Most owners are just not qualified for this sort of job. I’ve seen airplanes damn near destroyed by unqualified owners attempting paint work.
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Illegal? I see posts all the time and pictures clearly shows they don’t remove flight controls (including flaps). Mine was painted this way, put flaps down and you have unpainted sections exposed…by a commercial shop.
I had professionally repainted since then.
 
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Well, the flaps don’t have to be removed or balanced. Ailerons, rudder, and elevators however need to be removed for balancing. This type work is not within the scope of allowed owner maintenance. Even if you totally skip painting the flight controls all together, a full aircraft repaint requires a mechanic sign off for legality.
 
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The 1996-on Cessnas all have urethane paint and epoxy primer. That covers the 182T. Those are no fun to strip. They're tough and resistant to a lot of strippers. It takes longer. And since the OPs airplane has peeling paint, it all has to come off. Sounds like Cessna did a poor job of etching and alodining at the factory.
 
Painting is preventative maintenance. Need Airframe mechanic for flight control balance check.
 
rotormatic1 said:
Painting is preventative maintenance. Need Airframe mechanic for flight control balance check.
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And for reassembly of the control surfaces. That's not PM either. Getting plastic fairings off wing struts usually means disconnecting the struts. More serious work for the mechanic.

There are so many ways for an owner to go wrong with painting. There are strippers that cause hydrogen embrittlement of steel parts like landing gear legs. That can lead to cracks and breakage. Some strippers damage aluminum. Blasting the stuff off with a pressure washer is great, but you can end up with stripper and softened paint blown into the structure. I've seen that inside wings and empennage sometimes. A person can sand the airplane and remove the extremely thin layer of pure aluminum on the 2024 sheet, leaving it open to rapid corrosion. That layer is around 2% of the thickness of the sheet, so an .025" thick sheet has less than half a thousandth of that protective layer on it. That's one-fifth of the diameter of a human hair. It's THIN. And sandpaper can cut through that real quick, even by hand. The wrong sandpaper--emery cloth--leaves tiny bits of iron embedded in the metal, starting serious and destructive corrosion almost immediately. Bare aluminum needs acid-etching and alodining, dangerous stuff. Some use self-etching primers with success. Good primers now are epoxy, and good paints are urethane, both really toxic, especially the epoxy. You need good personal protection for that. Full hood with fresh air supply.

Yup, it might be legal, but it's unwise for the uninitiated. It's not a house.
 
rotormatic1 said:
Painting is preventative maintenance. Need Airframe mechanic for flight control balance check.
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The protective coat of paint itself maybe, but the entire process of a full repaint is beyond the scope of PM. Dan brought up some very good points in regards to what hazards are to be expected, and ones that additionally require a mechanic. I’m involved in a customer’s full repaint right now, and the number of items requiring a mechanic’s sign off are adding up daily. The airplane needed the gear to be retracted for disconnecting inner door rods to allow access to wheel wells. Then the gear had to be extended and locked down while preventing structural damage from the disconnected rods. The gear work will require a mechanic again for reinstalling, and a post gear swing inspection as well. There’s also a detailed corrosion inspection required by the maint manual once everything has been stripped. Deice equipment is another area can become extremely costly if not handled properly during a repaint.
 
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