Prop Painting

Cruzinchris

Cruzinchris

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Cruzinchris
Being virtually grounded in CA, it is time to do some of those deferred maintenance tasks.

I flew though a rainstorm the other day to clean the plane and it took most of the paint off the prop. It was in need of repainting anyway. Subject plane is a Beechcraft Musketeer, fixed pitch prop. BTW, the rain did a great job on the plane.

I looked through the archives and didn’t find much recently on prop painting. How about this sequence?:

1) Mark position of prop. Remove the prop.
2) Strip with Jasco paint remover.
3) Lightly/carefully sand/Scotch Brite the surface paying attention to the leading edge.
4) Treat with Alodine or Prekote.
5) Paint with Rustoleum.
6) Have A&P inspect and reinstall.
 
Smooth as best you can the back side (the side you look at from the cockpit) of the blades. This will give you a better climb rate.

Last time I did a prop, I left it on the plane and masked the plane off with cheap visqueen type material from Walmart (paint department). $4 worth is enough to do most of the plane. I primed with a good rattle can that, while not zinc chromate, was specifically formulated for aluminum. Top coat was a black, two part epoxy - flat for the back and gloss for the front. You can get two part epoxy rattle cans at automotive paint stores. You have to push the can's top into the bottom of the can to activate the mixture, and it is good for a week or so.
 
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Just take it to a prop shop and let them do it. I like Memphis Propeller, but idk where you are
 

John, I got a quote for $1200 here in California. How much in Memphis?
 
Sensenich in Gainsville GA. did a complete "overhaul" for me for about $250. Prop from a C150. That was about 6 years ago.
Did a dynamic balance for me about 6 months ago for ~$250 on my Cherokee. He hadda remove and re-install the prop, so cost was a bit higher than normal.
 
Painting a prop is not included in FAR Part 43, Appendix A, Paragraph C, Preventive Maintenance
 
Cruzinchris said:
1) Mark position of prop. Remove the prop.
2) Strip with Jasco paint remover.
3) Lightly/carefully sand/Scotch Brite the surface paying attention to the leading edge.
4) Treat with Alodine or Prekote.
5) Paint with Rustoleum.
6) Have A&P inspect and reinstall.
Click to expand...

7) Balance the prop......

....and in about 30 hours:

8) Inspect where (any*) rattlecan paint has completely started to fail.

(*including “Epoxy Prop Paint” available at most diy aircraft supply houses. BTDT)
 
If you do any epoxy rattle-can paint jobs, follow the multiple coat instructions to the letter. Otherwise subsequent coats will blister undercoats and do all sorts of bad things.

I have also heard that only an A&P mechanic can paint a propeller. Can anyone confirm? Doesn't bother me (I'm not an A&P) assuming reasonable care though.
 
Cruzinchris said:
John, I got a quote for $1200 here in California. How much in Memphis?
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Wow! I paid around $350 last fall to have my prop stripped, dressed, balanced, anodized and re-painted. It looks brand new and they painted it to match my aircraft.

I don't know how much of a pain shipping would be, but highly recommend them: https://www.precisionpropellerservice.com/

IMG_E0881.JPG
 
nrpetersen said:
I have also heard that only an A&P mechanic can paint a propeller. Can anyone confirm? Doesn't bother me (I'm not an A&P) assuming reasonable care though.
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Not true. Anyone can legally paint a propeller, as long as they are under the supervision of an A&P, who will eventually sign the job off.
 
Sifting the words of Part 43 etc, my interpretation would be that the prop can be painted by mere owners as long as it is not removed from the airplane.
 
nrpetersen said:
Sifting the words of Part 43 etc, my interpretation would be that the prop can be painted by mere owners as long as it is not removed from the airplane.
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(9) Refinishing decorative coating of fuselage, balloon baskets, wings tail group surfaces (excluding balanced control surfaces), fairings, cowlings, landing gear, cabin, or cockpit interior when removal or disassembly of any primary structure or operating system is not required.

(10) Applying preservative or protective material to components where no disassembly of any primary structure or operating system is involved and where such coating is not prohibited or is not contrary to good practices.

The propeller is balanced by the manufacturer. If someone repaints and doesn't paint correctly, it affects the balance. Also, read number 10. The prop manufacturer indeed details refinishing in their ICA's and maintenance manuals.
 
kgruber said:
Painting a prop is not included in FAR Part 43, Appendix A, Paragraph C, Preventive Maintenance
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Neither is fixing your compass but the compass fairy seems to do it. Of course spraying the back of your prop to reduce dangerous reflection might also be done by a propeller fairy. The world is a magic place.
 
since the popcorn bucket is full, how about the subject of using rattle can paint. prop manufactures list what paint should be used. does rattle can paint meet the requirements of "acceptable data" to FAA?
 
unsafervguy said:
since the popcorn bucket is full, how about the subject of using rattle can paint. prop manufactures list what paint should be used. does rattle can paint meet the requirements of "acceptable data" to FAA?
Click to expand...

Rattle Can is just a delivery method.

My last plane had been painted in Sherwin Williams JetGlo. I brought a small panel to the previously mentioned automotive paint supply shop (that some with elitist attitudes ridiculed, above) and had them color match it, and build two rattle cans containing the proper color of Sherwin Williams Jet Glo paint. Cost was about $25 per can.
 
Yes an owner can "touch up" prop blade paint under preventive maintenance rules.

No an owner cannot "paint" a propeller under preventive maintenance rules.

I work on commercial turboprops and we use the Tempo spray cans to "touch up" the paint on the blades.

There was a big, long thread about this a while back.

YMMV.
 
Strictly speaking an owner CAN paint a prop if he is capable. Under FAA rules he MAY not do something so dangerous. I would love to be able to de-certify my plane and end this charade.
 
Snowmass said:
Strictly speaking an owner CAN paint a prop if he is capable. Under FAA rules he MAY not do something so dangerous. I would love to be able to de-certify my plane and end this charade.
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Split as many hairs as you wish.
 
Glad to. Fewer people are flying airplanes than in the past or less people are flying airplanes. Which half hair is correct, Jaws?
 
Oh, for crying out loud. Strip the sucker using aircraft paint remover. If you have to buy two gallons of solvent, let the sucker sit in it for a couple of hours or days to get the paint stripper off. Mask off the hub. Use the best rattle can paint you can find. Two, three coats isn't going unbalance it in the least. But balance between leading and trailing surfaces the best you can. Put the sucker back on after you clock it as as described above.

"Why, that's the way it has been for years".

Jim
 
Ditto Weirdjim ! If the paint is not terrible, lightly sand and paint the prop on the plane. I periodically touch up my prop....not a big deal.
 
ktup-flyer said:
Just take it to a prop shop and let them do it. I like Memphis Propeller, but idk where you are
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Hell Naw!
I painted my 172 prop with satin black Krylon spray can. It looked wonderful. It also ran smooth as silk.
Why pay a prop shop big money to repaint a prop? They will tell you the fixed prop needs overhaul which is complete BS.
 
pigpenracing said:
Hell Naw!
I painted my 172 prop with satin black Krylon spray can. It looked wonderful. It also ran smooth as silk.
Why pay a prop shop big money to repaint a prop? They will tell you the fixed prop needs overhaul which is complete BS.
Click to expand...
So, don't use sleazy shops
 
ktup-flyer said:
So, don't use sleazy shops
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I won't pay hundreds for something I can do myself in a few hours. I stripped mine down to bare metal and repainted.
I have never been the guy to pay someone for something I can do myself. We are talking about painting a propeller, not painting a show quality 1963 Corvette.
 
I wish I could get my paint to stay on the leading edges.....within 50 hours it looks like I never painted it.
 
I do not recommend partial painting, If you can't strip and completely repaint it leave it alone.
 
When a shop strips and paints a prop, they'll often also:
1. Inspect it for nicks that lead to cracking, and dress them out
2. Check the thickness and width of each blade at stations specified by the manufacturer to ensure that it has not been worn or dressed below minima
3. Carry out NDI to make sure there are no cracks anywhere. A crack can lead to separation of some part of a blade, and the resulting imbalance can tear the engine off the airplane. Guess what happens to weight and balance and controlability when several hundred pounds falls off the nose.

The owner painting his prop isn't going to do any of that, and if he (illegally) dresses the prop he will likely get it all wrong and make things worse. His new paint might even hide some small cracks. He might even be tempted to fill nicks with body filler, and that's just insane. Too few people understand the terrific forces on a propeller; it's probably the most highly-stressed part on the entire airplane.
 
Hartzell has a SB about inspecting and painting your prop. HC-SB-61-181A. Sherwin Williams Polane is the absolute best prop paint that I have found and it’s available just about everywhere.
Thanks, Frank
 
pigpenracing said:
Hell Naw!
I painted my 172 prop with satin black Krylon spray can. It looked wonderful. It also ran smooth as silk.
Why pay a prop shop big money to repaint a prop? They will tell you the fixed prop needs overhaul which is complete BS.
Click to expand...

If you watch a video or two of how a prop shop actually overhauls a FP prop, you might change your tune. Obviously not as complicated as working on a CS prop, but they do a LOT more work than I expected...

V/r,
Dana
 
thomasdr72 said:
If you watch a video or two of how a prop shop actually overhauls a FP prop, you might change your tune. Obviously not as complicated as working on a CS prop, but they do a LOT more work than I expected...

V/r,
Dana
Click to expand...

I had one overhauled before. It was smooth as silk before it went to the shop. After I got it back it back it had a vibration.... I won’t change my mind. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
 
pigpenracing said:
I had one overhauled before. It was smooth as silk before it went to the shop. After I got it back it back it had a vibration.... I won’t change my mind. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
Click to expand...

Many factors go into prop balance. The first is prop clock angle. Once a prop is installed it needs to be checked for blade track. If blade track is more than about a 1/4 inch, then moving the prop a bolt hole or two could make a difference.

Next is hardware. The spinner and backplate. This actually has more to do with dynamic balance than the prop. This is why prop dynamic balancing is important as well as indexing the prop after balance has been achieved.

Unfortunately too many believe bolting the prop on the flange and putting the spinner back on is all that's required.
 
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