Touching up paint

CMongoose

CMongoose

Pre-takeoff checklist
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CMongoose
I have some touch up paints from my paint job a few years ago. There are a few areas where the paint could do with a little touch up (mostly on the belly where fluids have come into contact with the paint).

What is the best process for touching up aircraft paint (I think it is JetGlo if that makes a difference)? Spray or touch up brush? Is it much like touching up paintwork on a car, or is there a different process to use?

There's always something new to learn :)
 
Call around to your local auto paint supply houses. We have a Auto paint supply house that stocks cans. You bring in the paint and they will add this paint to the can. They can use any paint that needs a hardener or activator to work. You must push on a button on the bottom to release the activator. Once you do this the paint in the can will only stay usable for maybe one day or two.

I made a really short video showing what I did and me doing it. The paint cans have a fan shaped nozzle and not the round hardware store style nozzles.


 
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Now all I need to do is finish the cowl. That is next and I may make her a red tail.

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Here is the paint I speak of or the can I speak of that hold your paint.

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Go find a Preval kit at NAPA, O'Reilly's, etc. Mix your own 2-3 part paint, spray away. Then keep the glass jar and buy a refill kit. Full kit is $7-8. Refill aerosol can is $3?

If it's small spots brush. If a larger area, spray is generally better. Just don't ask me to do it if you want it to look good. If you want a 20ft paint job, brush usually does a pretty good job. Even for a 10 ft. If you are using paint from a normal spray can and are brushing it on, spray it into a cup and let some evaporate. It'll thicken and work better with the brush.
 
Yeah, a rattle can would never come near my plane.

Always thought the macro touch up stuff would translate into a nice side gig for aircraft.

 
I built a show truck and rattle can the paint. No one was the wiser. Not one person knew I rattle can the paint. But this is not hardware store paint but automotive paint. Oh I won two first place trophies with this truck. One being the nationals.


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The reason I used the method I did, my hangar has no electricity. I wanted a system I could use and not need electrical power or power equipment.
 
James331 said:
Yeah, a rattle can would never come near my plane.

Always thought the macro touch up stuff would translate into a nice side gig for aircraft.

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But a touch up brush would. What is the difference when both are of the same paint?
 
1600vw said:
I built a show truck and rattle can the paint. No one was the wiser. Not one person knew I rattle can the paint. But this is not hardware store paint but automotive paint. Oh I won two first place trophies with this truck. One being the nationals.


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And some people can cook a 5 star meal from SPAM, doesn't mean it's the ideal way to do the job, or the easiest way to do the job, seems to me that for little scratches and such a small airbrush with well matched, or same code/mfgr paint would be the ideal tool for the job, no?


1600vw said:
But a touch up brush would. What is the difference when both are of the same paint?
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Not claiming to be a paint expert, but the touch ups I've seen with a brush looked like touch ups, the guys with the little compressors, paint matching things and little airbrushes straight removed the scratches to the point it was like they were never there.

Again, not claiming I'm a paint guy, but from what I've seen, for touch ups, I'd only want that level of repair to my paint, just what I saw being around cars and touch ups.
 
Rattle can, brush, spray gun, take a mouthful and spit it - all methods work if they're done with skill and good preparation.

By the way, Rustoleum gloss white is a dead-on match for Matterhorn white.
 
Touching up catalyzed polyurethanes is harder than most guys think. Try as you may even the best spot repair will show around the edges. The bigger question is why the paint came off. Probably bad prep and/or corrosion. How are you going to fix that?
 
Nobody has mentioned prep and prime for touch up spots. Mine are all down to bare metal - all small chips around the cowl. Any thoughts?

Love the Romanian method above except I've always seen water/moisture traps on sprayer lines....
 
If you read the OP question, what he wants to do will be hard to do with a small brush or something like a cotton swab. What I posted if you look or watch the video I posted, I did a large area and used no power equipment. It only took one can of paint to do most of this repair. Not a lot of paint. But the outcome was really nice. I will do my cowl this spring and may give her a Red Tail.
I did primer everything. I purchased the primer from the Auto Paint Supply House. This was also an Imron paint. Don't worry about cracking it won't. Today's paint has a lot of flex for todays car bodies flex. If the paint cracked cars would look like crap in no time.
If you believe this will crack, I have a 5 year old repair I did using this method. Not one crack. I should mention it has 200 hrs flying on it to. So it has been out in the sun not sitting in a hangar.

Tony
 
If you read the OP he needs to touch up 2-part polyurethane. Perhaps he wants to do a touch up that's equal quality to what's already on the plane? For that chore most of us that paint would catalyze the paint and spray with a touch-up gun. Just like with all painting the prep will make the difference in how it turns out, but no matter how you mask it the edges will show since catalyzed polyurethanes don't melt into the old paint. Use good tapes at the mask edges and keep the paint thin at the tapes.
 
Stewartb said:
If you read the OP he needs to touch up 2-part polyurethane. Perhaps he wants to do a touch up that's equal quality to what's already on the plane? For that chore most of us that paint would catalyze the paint and spray with a touch-up gun. Just like with all painting the prep will make the difference in how it turns out, but no matter how you mask it the edges will show since catalyzed polyurethanes don't melt into the old paint. Use good tapes at the mask edges and keep the paint thin at the tapes.
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I used polyurethane using the system I posted. You use a two part paint in this system. The close up pics was taken because some said I would have hard lines when I repainted my Fuselage Blue. As you see from the close up's, no hard lines....

Tony
 
What the fuselage looked like before repaint....

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One other note...If you look there is an airplane behind mine over to the side. There was no over spray doing this repair that got onto anything near by. I painted this sitting right were you see it.
I am not a professional painter, I do this for a hobby.

Tony
 
IMG_0307.JPG How many rattle cans would it take to paint my wing???

Trust me, I'll never know. :)
 
Stewartb said:
View attachment 53222 How many rattle cans would it take to paint my wing???

Trust me, I'll never know. :)
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This thread is about doing a touch up or small repaint. But nice work. I really like your paint booth you have made. I take it on the other side of those filters is a fan?..
 
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