Superflite revisited

[EDMO 1078]

I see the V ! Cleaned my glasses tonight so I could find my Bud Lite !

Thanx Jim,

EDMO

[RDavidson 183]

Making some more progress! Both wings are finished!

I have really been fighting an subtle orange peel effect in my paint. After thinking it was the paint being laid on to thick, air pressure not high enough, not enough reducer, etc...I realized my primer coat was orange peeled, but it is almost impossible to see because of it's dull white color. A solution, to make mistakes more visible, might be to tint the primer with a hint of your finish color so you can do something about it before it is too late. I'm using two cross coats of top coat with a sanding in between.

I'm not a professional painter and I gave it my best shot, certainly did all the prep and sanding to my best ability, but I just need more experience painting!

So for now I'm going to have to park with my right wing to the FBO because it was the last wing I painted! Ha!

Don't get me wrong, It is looking really good, and the common joe blow wouldn't notice it. It just eats at me because I really wanted it perfect, but it is what it is...smooth to the touch, but a slight ripple in the gloss...

Some helpful hints for the next guy...

1) get a spray gun that you like. It doesn't matter if people tell you it is the greatest money can buy, if you can't get it to work right it is junk! Luckily I dropped and ruined the gun that was recommended to me and cost me a fortune, so I switched to a cheaper gun, but still expensive, and it made all the difference in the world!

2) you should not be in a hurry to do any of the painting...think through what you are doing beforehand and get everything setup so you are not fighting with air hoses, other things in your way, or the large paint suit you bought that needed to be XL and now you sing soprano everytime you hunch over! Ha!

3) on most paints, especially Superflite, a first coat in a cross coat should be a very light coat. This is a tack coat that will allow you to spray a thicker second coat without it running...it works!

4) LIGHTING!!! I probably have about 10 different light sources in my paint booth now. Continually look at you painting surface from different angles so that you can see the paint laying down, over laping your last pass and looking smooth as glass.

5) Paint your primer as if it were your final coat. This is where I screwed up! Bad painting means a lot of sanding. Sanding on fabric is difficult because the fabric moves, unlike sanding metal that you can put force on to make it smooth. Plus, you can't use heavy grit or you will sand through your fabric!

Maybe that will help the next feller...

Only the control surfaces and little Doo-dads left!

See Ya,

Ron

[EDMO 1078]

Good report Ron - plane looking Good - What color will it be -

EDMO

[RDavidson 183]

Ed, I'm painting it the same color as my shop floor, tools, chairs and anything else I left in the spray booth! Ha!

[High Country 69]

Looking great Ron, I love the yellow it sticks out well in the air so hopefully you will be seen long before a mid air could occur. this is one reason we picked bright yellow for our build. 

keep up the great work

[EDMO 1078]

Aspen Yellow is great camo for hiding your plane in the fall trees...

But, wouldn't airports be boring if all planes were the same color, like Mr. Ford's Model T, which only came in Black!

EDMO

Edited 13 Dec 2014 by Ed In Missouri

[RDavidson 183]

Got the Control surfaces painted, but now the whole FamDamily is headed this way for Christmas! Looks like the engine cowl has to wait until after Christmas! It is kind of a good thing, I can give my shoulders, elbows, and wrists a break from sanding!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you get the plane parts you wished for...

Ron

[RDavidson 183]

Yellow Complete!!!

I put the last coat of yellow on the engine Cowlings tonight!

I'm going to paint my flaperons black then put the engine cowlings on the fuse and paint my stripes. I feel like I've made a huge leap forward!

Getting closer to getting airborne...

Ron

[akflyer 1427]

Looking great!  hopefully the final assembly will fly right by and you will have her in the air in no time.

 

[RDavidson 183]

Well, it's official...I'm finished painting!!!

I painted the stripes on the fuselage today and if the weather will cooperate I will roll everything outside and tear down my spray booth so I have some room to start putting her back together.

I'm going with a "Super Bee" theme and decided use vertical stripes like the WWII Army Air Corp gliders and cargo aircraft.

I like how it turned out...different...

[EDMO 1078]

Kool paint job Ron,

There is a doctor here in St. Louis who has his Cessna 172 painted like a bumblebee from nose to tail - even has eyes - stands out in a crowd.

Assembly is the last fun part before flying. Cant wait to see it all together.

Good Flying,

EDMO

Edited 2 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[RDavidson 183]

Thanks Ed,

I'm sick of painting! Im not very good at it and I found it nerve racking! Maybe it is different with an all aluminum aircraft where you can make mistakes and sand them off without worrying about sanding through fabric. There are just so many variables in painting, and I think the only counter to those is experience. I'm glad I got some experience, but Im also glad Im past that hurdle.

I'm partners in this plane with my Father, who split the kit cost with me...and somehow I get to do all of the work? But he was absolutely against the "Super Bee" idea, but I think it is growing on him!

It sounds like the Bee plane you are talking about went all out!

I can't help but think of the world's smallest biplane when talking about Bees...

Hard to believe this thing actually flew! However, it was a short lived victory, the guy put a bigger engine in it and the engine quit, probably vapor lock, he crashed, and survived but with some major injuries. the Smithsonian Channel was running a show with the flight footage of this plane, it was amazing!

[EDMO 1078]

I remember the story about that plane when it happened - Believe the guy owned the worlds smallest plane and then made this one even smaller - Didn't remember that paint job tho - should have had STOL wings?

Thanks for posting -

I don't blame you for not wanting any more paint to do - I'm not a painter either - serves me well tho - I showed my wife how sloppy I could be with paint, and she don't even ask me to paint anything in the house!

EDMO

[dholly 718]

I like it, maybe a simple black leading edge strip on the wings? Those smashed bugs really stand out on yellow wings!

[RDavidson 183]

Great idea! I didn't use preshrunk tapes, is that a real thing about tapes shrinking when the sun hits dark colors? Even stripes?

[RDavidson 183]

Ed,

The original was just yellow. I think that is a replica, considering he crashed the real one, in a museum and they might have painted it to go with the name. Here is the original

Edited 5 Mar 2015 by Ron

[dholly 718]

Keep an eye out on eBay for some black vinyl stripe if you've closed up your paint booth. You can score some real good bargains if you are in the right place at the right time. The checkerboard graphics on my plane were actually an old Indy Pace decal car set before I 'customized' it for my aero application. Cost me all of about $25 IIRC and not one single problem, lifted edge etc., in three years. Bonus too is if'n ya don't like it, easy peasy to remove without damaging the paint under. Due to your brand new paint though, it might be wise to let it cure for a while first?

[RDavidson 183]

Thanks! That is a great idea...easy too!

[RDavidson 183]

Here is a better look at the stripes, I really like it now. I wasn't sure about it at first! I also pinstriped the black stripes with a metallic charcoal 1/4" stripe. The pin striping really softened the edges of the black stripe.

[dholly 718]

Those pinstripes really are a terrific finishing touch. I like it a lot!

[EDMO 1078]

Ed,

The original was just yellow. I think that is a replica, considering he crashed the real one, in a museum and they might have painted it to go with the name. Here is the original

image.jpg

That is the one I remembered!

Thanx Ron,

EDMO