" jls" wrote in message
...
I just saw a beautiful Lancair 320 painted in the hangar. It looks
great until you get up close. The polyurethane paint is very glossy,
but there is dust particles and trash all over it. Even a few insects
in the middle of our NC winter.

Not to worry, says the painter, who runs an autobody repair shop. He
says he'll use 600 grit and water sand it all out and you'll never see
a bit of trash in the paint. Well, I hope. What do you think?

We had another builder here rent a booth in a fancy car painting shop,
and the paint job on his Zenair Zodiac looked flawless.

In Greenville, SC they used to transport plastic airplanes with the
wings off to a nice filtered booth at an auto paint shop down White
Horse Rd. and paint them there. The pressure air used for the spray
system was freeze-dried to take out water and other impurities. The
painter was a real pro who instructed in the auto body section at
Greenville Tech. The ships always came back to the hangar looking
great.

How's about it? Do you paint in the hangar or in a paint shop booth?
We have two more to do and want clean glossy finishes without flaws.
TIA.

It is all about prep work. You can get a good paint job painting almost
anywhere if you take proper measures against dust and other trash. The first
step is to give the hangar a thorough cleaning. Get a pressure sprayer and
clean the walls, ceiling, and floor. Vacuum, sweep, etc. thoroughly to get
rid of the dust.

Before painting, use a hose to spray down the walls and floor again. You
want everything wet so any dust sticks to the floor, walls, etc. You
probably need to set up some box fans to exhaust the overspray and fog from
the hangar. Make sure the fans exhaust air. Blowing high speed air into the
area will stir up dust, which you don't want.

Of course, you should really make sure you have explosion proof lights and
fans so you don't get a nasty surprise.

You also need appropriate safety equipment - a reliable fresh air breathing
source, and a tyvek suit, gloves, and mask to keep the paint from getting on
your skin.

The final issue (which would prevent me from spraying in a T-hangar) is
keeping overspray from drifting into adjoining hangars. Get overspray on
your neighbor's Bonanza and you'll end up with a real problem that costs
real money to fix.

KB