Painting Your Airplane in the Hangar?

jls wrote:
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 true that polyurethane paints can be wet
sanded and buffed once they have cured. I have
seen it done within the last month.

The best way is to make sure that there is no dust
in the air, and no insects can get in the paint
during the two hours that the paint is drying to
tack free.

Obviously, a paint booth is great if the airplane
is small enough. If not, then the hangar should
be very clean, and sealed against insects. It
also helps to have banks of halogen or florescent
lighting so that the painter can really see what
they are doing.

If I saw "dust" in the paint I would wonder if the
piece was really clean before the paint was applied.

Don W.

In article ,
Don W wrote:

jls wrote:
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 true that polyurethane paints can be wet
sanded and buffed once they have cured. I have
seen it done within the last month.

The best way is to make sure that there is no dust
in the air, and no insects can get in the paint
during the two hours that the paint is drying to
tack free.

Obviously, a paint booth is great if the airplane
is small enough. If not, then the hangar should
be very clean, and sealed against insects. It
also helps to have banks of halogen or florescent
lighting so that the painter can really see what
they are doing.

If I saw "dust" in the paint I would wonder if the
piece was really clean before the paint was applied.

Don W.

Getting a glossy, perfect finish requires more than wet sanding with
#600. After the #500, more wet sanding with #1200, then #2000, then a
power buffer with 3M "Finesse It," then "Perfect It." The finish will
resemble hand-rubbed lacquer, with the deep gloss.

Yes -- a paint booth is far preferable, but, strictly speaking, not a
requirement.