On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 08:25:00 -0500, "MJC" wrote:

Any really light, bright color should be fine, but white is definitely the
best for UV protection. Another question to ask yourself is if you'll be
keeping it in an enclosed hangar most of the time. If so, then it's almost a
non-issue.


From what I've gathered, it's not the UV protection, it is heat
absorption. Fiberglass composite gets "soft" when overheated, and
white and several other colours do not heat up as much as black, red,
and several other colours.

MJC

"Richard Riley" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 20:34:32 -0400, "firstflight"
wrote:

:I have a composite kit aircraft, and it is time to paint! But I just
hate
:the idea of painting it WHITE (like most all the others). I understand
that
:HEAT is a big factor in this decision, and that white attracts the least
:amount of heat which could disrupt the Epoxy over time. Since my plane
is
:held together with Epoxy, this seems like a valid concern.
:
:What do you think people? Does it have to be white?? Could one choose a
:light yellow, light gray, silver,etc....... and not be pushing the
envelop
:too much?
:
:I happen to live in a very cool part of North America, so I am not too
:worried about regular heat (like someone in Arizona might be).

In Southern California I know of EZ's that are yellow, and Dick
Rutan's in Mojave is light blue. There's a beautiful Berkut in
England that's silver.

So, yes, it can be done if you are very, very careful. But do be VERY
VERY careful. Paint a sample panel, put it out at noon on one of the
hottest days of the year. Find out how hot it gets, check that
against the epoxy you're using AND the foam core - blue styrofoam
swells up when it gets too hot. It's not a cumulative problem - 4
years at 140 degrees won't do anything bad. 30 minutes at 200 degrees
and your airplane will be scrap.