Paint for plastic panels

[Tony Armour]

Which product for panel repair ? Spruce has plasti fix and poly fix. The poly talks about a chemical reaction, heating up etc. anyone with personal experience?

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/categories/building_materials/bm/menus/cm/repairkits_polyfix.html

After pulling my drivers side panel last week, I'm shocked at just how thin it is. No wonder thay crack !!

Edited September 22, 2015 by Tony Armour

[jetdriven]

After trying lots of things the best thing I have found is 7781 fiberglass cloth (9oz) and MGS epoxy.  It dries very stiff and very strong.  A couple layers of this on the backside of the the pilot forward panel and the door panel makes it a lot stronger. 

[RLCarter]

I've used regular PVC glue with the light weight cloth, also melted ABS plastic in MEK, both worked fine. 3M makes an ABS repair kit.....

[Andy95W]

I've used regular PVC glue with the light weight cloth, also melted ABS plastic in MEK, both worked fine. 3M makes an ABS repair kit.....

I like the PVC glue idea, I'll have to try that.

For cracks I've had excellent results from using cyanoacrylate (superglue) and fabric on the backside of the plastic.  The superglue penetrates the fabric and plastic and adds considerable strength. I've tried the epoxies but never had much luck with getting them to adhere consistently to the plastic, no matter how much I clean.

[jetdriven]

MGS adheres to the back of the panels when you scuff them with 80 grit. I tried the ABS glue and fiberglass. It fixes the damage but usually its stresses which caused the cracks or pulled-through screws, and they return. Epoxy and fiberglass wont.

 

Dont get the hardware store epoxy. Get real airplane stuff, even West is probably alright.

[Releew]

There are a few different approaches to painting plastic.  Although there are paints made specifically for plastic application they are very expensive...in the $75.00 a quart range. These paints are usually made up with additional solvents that promote surface bonding.  Spray the plastic too wet and you'll see what I mean.  It can and will melt the plastic.  For a beginner I would not recommend these paints.  There are some Spray Can paints (Krylon for plastic) that have specific colors which work very well on plastic. Only problem is you need to accept their assortment of colors which is limited.  I also tried Rustoleum paints and found them to be too heavy of a build up for the grain with very little if any adhesion on plastic. They looked good initially but started to peal after a short time.

Either path you take make sure the surface prep is done correctly.  Clean the panels first with a good de-greaser and a scrub brush. Before painting, use a quick dry solvent like acetone on a damp rag.  I also recommend spraying a bonding agent on the surface before painting.  Any dirt on the plastic will decrease the solvents ability to melt in and create a fish-eye problem just like painting on top of contaminated metal.......

Just remember..... its a Surface Coating.  It will be susceptible to scratches and erosion from contact points. 

Good Luck!

Rick

[peevee]

any tips for removing the panels and all? I think I'd like to fix the cracks and redo mine one by one after reading all the advice in here but they seem VERY brittle

Edited September 23, 2015 by peevee

[Tony Armour]

All good stuff, keep it coming ! 

[jetdriven]

Which panel?  the sidewall panels, for example, are held in with small #2 screws and some #4s here and there.  th headliner rests on top of the upper edge of the side wall panels and has its own screws.

[peevee]

Which panel?  the sidewall panels, for example, are held in with small #2 screws and some #4s here and there.  th headliner rests on top of the upper edge of the side wall panels and has its own screws.

Well, I guess all of them. So it sounds like doing one at a time is going to make more work if I have to remove panels I've already removed to get other panels out. Maybe I should strip them all and do all of them at once? 

[Shadrach]

What's wrong with Krylon, Mooney drivers are supposed to be cb's :-)

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion-for-plastic/

I used Krylon Fusion in Gloss River Rock (looks nothing like it does on the website).  I wet sanded it with 1000 and then 1500 grit. I followed the sanding with polishing compound. I think it still looks good after 5 years.

[jetdriven]

Well, I guess all of them. So it sounds like doing one at a time is going to make more work if I have to remove panels I've already removed to get other panels out. Maybe I should strip them all and do all of them at once? 

you can remobe the forward panel on the pilots side first.  Then the back seat. Then the rear two side panels. Then the forward headliner.  Then the rear headliner.   Then the baggage compartment liners. The baggage door and cabin door panels can come off whenever.     

 

Structurally fix the cracked plastic and the pulled through screw holes.  Then use ABS sawdust and model cement to make a paste to cosmetically repair the cracks and visible defects. Then wash, scuff, paint.  Redrill holes and reinstall. 

 

 

[Releew]

To fix plastic, get some CA glue, known in the modeling world as Hot Stuff.  Get the accelerator too.  Clean with acetone and sand  the back of the area that's cracked and line up the seam. Cut a piece of Bidirectional Fiberglass tape (you can buy in a small 1.5" width X 36" roll) place over the crack (Backside) and soak the tape with the CA clue.  Use a piece of plastic on your finger (IMPORTANT) to smooth out the glue on the tape than spray the accelerator.  There will be a chemical reaction and the glue will instantly set so be sure the crack seam is perfectly aligned.

This method also works well to fix over sized holes in plastic.  When I refurbished my plastic I covered every holes backside with a 1" square piece of fiberglass tape using this method.  It made the installation very solid.

This works very well......  It won't crack in that spot again!!!

Rick

 

 

[Releew]

If you are trying to fill or fix an over-sized hole place Blue Painters tape on the topside of the plastic part to create a mold (backstop) for the CA glue on the backside of the plastic. From the backside of the part place some glue on the tape that covered the hole then apply the fiberglass tape and another coat of CA glue. Remove the Painters tape from the front of the plastic part.  The adhesive on the painters tape will melt when you spray the CA glue accelerator and separate very easy from the plastic part.

Email me if you need some help...

Rick

 

  

[Yetti]

You can do it in sections.You have to remove the windows section to get to the screws for the lower section.   I am 25 hours into a Rustolem Universal paint and primer make over.  Did not do all the prep work, just removed the left over velcro glue.   I did cook the paint in the sun for a day before reinstalling.   There was one split that I fixed with Shoe goop.  My panels were in ok shape, just a nasty yellow

[RLCarter]

SEM Products, 2 tone on leather (used an HVLP touch up gun), used the lighter grey on upper plastics and headliner and the darker grey on lower panels, vents, hatrack trim and windlace

[Yetti]

Interesting.  I have painted the original leather arm rests and the leather panel inlays with regular Rustolum paint.   It working really well so far.  I would thought it would be flaking off by now.

[RLCarter]

I would guess that the inlays and arm rest don't flex as much as a seat cushion does, I used the SEM paint on my motorcycle seat 12 or so years ago and its fine and its seen temps from below freezing to over 100.

[romair]

What about the armrests on the pilot and copilot side, as well as the side panel vinyl inlays? Do you cover them with paper and paint over them, or do they come off?

[jetdriven]

I took those off and painted the panel, then reinstalled the trim.  Cheap shops spray trim and top adhesive on the panel and the trim, then glue it down. The better shops use some type of fastener. 

[Yetti]

I used Dap Contact Cement for the inlays and arm rests and placard.  Looks like what had been used prior.  It kind of looked like that is what the factory used.  Don't get it on the new paint, it will strip it. On the pilot arm rest there is a screw or two under the armrest so you have to install after the panel is installed. 

Edited September 28, 2015 by Yetti

[Tony Armour]

I used Dap Contact Cement for the inlays and arm rests and placard.  Looks like what had been used prior.  It kind of looked like that is what the factory used.  Don't get it on the new paint, it will strip it. On the pilot arm rest there is a screw or two under the armrest so you have to install after the panel is installed. 

You can remove the panel without removing the screw under the arm rest. Don't ask how I know ;-)

Haha, what about placards ? All this work and do we just tape them up to paint or is there a good source for new ?

[jetdriven]

Moody aero graphics. 

[Yetti]

The clear plastic placards got blue tape with an exacto knife to trim the tape, then just paint over.  The aluminum one got pulled and then contact glue to reapply.

[romair]

Can the glareshield be spray painted black as well? Do you do anything special for it?