Paint shop recommendations

[matrobw]

Need to get out 1965 m20c painted.  Still has original paint on.  Or what's left of it.

thinking of going all white with decals of some kind.  Can we do a scuff and spray since its original paint or do we get it stripped completely?   Any idea of new paint costs these days and recommended paint shops?    Thanks

[Seanhoya]

Where are you?  A good paint job will run from $10,000-$20,000.   I got mine done at T & P in Salinas, California, and it is gorgeous, but I paid about $15,000.  A big consideration is how far you have to travel to get the paint done.

Of course, you can pay less, but you get what you pay for.... 

[Hank]

Most recent jobs I've seen have been in the $12-15K range. If you can scuff and shoot instead of stripping, though, you may get a significant markdown from these prices.

if you update your avatar to at least show what state you're in, you will probably get recommendations on good shops. I've heard of one in Oregon and another one or two in Texas, but would probably not travel that far myself.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Hank

[matrobw]

Oh man, my bad.   I am located in Louisville, KY.   Thanks for the info.  Hoping to find something closer obviously but thank you.  Maybe I'll get some more.  Cheers

[jetdriven]

I wouldnt sand and paint over 40 year old lacquer.   Hawk has my plane right now, and when it returns, expect a full write up.  its also a heck of a lot less than 12K.  So is Mena, but one shop ruins the airplane with the prep work, but it looks very nice. The other, doesnt sand the hell out of the skin but the job looks like it was dunked in paint and hung to dry outside.

[Bennett]

We are very lucky here in California with three great paint shops - two in Salinas (T&P, and Bill Potts) and of course: Art Craft in Santa Maria. I've had aircraft painted by Bill Potts and Art Craft. Both paint jobs were perfect upon completion, with no returns for corrective work. These were both full strip and paint, with control surfaces removed and rebalanced. I've seen T&P's work, and once again at the highest level of craftsmanship. The Bill Potts painting was done to an LSA, and is much smaller than a Mooney, and it cost about $14,500 about 3 years ago. Art Craft did a lot of additional custom work for my J, and the cost was about $16,500 or so about 18 months ago. I chose these shops for their quality, but I think these prices are in line with the better shops.

[MB65E]

Good Luck Byron! You Finally pulled the trigger!! Can't wait to see it!!

I had the old rattle can out this weekend... One day...

It's  hard to justify paint being 25-40% of the airplanes value when the paint still shines.

-Matt

[Yetti]

I tried to get a match using the paint codes. They could not do it.   Even my wife can't see the Rustoleum Gloss White with White Primer underneath unless they are pointed out.  A bit of compounding and a bit of wax. There were several pretty good sections of about 4"x12" that needed to be done. Only reason you can see one of the redos is the bad masking job. More compounding should fix that.  One day the disco green stripes may go the way of Rustoleum Gloss Merlot.  The leading edge of the nose cowl may get stripped and polished, then there is no worry about paint chips from the prop.

[Glenn]

When considering a scuff and spray, weight is a consideration.  Does anyone have data on the effect on useful load, of just adding more paint to the airframe?

[M20F]

38 minutes ago, Glenn said:

When considering a scuff and spray, weight is a consideration.  Does anyone have data on the effect on useful load, of just adding more paint to the airframe?

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_05/textonly/fo01txt.html#table1

119lbs on a Boeing 717, can't imagine a scuff/spray is going to add a lot in terms of appreciable weight to a Mooney.  Somebody I am sure has more exacting numbers for us.