Paint Code

[PeytonM]

I have a 1989 J Model with its original paint...still.  I am having some repair work to the top cowling done, and I wanted to get the original paint manufacturer, notwithstanding that it has probably faded over the past 27 years.  I found some handwritten notes that refers to "Really White" with a code of TC10010, with WP696 as an equivalent. I don't know the manufacturer.  Any thoughts of where I could get further info on this?  I have dropped the Factory a note, so I will see what they have to say, but wondered if there were any other avenues.  Thank you.

[mike_elliott]

Peyton, take your radio access panel off and take it to an Automotive paint supply house. They will match the color you want, and you can have them make up a few touch up bottles of the other colors while your at it. It will  be closer to what your color now is vs. what it was 27 years ago, which is what you would end up with using color numbers from the manufacturer.

 

[carusoam]

Check your airframe's logs initial pages.  Often paint codes can be found there...

Then follow Mike's advice above.  

Best regards,

-a-

[laytonl]

6 hours ago, mike_elliott said:

Peyton, take your radio access panel off and take it to an Automotive paint supply house. They will match the color you want, and you can have them make up a few touch up bottles of the other colors while your at it. It will  be closer to what your color now is vs. what it was 27 years ago, which is what you would end up with using color numbers from the manufacturer.

 

+1.  If you use the paint codes it likely will not match due to age. The auto paint guys do an amazing job of matching existing paint based on taking an access panel to the shop.  Lee

[RLCarter]

Most all of the auto paints now days are "Base Coat / Clear Coat" so ask for a "one shot" paint, unless the factory paint is Base Coat / Clear Coat which I doubt. 

[jetdriven]

Make sure the repairs are sufficient, or else the cracks along the creases at the spinner hump will come back. Usually folks use boat fiberglass cloth from the boat store and "fiberglass resin" which is polyester, which doesnt add any strength unless its a half inch thick. Aircraft fiberglass has about twice the glass tows in a weave, and aircraft epoxy is TEN TIMES stronger than Bondo boat fiberglass resin.   MGS epoxy and 7781 glass is good, 8-12oz carbon is better.  But please, use real aircraft structural epoxy and fiberglass cloth.

The paint....Get the top cowl scanned and matched using a computer color scanner. Hand them the cowl and say "scan this and mix me a pint", if they give you a dumb look, its because they are, take your cowl and go somewhere else.  Here's me doing this, last week for my new nose gear doors (I needed to paint my carbon lower gear doors and a couple other small things, like nose gear door hinges. Pic below.

 

If they are mixing Nason, use "Full-thane" urethane single stage urethane.  About 35$ for a quart of white and another 40$ for the activator and thinner. Not acrylic enamel, not base/clear, not lacquer. you want catalyzed urethane, it came on the Mooney M20J as far back as 1977. We use Nason at the shop and it shoots great, buffs great, and lasts a long time.  Imron AF400 is the best stuff on the planet, Sherwin williams Jetglo is a very close second.  I dont have experience with the other stuff out there.  The house branded stuff at NAPA fades in a year.   my friend with the "Sexy Hexy" sonex has it chalked and fading badly at the 3 year mark, its really crappy paint. 

 

Mix the paint, the activator, and reducer in a mini HVLP gun and spray it, spray the edges of the repair towards the repair so you can color sand and buff it to blend it in. If you see someone taping the repair off and painting a wet coat to the tape they dont know what they are doing.  Find someone who does.   We do, and we blend repairs to make them nearly invisible. This is a hundred thousand dollar aircraft, not a lawn mower. You should roll tape it at least, but spraying the final coat towards the repair eliminates that hard tape line edge and its easy to blend that in to disappear. You cant sand a 3 mil paint line off.

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by jetdriven

[carusoam]

Byron, your details are always a level above!

Thanks for sharing them,

-a-

[bonal]

Last annual we got round to the data plate that was painted over. Removed from body and stripped to reveal in good shape had some surface corrosion under so had to scotch out an area about 3 by 4 inch taped and primed then used Krylon rattle can banner red was perfect match but yes there are tape lines so not perfect but is a 10 to 20 ft paint job so there you go. 

[Andy95W]

25 minutes ago, bonal said:

Last annual we got round to the data plate that was painted over. Removed from body and stripped to reveal in good shape had some surface corrosion under so had to scotch out an area about 3 by 4 inch taped and primed then used Krylon rattle can banner red was perfect match but yes there are tape lines so not perfect but is a 10 to 20 ft paint job so there you go. 

The problem with a brand new, perfect paint job is that you feel the need to keep it perfect.  Sometimes the 20 year old paint that looks good enough is the better bargain!  Do you want to see my paint job?  Please step 10 feet back...  And maybe squint a little...

[PeytonM]

Thanks to everyone for such great input, especially to Byron for the details. 

[flyboy0681]

Our plane was painted in 2001 by the previous owner. While the logbook contains all of the color codes used, PPG no longer manufactures them other than the Matterhorn White, it so it's off to the local auto paint store for us.

 

[StevenL757]

On 6/27/2016 at 2:36 PM, PeytonM said:

I have a 1989 J Model with its original paint...still.  I am having some repair work to the top cowling done, and I wanted to get the original paint manufacturer, notwithstanding that it has probably faded over the past 27 years.  I found some handwritten notes that refers to "Really White" with a code of TC10010, with WP696 as an equivalent. I don't know the manufacturer.  Any thoughts of where I could get further info on this?  I have dropped the Factory a note, so I will see what they have to say, but wondered if there were any other avenues.  Thank you.

Peyton, that TC10010 paint code is a Sherwin-Williams Acry-Glo Aviation Coating.  I just purchased a quart myself to do some touch-up work.  Link is below...

http://www.swaerospace.com/products/brands/acry-glo/

Use the "Dealer Locator" to find a suitable dealer.  I went with Blend Supply.  Worked with some folks in TX who were wonderful.  My "Really White" paint was a 3-part purchase...the paint, a reducer, and a hardener.  The PDF below from Sherwin-Williams is good information.  You can expect a discount from Blend, but the 3-parts you need - in minimum quantities for touch-up work - will run you around $280 including shipping.  Hope this helps...let me know if you have questions.

Steve

AcryGlo W- T-.pdf

[PeytonM]

Ok. I'm getting closer on the paint. I'm thinking that I'll have plenty of the "Really White," AcryGlo, so might have them shoot the nose gear doors. How do I get them off?

[carusoam]

Peyton,

you might search on the words piano hinge to get some ideas.

Best regards,

-a-

[jetdriven]

The parts catalog shows #4 sheet metal screws and tinnerman nuts. Its not very difficult to remove them, here's how you do it. Unbolt the heim bearing pushrods that actuate the gear doors. Then remove the exhaust tunnel panels on both sides, then remove the screws that go through the hinge to the airplane, to release the door. You will need to jack the airplane and verify rigging, by retracting the gear, after you reinstall the nose gear doors. Its not easy getting the nose gear doors installed right, the early versions butt against each other and the later ones overlap. I just changed from the former to the latter. After careful measurement and drilling the hinges, I nailed it. But it wasnt all skill that got it.

If you;re just reinstalling the old hinges its easier, but check the fore and aft play, these hinges wear out.

Edited July 1, 2016 by jetdriven