Repairing peeling paint

[gevertex]

Hi Everyone,

Having a decent amount of peeling of paint on my M20J.  It was last painted 2/28/2003 by Nationwide Aerospace in San Marcos, TX.  Paint is coming off in the pictured areas + on about 100 rivets.  Logs say it was primed, but I don't see any primer under the paint, just metal?  Am I looking at a repaint here or is this something I should just repair.  If repair, how would you all go about getting it done?

Thanks!

     I

[ArtVandelay]

Can’t tell if the paint is bubbling or that’s dew on the top of the fuselage?

I had similar issues and just repainted. You can touch up some of the peeling paint but after awhile it just becomes a losing battle. I was afraid there’s corrosion I couldn’t see.

[jetdriven]

It wasn’t prepared properly to begin with 

[carusoam]

Definitely showing pre paint prep type issues…

Leading edges and bumps are most susceptible to encountering paint removal…

The corners of the stall strips are most difficult to keep paint on…

Good paint jobs don’t peel back…

For a paint job that is near 20years old….

Does it live indoors or out?

Does it fly in IMC or VMC?

 

Does the paint shop still exist?

I took my plane back to its prior paint shop for some paint fixes that were needed…. The blends are perfect… on a 25+ year old paint job…

 

PP thoughts only…

Best regards,

-a-

[M20F]

6 hours ago, jetdriven said:

It wasn’t prepared properly to begin with 

This would be correct answer.

[N201MKTurbo]

Over in the belly wash thread, someone said to use dish soap to prep the metal before painting. This is a bad idea! It will do what your paint is doing. The dish soap has ingredients that make the water sheet off glasses so it doesn’t make water spots. It makes the paint sheet off too. I use laundry detergent or TSP. It doesn’t cause the paint to peal.

[EricJ]

Since you have the paint names/numbers you can get some touch-up paint, potentially even in a spray bomb for the larger areas, or just a light brush works, too.    You might prep the bare areas a bit better, but just fixing the affected areas is an option to at least try.

This is a decorative coating so falls under owner preventive maintenance and you can do it yourself if you are so inclined.

 

[jetdriven]

I’ve done  a bunch of this stuff and usually the paint touchup looks worse than just leaving it like that. First you got a prep the metal well enough that it’ll stick then you have to feather the edges then you need to prekote it and then prime it and then paint it and you have to match the color accurately.   and then you have to mask off the entire airplane and the only paint sections but then those sections will look nicer the rest of the airplane then you need to buff the entire airplane to match and if by the time you get done you’re gonna spend four days and it’s gonna look one percent better than it does now trust me on this it isn’t worth it.

[Igor_U]

^^^^^^^ This!

When I bought my plane it had a repaint with bad prep decade ago so I budgeted for a paint job. That is the only way to correct the issues and to look nice.

Not the answer you want to hear with today's prices of quality paint jobs... 

[gevertex]

21 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Can’t tell if the paint is bubbling or that’s dew on the top of the fuselage?

I had similar issues and just repainted. You can touch up some of the peeling paint but after awhile it just becomes a losing battle. I was afraid there’s corrosion I couldn’t see.

That's dew.  The paint is coming off near the rivet in the picture.

[gevertex]

On 6/27/2022 at 1:56 AM, carusoam said:

Definitely showing pre paint prep type issues…

Leading edges and bumps are most susceptible to encountering paint removal…

The corners of the stall strips are most difficult to keep paint on…

Good paint jobs don’t peel back…

For a paint job that is near 20years old….

Does it live indoors or out?

Does it fly in IMC or VMC?

 

Does the paint shop still exist?

I took my plane back to its prior paint shop for some paint fixes that were needed…. The blends are perfect… on a 25+ year old paint job…

 

PP thoughts only…

Best regards,

-a-

I just bought it, haven't flown her as the engine is out for overhaul. Only had 250 hours on her from last overhaul and they found spalled lifters / cam, 2 bad cylinders, 2 bad pistons.

It was hangared before I bought it, paint looks very shiny.  Currently lives outdoors as hangar space is unobtanium right now.  I am literally on every wait list within 1hr drive from my house.

Metal looks in great condition, no corrosion found.  pre-buy inspection said the air frame looked new.

Edited June 28, 2022 by gevertex

[carusoam]

There are threads around here that detail special planes….

These planes are also called forever-planes….

Forever planes often go through transformations that are continuous, and last for years…. Decades… forever….

One around here started to get loved about a decade ago… when it’s engine machined the cam flat-ish…. (Sound familiar?)

Then it got a new interior…

Recently a paint job…

Ever see a brand new 1977 M20J up close?   

One step at a time….

Best regards,

-a-

[gevertex]

19 hours ago, carusoam said:

Definitely showing pre paint prep type issues…

Leading edges and bumps are most susceptible to encountering paint removal…

The corners of the stall strips are most difficult to keep paint on…

Good paint jobs don’t peel back…

For a paint job that is near 20years old….

Does it live indoors or out?

Does it fly in IMC or VMC?

 

Does the paint shop still exist?

I took my plane back to its prior paint shop for some paint fixes that were needed…. The blends are perfect… on a 25+ year old paint job…

 

PP thoughts only…

Best regards,

-a-

A quick google search didn't yield an obvious match, but there is a company with the name name out of a different location in TX.  I am in NC so it'd be quite a hike. I can  try calling them tomorrow.  Unlikely they will be sympathetic even if they are the same company.

[gevertex]

Thanks for the replies everyone.  Looks like I might have a paint job in my future.

I can deal with the looks for now (maybe prices of a new paint job will come down in the future), but should I be concerned about corrosion and seek to cover the bare metal? What about the bare rivet heads?

[gevertex]

8 minutes ago, carusoam said:

There are threads around here that detail special planes….

These planes are also called forever-planes….

Forever planes often go through transformations that are continuous, and last for years…. Decades… forever….

One around here started to get loved about a decade ago… when it’s engine machined the cam flat-ish…. (Sound familiar?)

Then it got a new interior…

Recently a paint job…

Ever see a brand new 1977 M20J up close?   

One step at a time….

Best regards,

-a-

I haven't seen a new 1977 up close yet.  Perhaps mine will turn into that one day.

[carusoam]

Hmmmmm….

See if @jetdriven will share a pic of his plane… Byron and Becca have been improving their bird for years….

Its paint is spectacular… 

And it’s WnB is in racing trim….

Byron is also an awesome Mooney mechanic and has detailed some of the restoration work that he has completed…

He has a shop called RPM not too far from you when measured in Mooney time…

Best regards,

-a-

[gevertex]

23 hours ago, EricJ said:

Since you have the paint names/numbers you can get some touch-up paint, potentially even in a spray bomb for the larger areas, or just a light brush works, too.    You might prep the bare areas a bit better, but just fixing the affected areas is an option to at least try.

This is a decorative coating so falls under owner preventive maintenance and you can do it yourself if you are so inclined.

 

I’ll definitely try this in at least a couple spots and see how it goes