SPOT TREAT & PAINT - AL SKIN ?

[N201MKTurbo]

There used to be a CB at the airport who bragged that he painted the whole plane with rattle cans. Any time a section got funky looking he would sand it down a bit than re-paint with Krylon. It wasn't the best looking plane on the field, but it was a long way from the worst.

[EricJ]

34 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

There used to be a CB at the airport who bragged that he painted the whole plane with rattle cans. Any time a section got funky looking he would sand it down a bit than re-paint with Krylon. It wasn't the best looking plane on the field, but it was a long way from the worst.

The IAR 823 that I work on occassionally that you saw is like that:   camo with four different colors of primer.    It's genius.   It looks great and whenever I've had to touch up anything it's just grab the appropriate color of primer.   You don't even have to be careful to match the shape of the pattern that was there before.

[Kelpro999]

On 1/9/2023 at 5:35 AM, Fly Boomer said:

I know this post is a little dated, but I have a number of corrosion spots that need attention, and I wanted to understand better what we can do.  I have one of the small-quantity alodine kits, and I have a specialty paint supplier, but I didn't understand the part about "Tape off with round foam tape for a soft edge".  I understand how using something round helps to avoid a sharp edge, but I can't find any product that could be described as "round foam tape".  I just searched through several hundred products from 3M that are identified as "foam tape", but none seem to fit the "round" criteria.  What product do you use?

I use 3M soft edge foam masking tape p/n 06297.

 

[Kelpro999]

On 1/9/2023 at 6:03 AM, RoundTwo said:

And as an aside, at what point in a paint job’s lifespan does the paint begin to pop off of the rivet heads? Are rivet heads the canary in the coal mine for aircraft paint?

R2

 Paint popping off rivets comes from many different reasons and not necessarily a specific time in the complete paint jobs lifespan. 

[RoundTwo]

6 minutes ago, Kelpro999 said:

 Paint popping off rivets comes from many different reasons and not necessarily a specific time in the complete paint jobs lifespan. 

Is it indicative of an addressable problem, or just the nature of the beast?

[Kelpro999]

4 hours ago, RoundTwo said:

Is it indicative of an addressable problem, or just the nature of the beast?

  Sometimes addressable if it’s not too extensive. Rivet area has the most skin flexing or should I say the smallest bending  radius compared to non-rivet smooth areas in between yet they usually have the thickest primer/paint build up that resist flex so cracking occurs but these areas can be refinished without too much trouble. Loose (smoking) rivets need mechanical attention. Corrosion around rivets also need repair.

 Poor preparation during application of the current paint can also promote adhesion problems, usually shows up as larger areas around rivets missing paint.

[carusoam]

Big spot challenges are often impact areas… leading edges and anything that protrudes… or has sharp edges.

unfortunately, planes that see a lot of IMC… also see paint wear areas…

 

Check the stall strips for early signs of paint wanting to escape…

My M20C saw everything from rattle can paint to nicely prepped rattle can paint…

Oddly, it was a popular beige color and blended quite nicely…

Find instructions for cleaning, priming, painting… experiment in out of the way places before tackling the door frame area…. 
 

Also be aware there is some interesting paint correction videos… that are helpful.

The most important part… protect from corrosion.  Looking nice is a close second…

As the paint thins… more spots will show.   
 

around the wheel wells is a very important place to stay ahead of, where the image won’t ever be seen….

PP thoughts only…

Best regards,

-a-

[RoundTwo]

7 hours ago, carusoam said:

Big spot challenges are often impact areas… leading edges and anything that protrudes… or has sharp edges.

unfortunately, planes that see a lot of IMC… also see paint wear areas…

I hadn’t thought about the IMC impact (no pun intended) on paint. I recently looked at a ‘90 wearing factory paint with a good bit of leading edge erosion on all 5. I guess it had spent a good amount of time crashing into rain drops.

R2