Help settle marital paint scheme dispute!

[emillerslo]

Hello everyone, I'm hoping you can help me settle a dispute with my husband.  We have wildly differing opinions on how to repaint our Mooney M20J, which currently has the old outdated cream yellow body with blue and brick red striping down the body.  The issue is that he initiated a restoration/upgrade of the interior, including a brand new panel, and seats, without regard for what the exterior would look like. 

If this project were up to me, I would have decided upon a paint scheme first so as to fit the inside to complement, but alas, we are working this problem in reverse and now I feel boxed in by color choices already made.  Without revealing our personal preferences, can you all please vote on which exterior paint scheme you prefer?  Thank you in advance, especially if you pick my choice!

Option 1:

 

 

Option 2:

 

 

Seats are in the shop being restored as we type:

[Hank]

Option #2 looks really good, but a dark fuselage will be hot, hot, hot! If you're in New England, northern Plains or northern Rockies, it won't matter. I'd paint a car like this without hesitation, and enjoy it. But not my Mooney.

Option #1 to me is drab and colorless . . . White and gray is just unexciting, but at least the white cockpit won't cook the occupants.

In the end, it's a personal choice, and should be driven by your personal preferences. 

[KSMooniac]

I think it isn't too hard to fit the exterior to the interior later, unless you paint yourself into a corner with wild colors. Most choose something neutral, with warmer palettes like tan/beige/etc or cooler ones with greys. Either can be coordinated with exterior paint done properly. If you make yellow and purple seats, well good luck.

IMO Mooneys are hard to scheme elegantly. My first paint job in 2009 led me to a freelance scheme designer that was fantastic. I had some ideas/elements I liked, and conveyed this to him. He used to own a Mooney and had a great eye, and he went to work. He showed me what I was thinking, and then several alternatives that went different directions but with the same elements. In the end, we iterated through many versions and ended up with something different than my original vision, but that I liked much better.

I honestly don't like either of the AI schemes shown above, sorry. They're not Mooneys, and when rendered properly they might look different enough to bother you. I think you ought to grind though the options with your husband and get to some common ground, and then get a real designer to help make it real. Unfortunately my guy passed away years ago, so he cannot help.

Edit: the first one looks like a Mooney, but the tail paint is cluttered and awful with the vertical boundary on the dorsal and the little appendage over the numbers.

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[PeteMc]

I didn't even read who wants what...

SHE WINS!!!

Edited June 6 by PeteMc

[kortopates]

Sorry not a fan of either but also agree with Hank that i wouldn’t like a dark fuselage either. But lighter one is boring!
sorry if not helpful.


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[carusoam]

25 minutes ago, PeteMc said:

I didn't ever read who wants what...

SHE WINS!!!

If HE is WISE…

 

if unable to choose a pair of colors…

Choose the Mooney Anomaly!

 

my plane is white on top…

easy to spot, without going optic orange.

cool in the summer, no AC.

PP thoughts only… I was never able to match a shirt to a pair of pants…  age hasn’t made it any easier.  I’m not a stylist.

note: the second scheme above includes an interesting attribute that only a few Mooney’s have ever received…

the Eagle’s Beak!

it’s kind of subtle, but now you know.

 

 

Edited June 5 by carusoam

[Hank]

20 minutes ago, carusoam said:

I was never able to match a shirt to a pair of pants…  age hasn’t made it any easier.  I’m not a stylist.

That's why I always wore jeans, until I got a job that didn't allow that. So I wore khakis . . . .

Now, I just don't care--shorts in the summer, jeans in winter, khakis for special occasions. 

My white truck needs more AC than my black car, because the windows have less tint. But I would not want an airplane with a dark cockpit, even though @aviatoreb's all-blue Mooney looks great--he lives in serious snow country!

P.S.--my Mooney for reference. Color isn't bad, just not on top of the cockpit.

[Fly Boomer]

55 minutes ago, Hank said:

Now, I just don't care--shorts in the summer, jeans in winter, khakis for special occasions. 

+1

[Paul Thomas]

I prefer the first scheme. I'm not a far of dark color on airplanes and that includes the interior. Light gray or beige seats are great colors. I know they are viewed as boring by some, but I'd rather be boring and have a cabin that's comfortable and easy to keep clean.

You should refurb two airplanes and put it them to a vote at Oshkosh or Sun 'N Fun.

[TCC]

…
P.S.--my Mooney for reference. Color isn't bad, just not on top of the cockpit.

I still love your paint scheme.

As for the OP, I prefer the first option. The second reminds me of a cartoonish banana.

[IvanP]

Neither option would be my choice. Dark paint on top will probably result in a very hot interior (depending on where you are). Replacing the grey in the first design by some livelier hue may produce a more appealing plane. At the end of the day, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.   

[MikeOH]

Another vote for neither one, sorry.  The first is boring and second looks gaudy.  Again, sorry.

[Ragsf15e]

I like the first one, no matter what the other guys say.  The other one will be too hot although it looks good in the hangar.  Honestly, the subdued white and grey is nice.

[Skates97]

I'm with the crowd on this one, not a fan of either one. The top one doesn't do much for me and the bottom has too much going on in addition to the dark fuselage. You could try reaching out to Robert at Flight Lines design. https://www.flightlinesdesign.com/ 

I worked with him when coming up with the paint scheme for my plane. I gave him ideas and pictures and then he ran with it giving me different schemes and modifying as I told him which parts I liked and which I didn't like. One thing I am very happy with was putting a dark color on the leading edge. I did it specifically to be able to see any ice building and it has been great. The few times I have picked up ice it stood out easily where on the white I'm not sure it would.

[PT20J]

 Mooney's seem especially difficult to design paint schemes.

I would consider #1, but I'd drop the "hook" above the N number and extend the dark color to include the entire dorsal fin. I might try other colors than grey and white.

#2 just hurts my eyes.

[exM20K]

Maybe have a look at a gallery of finished Mooneys.  

For example, https://tejasaero.com/gallery/ or https://hawkaircraft.com/#gallery (which isn't working for me right now)

Or Scheme Designers: https://schemedesigners.com/project-category/retract-singles-mooney/

You should find something that grabs you and your SO.

-dan

[varlajo]

I passionately despise "flowing lines" of any kind. Your Exhibit 1 has a lot of potential though. Lose the curls and add a splash of bright color somewhere. Either orange or cold/lemon yellow would look pretty good with those grays. 

[Fritz1]

Happy wife, happy life, beauty is absolutely in the eye of the beholder, cabin is significantly cooler when painted white though, touch white paint versus black wing walk on a sunny day and you will feel the difference, happy painting!

[Z W]

Our paint shop recommended using standard Matterhorn White for the base color, then adding stripes/accents in the colors you want. It's easy to match. It was very good advice. You can paint brackets/baffles/inspection panels/gear legs/touch up anywhere with Rustoleum White, available for sale at your local hardware store.

If I were re-painting any aircraft, the bottom of the wings, the leading edges, and the gear would be Matterhorn White again. Maybe also the area of the fuselage where your GPS, nav, and com antennas go, since those get replaced more often than the paint. Airplanes take a beating flying through the air at 200 MPH, getting taken apart every year for annual, and having components replaced. Touching up the paint is necessary from time to time.

Just a practical consideration. I like the first style you posted OK myself.

[Flyler]

My vote is for option 1.  Really nice renderings!

[Rsmithref]

HAPPY WIFE, More Happy hours flying Fast and Efficient, Just sayin

[Jason 1996 MSE]

Not voting but my M20J has a dark color running from lower cowling to wing roots to lower half of fuselage extending to tail.  I recommend this as it hides dirt, oil, fuel stains, chips, etc. very well and so I don't feel the need for a cleaning session after every flight.  My previous plane had white in these areas and always seemed dirty.  Congrats on the upgrades - a new paint job and interior will look & feel great!

[kris_adams]

I think #1 is simple and elegant.  I'd probably "simplify" the tail design just a bit.  I'm a fan of the checkered tails as well...not saying it would flow with this design.  I'm adding this one to my gallery so one day when I do paint I'll use it for ideas.  

[emillerslo]

Ok here's a follow up question to those who have responded with concerns about the color with respect to heat (thank you, btw)...  The airplane will be regularly hangared, is the heat a problem in air, or mostly when sitting and baking on a ramp?  Would a canopy cover help to alleviate this issue, and also provide some protection?  

[Hank]

My Mooney (see photo above) lives in a hangar, and I use a canopy cover when I travel. This keeps the inside pretty cool, and I can even load the baggage area and keep the cockpit covered and cool. Then I have to remove the cover and put it in the plane, and when traveling with my wife, add additional bags to the back seat. 

Then we climb in and crank up, getting adjusted and waiting for the GPS to boot up. Taxi time varies, and I'm usually at an uncontrolled field, so less than a mile from chocks to runway.

But sometimes there's a tower out there in the sunshine, and I have to wait for inbound traffic to fly a complete GPS approach, and sometimes a second plane behind them to land before I get to takeoff . . . And let's not talk about initial clearances to 2000'!

Even in my white-topped plane, it gets really, really hot. Dark paint will just accelerate that. 

Same thing applies on approach, often several miles long in the bright sunshine, followed by landing, rollout and taxi. My longest taxi distance was at KRDU after landing on the center runway, I'm guessing 2-1/2 miles to parking. My longest time taxiing for departure was flying hurricane relief, it was just over 45 minutes from when I got in line on the ramp until I joined the (short) line on the taxiway. (Yes, Charlotte is warm in early September!). My longest wait for departure was either 20 minutes in Savannah in August or when I angered the controller in Columbua, SC by asking for a 2-minute delay for jet turbulence and sat for a half-dozen landing aircraft, some of which I could easily have departed between. 

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

There are two important things about painting your airplane:

1. You want a quality job that looks good and lasts.
2. You want to like how it looks, every time you look at it.

Nothing else matters, and our opinions are worth a bit less than you have paid for them. But getting design input from an experienced professional is rarely a bad idea.

Have fun, and enjoy your pimped ride when it's all said and done!