The Murphy Builders Site

Working alone, it took some planning but it was not near as much work as
a repaint job. I am pleased to not have to take it apart again for
painting and quite happy with the results. Expect most of a kilobuck
just for paint cost though and another kilobuck if you need to purchase
a good hvlp system and breathing air. You do need fresh breathing air if
you use urethane paint because no filter mask will protect you from
iso-cyanates. Biggest issue is probably whether you have a place to do
it. Usually you want to topcoat within 24 hours or so of priming so time
can also be an issue although the paint that I used allowed up to 7 days.

That princess unit is a plastic gun. I'd guess that it would likely be
fine for small jobs - not sure about a wing or fuselage?? You want to
be able to get all the way around a wing or fuselage while the first
applied paint is still fairly wet. You'd know if the unit was adequate
by the time you did the tail feathers. The Princess unit is 4 psi with
only a 15 foot hose. I used 100 feet of hose to help cool the air. The
hobby air units come with 50 feet I think to at least make sure the
intake is outside and upwind.

Ken



pequeajim@dcsol.com wrote:

I am curious how many of you guys have painted your own aircraft? I mean
if we are not going to get too elaborate, and have some quality guidance, it
would be a great way to save quite a bit of money?




On 8/21/2006 9:04 AM, bhewlett@sasktel.net wrote to rebel-builders:

-> Good Morning,
->
-> I see that Princess Auto has a HVLP sprayer package on sale this week for
$ 99.00
-> Includes the turbine and spray gun and 15' of hose.
-> My question is, does anyone have experience with these units. Specs
match the units from Hobby Air
-> but price is considerably cheaper. It is Power Fist brand so longevity is
questionable but if it works......
->
-> Thanks,
->
-> Brad (R195)
->
-> Brad Hewlett
-> Saskatoon, SK
-> bhewlett@sasktel.net

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I've never painted an aircraft (yet!) but I've painted many cars, boats,
trucks, tractors, engines etc over the years and I would say that you CAN do
it. Practice first, though. I'm self taught - I'm not perfect, but I've
turned out some nice jobs. Here are a couple of thoughts;

1) Get a good gun and a small jam gun. I have an old DeVilbiss. I was the
top of the line 25 years ago, and it's now worn to my hand and I know its
personality. Folks rave about the HVLP's and if I had to learn over, I
would get one. Also, make sure you get a jam gun for getting into small
areas. I have an even older Binks model that is fool-proof. But get a GOOD
gun - spend your money there. I would not get an off-brand/knock-off.

2) You need good ventilation - or you can do this outside at the right time
of the year and day.

3) Get good water filters for your compressor. This is a MUST. You need
dry air.

4) Practice, and watch someone do it if you can. Go to an auto body shop and
watch, get a book or two (there are some good ones), and/or get an old car
at a bone yard and practice on some of the panels. Less is usually better;
too much is a disaster.

5) Oh yeah - and get a good respirator.

It's really gratifying, and I'm sure if you built a plane, I would think you
could master the paint!


Brian
Murphy Moose - Someday

-----Original Message-----
From: mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of
pequeajim@dcsol.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:01 PM
To: rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: [rebel-builders] RE: HVLP Sprayers

I am curious how many of you guys have painted your own aircraft? I mean
if we are not going to get too elaborate, and have some quality guidance, it

would be a great way to save quite a bit of money?




On 8/21/2006 9:04 AM, bhewlett@sasktel.net wrote to rebel-builders:

-> Good Morning,
->
-> I see that Princess Auto has a HVLP sprayer package on sale this week for

$ 99.00
-> Includes the turbine and spray gun and 15' of hose.
-> My question is, does anyone have experience with these units. Specs
match the units from Hobby Air
-> but price is considerably cheaper. It is Power Fist brand so longevity is

questionable but if it works......
->
-> Thanks,
->
-> Brad (R195)
->
-> Brad Hewlett
-> Saskatoon, SK
-> bhewlett@sasktel.net
->





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Painting is not Rocket Science, but it is an art learned from experience and
practice. From the experience of painting a few cars, boats, motorcycles and
airplanes, I advise you to try it on some smaller panels and get the knack of
the equipment (and more importantly the paint) you arer using. Keep in mind
that temperature and humidity changes everything, not to mention psi
variance, mood, and position of the planets. I have seen pros totally screw
up and have to start over! It is fun and messy (and sometimes dangerous ...
ask me about the dumpster I set on fire with ... another story), but very
satisfying when you get it right. Personally, I have tried HVLP and prefer to
waste paint in overspray, but that is probably because I learned the old
fashioned way. Also it is a lot easier to get light coats with coventional
equipment. As for "blowing the paint out of the rivets" with conventional vs
HVLP; Please, the second coat (after the first very very very light tack coat)
will cover sufficiently to seal them.
And, on iso-cyanates: beware, (I use them exclusively) fresh air is a must. I
would rather stand upwind and paint in a ten knot breeze and rub out the dirt
than breathe that stuff. (Exactly how I did the boats!)
On 8/23/2006 6:44 AM, klehman@albedo.net wrote to rebel-builders:

-> Working alone, it took some planning but it was not near as much work as
-> a repaint job. I am pleased to not have to take it apart again for
-> painting and quite happy with the results. Expect most of a kilobuck
-> just for paint cost though and another kilobuck if you need to purchase
-> a good hvlp system and breathing air. You do need fresh breathing air if
-> you use urethane paint because no filter mask will protect you from
-> iso-cyanates. Biggest issue is probably whether you have a place to do
-> it. Usually you want to topcoat within 24 hours or so of priming so time
-> can also be an issue although the paint that I used allowed up to 7 days.
->
-> That princess unit is a plastic gun. I'd guess that it would likely be
-> fine for small jobs - not sure about a wing or fuselage?? You want to
-> be able to get all the way around a wing or fuselage while the first
-> applied paint is still fairly wet. You'd know if the unit was adequate
-> by the time you did the tail feathers. The Princess unit is 4 psi with
-> only a 15 foot hose. I used 100 feet of hose to help cool the air. The
-> hobby air units come with 50 feet I think to at least make sure the
-> intake is outside and upwind.
->
-> Ken
->
->
->
-> pequeajim@dcsol.com wrote:
->
-> >I am curious how many of you guys have painted your own aircraft? I
mean
-> >if we are not going to get too elaborate, and have some quality
guidance, it
-> >would be a great way to save quite a bit of money?
-> >
-> >
-> >
-> >
-> >On 8/21/2006 9:04 AM, bhewlett@sasktel.net wrote to rebel-builders:
-> >
-> >-> Good Morning,
-> >->
-> >-> I see that Princess Auto has a HVLP sprayer package on sale this
week for
-> >$ 99.00
-> >-> Includes the turbine and spray gun and 15' of hose.
-> >-> My question is, does anyone have experience with these units. Specs
-> >match the units from Hobby Air
-> >-> but price is considerably cheaper. It is Power Fist brand so longevity
is
-> >questionable but if it works......
-> >->
-> >-> Thanks,
-> >->
-> >-> Brad (R195)
-> >->
-> >-> Brad Hewlett
-> >-> Saskatoon, SK
-> >-> bhewlett@sasktel.net
-> >
-> >
->
->
->





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I've done a little AC spray painting with inexpensive HVLP guns, more
recently this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=43430
...and the smaller version for small areas.

My biggest blessing perhaps is not having ever touched an expensive gun, so
don't know what to compare to. That being said, I've also heard from
reasonable sources that these guns have improved almost as rapidly as
electronics, and cheap ones such as above, are darn good. Looking at them,
you can tell they are reasonably sophisticated. Getting them cleaned
perfectly after use is very important to assure no unnecessary troubles
next time.

I certainly agree with the comments suggesting practice is beneficial.
Variation will happen too with different paints and whatever thinning, as
well as weather conditions (humidity/temp). So, best would be to have
similar paint and conditions between practice and real.
-Ben



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THanks for the advice Brian. It sounds challenging, but fun!

On 8/23/2006 2:34 AM, northernliving@sc.rr.com wrote to rebel-builders:

-> I've never painted an aircraft (yet!) but I've painted many cars, boats,
-> trucks, tractors, engines etc over the years and I would say that you CAN
do
-> it. Practice first, though. I'm self taught - I'm not perfect, but I've
-> turned out some nice jobs. Here are a couple of thoughts;
->
-> 1) Get a good gun and a small jam gun. I have an old DeVilbiss. I was the
-> top of the line 25 years ago, and it's now worn to my hand and I know its
-> personality. Folks rave about the HVLP's and if I had to learn over, I
-> would get one. Also, make sure you get a jam gun for getting into small
-> areas. I have an even older Binks model that is fool-proof. But get a
GOOD
-> gun - spend your money there. I would not get an off-brand/knock-off.
->
-> 2) You need good ventilation - or you can do this outside at the right time
-> of the year and day.
->
-> 3) Get good water filters for your compressor. This is a MUST. You need
-> dry air.
->
-> 4) Practice, and watch someone do it if you can. Go to an auto body shop
and
-> watch, get a book or two (there are some good ones), and/or get an old
car
-> at a bone yard and practice on some of the panels. Less is usually better;
-> too much is a disaster.
->
-> 5) Oh yeah - and get a good respirator.
->
-> It's really gratifying, and I'm sure if you built a plane, I would think you
-> could master the paint!
->
->
-> Brian
-> Murphy Moose - Someday
->
-> -----Original Message-----
-> From: mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of
-> pequeajim@dcsol.com
-> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:01 PM
-> To: rebel-builders@dcsol.com
-> Subject: [rebel-builders] RE: HVLP Sprayers
->
-> I am curious how many of you guys have painted your own aircraft? I
mean
-> if we are not going to get too elaborate, and have some quality guidance,
it
->
-> would be a great way to save quite a bit of money?
->
->
->
->
-> On 8/21/2006 9:04 AM, bhewlett@sasktel.net wrote to rebel-builders:
->
-> -> Good Morning,
-> ->
-> -> I see that Princess Auto has a HVLP sprayer package on sale this week
for
->
-> $ 99.00
-> -> Includes the turbine and spray gun and 15' of hose.
-> -> My question is, does anyone have experience with these units. Specs
-> match the units from Hobby Air
-> -> but price is considerably cheaper. It is Power Fist brand so longevity is
->
-> questionable but if it works......
-> ->
-> -> Thanks,
-> ->
-> -> Brad (R195)
-> ->
-> -> Brad Hewlett
-> -> Saskatoon, SK
-> -> bhewlett@sasktel.net
-> ->
->
->
->
->
->
-> -----------------------------------------------------------------
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-> username "rebel" password "builder"
-> Unsubscribe: rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
-> List administrator: mike.davis@dcsol.com
-> -----------------------------------------------------------------
->





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