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Roller Painting for Metal Aircraft

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Daleandee

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
2,391
Location
SC
Having searched the forums I failed to find any detailed information on, what I believe to be, an excellent approach to finishing metal aircraft with good results at a fraction of the cost of most methods being presented.

The cost to wrap an aircraft was well over my budget and I personally don't want to spend upwards of 1/2 the cost of the aircraft on the finish. Sprayed on finishes are quite gorgeous if done correctly but the cost can be quite prohibitive for us that live on the lower end of the economic scale.

Now if you are building an Oshkosh Champion or have a nearly unlimited supply of funds to put the perfect finish on your aircraft please disregard the following information (and consider contributing to my GoFundMe page - :roll:). But, if you have a desire to finish a metal aircraft with very good results for less than a grand, this info might be welcome. I, like a number of economy minded builders, was building a Frequent Flyer, not a beauty queen or a hangar queen. :)

It's about rolling on the paint job. I did it with my aircraft and the results, while not award winning by Lindy standards, are quite acceptable. I've had so many people that have seen it tell me that it looks as if it is sprayed on. The process is detailed on my website with photos. The photos can be clicked on and enlarged so you can get a fair view of how well the paint "flows out" after application. This isn't Rustoleum from Wal-Mart but some rather expensive Acrylic Urethane Enamel, three part paint used for aluminum boats.

Here's the process as written on my web site:

ExperCraft Simple Log: Sonex # 1319

A few of the nearly finished photos are here:

ExperCraft Simple Log: Sonex # 1319

Another aircraft painted with this method:

ExperCraft Simple Log: Sonex 1306

Here is the website for the products used:

Signature Finish and Honey Teak Products - Signature Finish

My Cleanex was in the completions section of Kitplanes last November as well as on their site with some clear photos:

KITPLANES Newsline

Hopefully this will present another option for consideration to many that have a desire to paint a partial or all metal aircraft but didn't have the resources, equipment, or location to do so.

Dunno if this helps ...

Dale Williams
N319WF @ 6J2
Myunn - "daughter of Cleanex"
120 HP - 3.0 Corvair
Tail Wheel - Center Stick
Signature Finish 2200 Paint Job
118.4 hours / Status - Flying
 
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