Glareshield - paint or cover?

Discuss painting, polishing, or painting vs polishing.

Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby Bryan Cotton » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:05 pm

Hi all,

I am thinking I want to paint the glareshield flat black, like the Pawnees and Super Cubs I used to fly. It seems to me that a lot of you cover it with fabric instead. Has anybody painted it and were you happy with it?
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
User avatar
Bryan Cotton
 
Posts: 4957
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:54 pm
Location: C77

Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby Sonex1517 » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:15 pm

Bryan

I obviously have not flown yet, but I left mine painted. One thing I noticed is it is nearly impossible not to scratch the paint.


Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Chicagoland
Tails and Wings complete - finishing fuselage.
N1517S reserved
Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Aero Estates (T25)
First flight 10/10/2015
325+ hours
Jabiru 3300 Gen 4
Prince P Tip
Taildragger
N1517S
User avatar
Sonex1517
 
Posts: 1649
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:11 am
Location: Chicagoland

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby ScottM-Sonex1629 » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:33 pm

I covered mine with indoor outdoor carpet and extended the glareshield and used a vinyl u Channel trim to cover the edge. It looks good, has no glare, and I cannot scratch the paint off!

The other positive side effect of this material versus vinyl or paint, I can attach the hook side of hook and loop "Velcro" and it grabs the loop pile,in the carpet!

Image
Scott Meyer
Sonex 1629 - Sold...9/2019
ScottM-Sonex1629
 
Posts: 441
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:00 pm
Location: Dublin, Ohio (MRT)

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby mike.smith » Sat Apr 18, 2015 12:07 am

I figured carpet was going to be hard to keep clean. I installed a faux leather black vinyl on mine. Easy to clean with a damp cloth. It's a lot cooler to the touch in the summer than black painted metal.
Mike Smith
Sonex N439M
Scratch built, AeroVee, Dual stick, Tail dragger
http://www.mykitlog.com/mikesmith
mike.smith
 
Posts: 1406
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2013 8:45 pm

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby SonexN76ET » Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:16 am

I painted my glareshield with black pickup bed liner. It has a crinkle cast look and does not scratch easily. There is no glare. It is easy to wipe clean and it has not peeled.

Jake
User avatar
SonexN76ET
 
Posts: 490
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:39 pm
Location: Atlanta

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby planeolbob » Sat Apr 18, 2015 11:42 am

I covered mine with "Dark Grey Headliner Material" I got at JoAnn's fabric. Easy to install with the spray adhesive I got there too.
Here is a video of my flight into Oshkosh going in and out of the sun. Note that there is zero reflection. Also note that I should have covered the two little areas at the front with material as they do reflect.
Bob Mika

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MWFFmgI3Q4
User avatar
planeolbob
 
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:51 am

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby n982sx » Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:02 pm

I painted mine flat black. Delighted with it.
Bob Meyers

Built and Flying Sonex N982SX http://n982sx.com
Built and Flying RV-14 N626KM http://n626km.com
User avatar
n982sx
 
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:45 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby fastj22 » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:45 pm

Mine is painted with Krylon metal flake flat. Looks good, has held up surprisingly well. But I do like the idea of using a loop pile carpet so you can just put hook stuff on things you want to stick up there, like GPS receivers and stuff.

John Gillis
SEL Private, Comm Glider, Tow pilot (Pawnee Driver)
Waiex N116YX, Jabiru 3300, Tail dragger,
First flight, 3/16/2013. 403 hours and climbing.
Home: CO15. KOSH x 5
Flying a B-Model Conversion (Super Bee Baby!)
User avatar
fastj22
 
Posts: 1594
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:56 pm
Location: Mile High

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby nwyooper » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:06 pm

I powder coated my glare shield and it is holding up well.
nwyooper
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Glareshield - paint or cover?

Postby Rynoth » Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:39 pm

I covered with the fabric included in the Sonex upholstry kit, and am very satisfied with it so far (though it hasn't seen sunlight yet.) I think maybe the biggest difference (if there is a big difference) between paint vs fabric is how much heat it absorbs from sunlight. I imagine dark paint on metal will absorb a lot more heat into the cockpit than dark fabric. Which, depending on your region, could be a good or bad thing.
Ryan Roth
N197RR - Waiex #197 (Turbo Aerovee Taildragger)
Knoxville, TN (Hangar at KRKW)
My project blog: http://www.rynoth.com/wordpress/waiex/
Time-lapse video of my build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QTd2HoyAM
User avatar
Rynoth
 
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:32 pm
Location: Knoxville, TN

Next

Return to Finish methods

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests