longevity of vynilshrink wrap on aircraft

[n502pd]

I have read the few posts from several years ago on this subject, and am still very interested in wraping N502PD. I most likely will go with the 3M product line, at least for now, and will do the whole plane. This is instead of painting or polishing (ugh!).

I would like to hear from those here who have had experience with wraping, ease of install, ease of care, prep of aluminum, and longevity of application, And any special problem areas, or other things that may disuade me. From what I have learned, overall cost is way less that paint, domed head rivets are not a problem either.

However, one A&P has said wrap will slow the airplane down relative to paint. Has anybody heard that, or have comparisons between , say, before paint, before wraping and after, relative to airspeed differences been done but not published?

thanks much for any input, for or against!

Joe, N502PD
20 hrs, still grinnin'!!

[gammaxy]

I wrapped my cowl, wheelpants, and fiberglass tips with Hexis wrap about 4 years ago. I like the color and the glittery finish that didn't require me to learn to paint.

http://www.sonexbuilders.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=1057

The cowl was the most difficult part. I ended up using 4 pieces of vinyl for each side of the cowl. One small piece near the inlet and a piece each for the top, side, and bottom. It probably took about 3-4 hours for my wife and I to do the cowl. The rest of the parts I did myself in a couple evenings. I have a couple spots near the inlets that didn't adhere well that I could easily remove and replace with a small piece of fresh vinyl, but haven't.

The wrap seems to be holding up great. I do have a few square inches near the exhaust where fuel got between the fiberglass and vinyl so it peeled up (I left the fuel valve on--now I always shut off with the fuel valve). I cut the peeling vinyl off and it's otherwise holding up fine. It would be easy to apply some of my left-over vinyl to the spot, but I haven't.

I think the rest of the wings/fuselage would be incredibly easy to wrap.

I'm confident the wrap won't slow your airplane down. It's likely to weight less than paint so might even make you imperceptibly faster.

[WesRagle]

Hey Joe,

Have you listened to

"SonexFlight Episode 36 - “Vinyl Wrapping" is available for download!"

Very interesting.

Wes

[NWade]

One thing I've been wondering: Has anyone found corrosion underneath the vinyl?

AIUI, vinyl is not a complete moisture barrier - wondering if anyone has experience they can share about whether this has come up on any aircraft that use vinyl without first painting the skins (something that differentiates us from most automotive applications).

Thanks,

--Noel

[n502pd]

Thanks for the replys, guys!
Chris I did see your photos in my investigative process, and it does look great! My colors will be somewhat ww 2-like, maybe close to P 51 "Crazy Horse", or something like that. I want to wrap most of the plane with aluminum colored wrap, with invasion stripes, chekered vert and rudder, and tips to match color of checks.

I have not looked at the Hexxis wrap yet, but I do know about 3M products in general. They have always been great, so that is where I plan to start.

I can not think that the wrap will slow the IAS down one bit, Maybe make it a bit faster considering that it will shrink very close to the rivets, and actually seal the stem holes. I will have to persue the thoughts about moisture retension. This stuff is plastic...I think... that has been treated with radiation to cause it to shrink when heated, if I remember how shrink tubing works.I had read somewhere that a clear protective outer layer is applied to the wrap after printing. The overall weight savings should more than cover concerns about not painting. At this point I plan to cover over bare aluminum.

I dont plan to do this until late this year, or next year. Just now I am facing back surgery so I dont know just when I will be recovered.

Thanks again for all the assist! I will keep you posted when I have something done!

Joe

[Darick]

If you have an edge of vinyl wrap exposed to direct air flow, say for instance on the side of the cowl, does anyone know how well it will resist peeling at that edge?

[Darick]

I have read the few posts from several years ago on this subject, and am still very interested in wraping N502PD. I most likely will go with the 3M product line, at least for now, and will do the whole plane. This is instead of painting or polishing (ugh!).

I would like to hear from those here who have had experience with wraping, ease of install, ease of care, prep of aluminum, and longevity of application.....

thanks much for any input, for or against!

Joe, N502PD
20 hrs, still grinnin'!!

Joe, have you tried the vinyl wrap yet?
Darick

[T41pilot]

Darick

I've wrapped some of my control surfaces in vinyl. I found 3m vinyl very unforgiving. It seemed to have a lot of stick to it and did not want to pop back up so you could try to fix any errors or just do a stretch in a different direction. It would rip. I finally had to use some tack reducer and that helped a lot. The ambient temperature at the time was 68 to 70 degrees in my basement. My trim color was made by Avery. I found it much easier to use and did not require tack reducer to pop it back up. If I had a choice at this point, I would choose Avery for the whole plane. Unfortunately, they didn't have a main color that I wanted and I didn't know about the 3M issues anyway. I'm sure 3M is fine for a pro, but for a newbie, I would choose something else. Go to CK Wraps on youtube. The guy is a wizard and has a million wrap videos. You'll find he is not a 3M fan either.

[n502pd]

I have read the few posts from several years ago on this subject, and am still very interested in wraping N502PD. I most likely will go with the 3M product line, at least for now, and will do the whole plane. This is instead of painting or polishing (ugh!).

I would like to hear from those here who have had experience with wraping, ease of install, ease of care, prep of aluminum, and longevity of application.....

thanks much for any input, for or against!

Joe, N502PD
20 hrs, still grinnin'!!

Joe, have you tried the vinyl wrap yet?
Darick

No Derick, I have not, and probably wont. I have it in native color...no paint. For the time being, at every inspection I wipe the entire surfaces with acf 50. so far it has been good at keeping the desired...so fr...P 51D look! I will paint the cowl this summer durring the inspetion down time. Some star and bars decals have been applied, and it does a crediable job appearing as amini P51. I just have to figure out how to get the wsix exh staks on the sides of the cowl!