Rattle Can Painting of Fiberglass Parts

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,
I am at the point in building my Onex and I would like to finish up the tail. To do that, I will have to paint something. Not good.

Since I am polishing the airplane there won’t be a lot of painting. Also, I don’t want to deal with two part epoxy paint. So, I would like to draw on the community’s experience and try to get good results with a rattle can paint job of the fiberglass parts. From a previous post it seems that Rustoleum and Duplicolor might be good products for the job.

So, here is my starting point. I bought a used kit and a new tail kit so I have some spare tail tips to experiment with. I countersunk the rivets that hold the tips to the tip ribs so those will have to be filled. I have some supplies on hand but need to “go shopping” for all of the paint products.

Perhaps a good place to start is a materials list. I’ll give it a shot and edit it as necessary.

Material:
1) Filler. I have some fairing filler and epoxy that can be used to mix up some filler.
2) Sand paper. I have a lot of 220 grit.
3) Sandable primer. Need some.
4) Paint. Need some.
5) Tack Cloth. Need some.
6) Prep-Sol? Have some.
7) Rubbing Compound and Swirl remover. Have some.
8) Foam pad for application of #7. Have one but it rotted. Need two.
9) Paint Booth. Would like to have one but might just pick times for outside painting.
10) Patience. Have a little, probably need some more.
11) Masking tape. Need some.
12) Plastic drop cloths. Need some.



Anything I’m forgetting? Or, anything I don't need?
Comments?

Thanks,

Wes

[rick9mjn]

you have good list,
the one thing ,that i can think of, to add, is a halogen light fixture,
if you go to any paint/body you will see these being used
, and i think ,
beside being use to show, the bad spots in the paint ,
they are also used to heat up the surface to be painted,
so the paint will stick, flow ,cover, look better..
and i do like your note number 10"""10) Patience. Have a little, probably need some more.""
..../...good day / rick

[WesRagle]

Ok Guys,

I've ordered sample quantities of both Rustoleum and Duplicolor. I think I'll pull the tail and have a polishing fit while waiting for the paint (etc.) to arrive.

It is a bit worrisome while "guessing" whether the primers are compatible with gel coat. BTW, I did order self-etching primer for both products anticipating that I will paint some metal as well.

I'll report back after I give each "process" a try. Any experienced advice is more than welcome.

Thanks,

Wes

[woodmw]

Wes...Got to ask this. Do you really think you can get a rattle can paint job that is worthy of being matched to the quality of the polish job you're doing? Also, I don't believe any rattle can paint is as tough or durable as urethane. What kind of paint was used on #664? Looks like the picture was taken in front of Mike and Ray's hangar at KCXO. GSSG?

[WesRagle]

Wes...Got to ask this. Do you really think you can get a rattle can paint job that is worthy of being matched to the quality of the polish job you're doing? Also, I don't believe any rattle can paint is as tough or durable as urethane. What kind of paint was used on #664? Looks like the picture was taken in front of Mike and Ray's hangar at KCXO. GSSG?

Hi,

I know a little about a lot of things. I know virtually nothing about painting. I am hopeful I can get reasonable results with caned paint. #664 was painted with PPG Concepts (no longer available). I actually made a pretty big mess of it. I had heard of runs, drips, and sags but I got introduced to errors I didn't even know existed. The big one was "solvent pop".

Turns out if you apply too heavy a coat and then re-coat too soon or too late, don't remember which, you end up with a bunch of miniature craters in the paint. After that you get to sand until you drop and try again.

The pic was taken down at Conroe at the GSSG. Conroe is where Mike Singleton gave my first ride in a Sonex.

BTW, what's your name? Do you know Gerry White?

Wes

[woodmw]

Hey Wes...

Name is Mike Wood. Don't know Gerry. Feel your pain when it comes to painting. Have experienced all problems you list. I just seem to have a harder time with rattle cans trying to get a paint job that looks good. I do better with a gun. Setup/cleanup is a pain, but, for me, longevity and durability seem better and the finish is better. Good luck.

[N418SX]

I've used milled fiberglass fiber/West epoxy slurry as my primary filler, followed by Rustoleum rattle can filler primer with excellent results. I've followed with Rustoleum rattle can Appliance Epoxy paint with equally excellent results and excellent longevity. As mentioned before, mind the instructions on recoats due to the use of solvents in rattle can paints. I've also used Preval sprayers to paint parts that require two part urethane paints, too.

Hope this helps.

[WaiexN143NM]

hi wes,
we used dupliclor as a primer on interior metal and fiberglass. medium green and self etching. bought at kragen o’rielly auto parts. we used the stewart water based epoxy on waiex#143 on the exterior . it uses its own water based epoxy gray primer. then color coats of white. very labor intensive. got to have scales to mix the part a&b together thourghly, THEN add the approiate ammount of water.
#183 waiex, using the duplicolor self etching primer , then ace hardware white epoxy rattle can spray. the plastic snap on spray nozzle trigger /handle makes it much easier to control and spray.
good luck!

WaiexN143NM
Michael

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

Thanks a lot for the advice and tips. However, I think I'm going to totally flake out on this. I tried some Dupli-Color and Rustoleum and just couldn't get comfortable that I would be able to paint large areas and get good results. Sorry for bugging y'all but I think I'm going to, gulp..., pay someone to do the painting.

Thanks Again,

Wes (cain't paint nothing) Ragle

[andrewp]

On our Sonex, stewart systems all the way, but when rebuilding the 182 fiberglass bits with our mechanic we mixed some stuff:

Spray rattle can for base coats and strips
Stewart clearcoat on top …

For the wheel pants and a tail fairing worked great!

When we had to rebuild the wingtips, stewart systems straight through and it worked great. The latest versions of Stewarts is much easier to work with than what I dealt with back in 2013.