~Paint~

I have elected to do the interior painting myself, and to have paid assistance on the exterior.  Orginally, I had painted the entire interior with Krylon pewter grey.  I even put a heavy coat of clear acrylic coating over it for durability.  Well, let me tell you, I will never paint anything with spray paint again.  I went through can after can after can after can.   It never looked right, and you can't sand and buff this stuff, so you have to get it perfectly slick without runs.  Well, I got it to where it looked good.  Well, as soon as I started putting the canopy on, every little touch of metal scratched and chipped it.  Even the plexiglass chipped the paint. 

I got frustrated and broke out the serious artillery:

From left to right:

Devilbiss professional spray gun, flattening agent for paint, Sunfire paint, hardener, reducer.

I used to paint rockets for a local defense contractor.  I should have known better to use quality stuff.  The paint is Sherwin Williams Sunfire.   This stuff is bullet proof.  It is an acrylic urethene paint that is used on construction vehicles, custom cars and trucks, and best of all, Boeing uses it for their airplanes.

It is mixed 4-2-1 paint, reducer, hardener.  The hardener is a clear syrup that looks like mixed epoxy.  It makes this paint virtually indestructable.   Before you buy your paint for your plane, take a serious look at this product.   It can be obtained from a Sherwin Williams Automotive store.  The Sherwin Williams stores that have the house paints will not have it. The color is a light gray, color book #50023.

I elected to use a flattening agent to cut down on the glare in the cockpit.  Total cost of the above materials (less gun) was about $200.  Seems expensive, but when you see the difference, and how strong it really is, it is a no brainer decision. 

The DeVilbiss Gum, while providing a good paint job, was starting to act up.  It was sputtering even after the entire gun was dissasembled and overhauled.   Not to mention, my tools, lawnmower, floor, dog, and other airplane parts had overspray on it.    It was VERY messy to paint with, and I used ALOT of expensive paint. Which brings me to my next impulse purchase (those are the worst kind)

I purchased this Sharpe Cobalt HVLP gravity fed gun from my local Sherwin Williams Automotive Paint Store.  The cost was $150.  I have never seen such a dramatic difference in two paint guns before.  The pressure is much lower, so runs are next to impossible...I have some painting experience, and this was FAR easier, and less stressful than shooting with a conventional gun.  It also uses MUCH less paint.   To give you an idea, I painted two coats on the interior, and engine baffles with a quart of Sunfire (reduced and hardened 4:2:1)  With this gun, I did the same thing but with about 1/4 the paint.  Not to mention, all the things I masked off didn't need to be, because there was no overspray to think of.  If you are thinking of buying a gun, BUY one of these.  They are just as good as the $400 models.   Highly recommended.   If you plan on buying this gun and using Sherwin Williams Sunfire paint, buy the 1.6MM model.  Their website, http://www.sharpe1.com has helpful information regarding painting with their guns and different supplier paints.

For the air supply, I have a 3.5 HP, 15 gallon Craftsman compressor that delivers 14 CFM.  The gun spec says it uses 13.9, but that is continuous.  My compressor worked fine...Actually worked better than the conventional gun, since the pressure was only set at 50 PSI.

Oh yeah, you can buy the "Platiimum" gun from Sharpe for about $400, and it only uses 7 or 8 CFM...My application did not justify that gun.

A quality air dryer is essential.  Especially during the Arizona monsoon season!

It is hard to tell from this picture, but the paint is just a little flat, which will help keep the reflections inside the cockpit to a minimum.  After a few days this stuff will be ready for wetsanding and buffing.