(29)Fuselage Painting (Stits-Polyfiber)

[planecrazzzy]

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Hey Guys,
First of all.... Before I sprayed anything , I already put the BRUSH COAT of Polybrush on the fabric...( After shrinking the fabric )
Brushing it thick enough to slightly run INSIDE the fabric... saturating the polyester fabric. Then I did my Taping and stitching...
After the first time I SPRAYED a coat of Polybrush... I went over tape edges with the small iron... set at a low heat.
This laid down any edges that felt a little rough.

Notice the Pipe insulation piece on the Vertical Stabilizer... This protects the Fabric when it's on the concrete.
I always START spraying with the Fuselage upside down first... Then I can take off the protective insulation.

OK... We wanna see PICTURES !!!!
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Gotta Fly...
JAM ( Just Another Mike )

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
More Pictures of the First "Spray Coat" of Polybrush...

and the Mixing mess... I mixed 3 to 1... I found the quickess , most painless way was to have a mark on a Solo Cup...
I would pour MEK to the line... Pour that into my Mayonnaise Jar... Then dip the Solo Cup into the Polybrush... three times ( to the line )
Then put the lid on the mayo jar and give it a shake... Then pour it into my HVAC container to spray...

Yes... I don't use reducers... I use MEK... Same thing ???
Oh... The MEK is in a CAN that used to have reducer in it...
It's just easier to buy MEK...5gal for about $80 at Menards ( special order )

Gotta Fly...
JAM

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
This is the Next day... I sprayed a cross coat...
The picture might have been taken at the EQUATOR...
Can't seem to straighten it out.
BUT... If you click on the picture... THAT picture will be NORMAL...

As I was walking up to the fuselage to spray... Looking at the Fuselage... I liked the Lines...and took the picture.
Looks good to me.
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Gotta Fly...
JAM

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
OK... Final coat of Polybrush.
I skipped a weekend of painting while my Dad was visiting.
He likes Airplanes ( He's a Pilot )...
But the smell of Polybrush and MEK can last a few days...
My wife puts up with it. We close the door to the Cabin and that helps.

So... This was a "WET COAT".... About as thick as you can spray , without running....
Also I finally remembered to get a couple coats on the Rudder...

The Total sprayed polybrush was One Gallon for just the Fuselage...
Not including the polybrush that was BRUSHED on.
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Now I'm supposed to wait at least 4 days to spray Polyspray
( Oooops , Waiting 4 days is for between Polyspray and polyTONE )

Also... Note the Duct Tape on the HS tubing... This protects it while it's on the concrete.
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Gotta Fly...
JAM
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[planecrazzzy]

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Hey Guys,
I got the Rudder caught up on polybrush.
I used a TIG rod through the tube
I set up horses to flip it and spray the other side.
I was able to wait a little bit while it dried , and give it the final coat
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Gotta Fly...
JAM

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
Today... The fuselage will FINALLY change color... Polyspray !!!

This is a good UV protection , because I'm actually spraying Aluminum...
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If you look at the third picture you can see:

Yes , it's in the garage,
Yes, it's not done being painted,
Yes, the Sun is shining,
Yes , it's raining.....

Small delay... I only sprayed over a few drops of water.
I waited til it stopped raining , and started pulling the fuselage out to finish...
and it started raining more.

Soon it finally stopped.
I pushed it out and finished this coat.

I read the Ratio was 4:1....for polyspray
But I mixed it like the Polybrush at 3:1
I have a nice even spray...smooth
I'll stay with 3:1

One coat on the Fuselage took 1/2 Gallon...
I hope I can finish it with one more coat.
If not , I'll have to order another gallon.
I'll need more later anyway. But I'd rather order a fresh one,
instead of having such a high pigment paint sitting
and collecting at the bottom of the can.
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Gotta Fly...
JAM

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
I had enough polyspray to spray the Fuselage and Rudder.
I think thinning it extra helped in the heat.
It turned out very smooth.
I used sheets to keep it from getting too hot before I sprayed.
I'd move the sheets as needed.
The Sun helped me see any light areas by looking inside the fuselage.
it actually worked pretty good.
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I'm ready for polytone next weekend , as long as the weather is good.
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Gotta Fly...
JAM

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
Well... Back to WHITE again...
But it's how I paint my planes, Red,White & Blue...
White is the Base color... Red & Blue for trim

This first coat looks like it should going over a dark silver...My faded ZEBRA.
Hopefully I only need one more coat.
So the first coat is "across the fuselage"...
Next coat will be Long ways down the fuselage.

I found that painting the Door openings while the fuselage was on it's side , was easier to reach.
Since I was holding cardboard for "overspray"....
Learned this while spraying polybrush at the beginning.

Today was cloudy/overcast... The sun didn't make the dark silver HOT...
the second coat should be on a sunny day... But now that it is white,
it shouldn't heat up as bad as it did spraying polyspray.

Even being efficient at getting MINIMUM painting on the Fuselage...
This is a full three Gallon of weight added to the fuselage.
I THOUGHT I was going to be more comfortable with the amount of paint(s) I had...
But I needed to be careful in order to get the job done each stage with the Gallon.
Or it meant ordering more , and having most of the can SIT around for too long.

Ok , pictures
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Gotta Fly...
JAM
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PS... My Buttercup is PROOF that Dead Bugs FLY AGAIN...!!!

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
Getting ready to spray Polytone today... Final coat I hope...

Here's a picture of my Superviser "Spruce" the Goose , Cracking the Whip...

John Haedtler SPEAKS goose.... sez it's QUACKING the Whip
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Gotta Fly...

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
It's hard to tell by pictures...
But It needs another coat of polytone.
It's got a foggy grey to the white.

I thought I might squeeze by on one gallon of Insignia white...
But another coat is aprox 1/2 gallon.
I hope I can get it before next weekend.
I can't order it until Monday.

Gotta Fly...
JAM

[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
Your not gonna see much change in pictures...
But I put the Final color coat today...

The other coats were 3:1
I used three parts Polytone to one part straight MEK

My last coat was 4:1

Here's some pictures...
But the Sun was going down behind the trees...
Oh well... the color looks even.
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Gotta Fly...
JAM
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[planecrazzzy]

Hey Guys,
Keep forgetting to hit SAVE after a post....
I lose pictures and the message !!!!!!

OK... Trim Ideas...

Just thought I'd waste some masking tape...
Although... I need better tape for the exact size and shape.
This is VERY rough...
But it gave me an Idea about the stripe down the side of the Fuselage.

These "lines" will be based on Jim Clement's trim designs on several of his Tailwinds.
But with my colors...

This trim would be Red streaks , and the white letters on Blue background...

Which would dictate the colors for the stripe too...