slowhawk wrote:Hey,
Has anyone stripped the paint off their plane and left it bare metal? I've been thinking about my old torn-up paint job and wondering if maybe just stripping and polishing it might be the way to go. It would save some weight, and since i don't have any painting skills, i could potentially do the stripping job myself.

The reality of a 10,000 dollar paint job is nowhere in the forseeable future

Chris

Yes I did flew the airplane for 4 years without paint -funds were just toooo short . I stripped the old paint with about 3 gallons of paint stripper not a
pretty job but quick. Keeping the surface clean (polished )is possible -Use Bon Ami to clean surface before polishing -use the stuff they use for cleaning and polishing truck wheels for great cheep results. Paint adds another 40-50 lbs on the standard single engine Cessna .

Where do you get the 40 or 50 lbs for paint weight on a single engine ?
Not being disagreeable but are these numbers on a before and after actual weight ?

I was wondering about that also. I have been told weight savings of anywhere from 20-100 #. Don't know if any of these were actual before/after numbers or hopeful guesses .

Which brings up another question i had; does an offical weight/balance need to be done post paint change or if you leave it stripped?

slowhawk wrote:I was wondering about that also. I have been told weight savings of anywhere from 20-100 #. Don't know if any of these were actual before/after numbers or hopeful guesses .

Which brings up another question i had; does an offical weight/balance need to be done post paint change or if you leave it stripped?

I have a set of digital scales (in use again today ) to weigh airplanes.Typical Cessna -piper or ???? takes about 2-3 gallons of2 part paint plus several gallons of 2 part primer .Most airplanes will get 30-50 lbs depending on complexity -number of coats ,trim etc. My 182 gained close to 60 lbs after paint .

I don't recall how many gallons it takes, but it's a lot more than I thought it would be. I know a lot of the solvents flash off, but it still has to add a substantial amount of weight as Bill says.

As far as W&B goes I don't think you have to change anything. I do know that it is required to re-balance the control surfaces on Cessna's after a re-paint. Don't know if that is the case if you just strip it.

gb