Hey Guy's - I'm the proud new owner of a 1977 Bonanza V35B.

The plane is in outstanding condition except for the "grungyness" of the paint. The previous owner painted an anti-icing agent all over the leading edges of the wings and ruddervators. The previous owner did a fabulous job on maintenance but neglected the paint over the years. As such, there is grease all over the landing gear and the paint is filthy and covered with that icing agent. In addition, there are multiple places where the paint has come off rivets and other miscellaneous scratches. I took a rag with polish and spent some time on a few spots and it came out looking like new.

Here is my plan/questions and I'd like your opinions:

- I'm going to have someone locally (who knows what they are doing) polish the paint and detail the aircraft (I was thinking of having wingwaxers do this part of the work)
- I'll have the detailer polish off the anti-icing agent.
- I was going to take a chip of the paint and have it matched at a local automotive paint shop (big question here on what type of paint I need to buy)
- I was going to buy an airbrush kit (another Q here on if thats a good Idea) and touch up all the spots that have chips - I just want the paint to go on even.
- Am I allowed to touch up the paint (I know, Dumb question)?
- Should I prime the little spots of bare metal before touching them up (very small, the size of a rivet head and two that are the size of a quarter).
- Then I'll wax the entire airframe.

Does this sound like a good plan or am I just going to screw things up?

Really appreciate your help here!!!!

Jim

"A picture is worth a 1000 words." I stole that.

Got any photos?

I don't have any close-ups... But here are a couple of pics from my other thread. The paint looks good from 20 feet, but you can see the dullness i'm referring to:

Looks like keeper! Are you instrument rated?

8GCBC wrote:Looks like keeper! Are you instrument rated?

Hey 8GCBC... No, but I'm close. It's part of the reason I got into the V35B. The Maule wasn't a great IFR/XC airplane.

Jim

jaudette wrote:

8GCBC wrote:Looks like keeper! Are you instrument rated?

Hey 8GCBC... No, but I'm close. It's part of the reason I got into the V35B. The Maule wasn't a great IFR/XC airplane.

Jim

Great cross country machine. Nobody has the quality of Beech! Nobody!

Good question Jim. The 180 I just bought is sorta the same shape. Not many chips, but just been sitting in the sun for 9 years and the paint is faded. I was planning on giving it a good polish/waxing to bring the shine back to the paint. What kind of wax do you guys use on planes? Just a good automotive wax?
David

Don't have it polished before you fix the paint. The stuff that makes up the compound will drive you crazy with contamination issues.

Yes on the primer. Variprime is a good product, might not be called that now that DuPont sold to Axalta but it will be the same stuff. Follow the directions for prep. Then ask them for a urethane single stage paint, easier than messing with base/clear in my opinion.

Get yourself a little airbrush. I have a Paasche I got off of Amazon with its own little compressor for like $150. Works great. You can fix your spots then buff the overspray off the surrounding area when it dries with compound.

Your mileage may vary as do opinions but this has worked for me.

A1Skinner wrote:Good question Jim. The 180 I just bought is sorta the same shape. Not many chips, but just been sitting in the sun for 9 years and the paint is faded. I was planning on giving it a good polish/waxing to bring the shine back to the paint. What kind of wax do you guys use on planes? Just a good automotive wax?
David

Well... That's part of the reason I was asking the questions in my post... I'm honestly not sure what kind of wax I should use... I've done some research that says automobile wax should be fine, and I've read some info that it's not... So I'm not really sure?

Hopefully some of the experts around here will chime in and get us on the right path!

Jim

3M seems to provide the most extensive grades of abrasives, polishes, and waxing media. Several stages of polish may be required. Then I would use the latest 3M marine wax. Check 3M's website. Very good company, I trust them.

I like 3m finnese it for polish. I also am very fond of the Farecla line of products. As far as the airbrushing and fixing chips go, I think you will not like the results. Give the plane a good cleaning and polishing and dont worry about the chips. Ive seen a lot of touch ups that look worse than the little chips. If your realy want to repaint, do it in whole sections(i.e. Paint the landing gear, spinner, wingtips, etc.) if you can mask something to a trim color or panel line, etc., you will have much better results than doing spot touch ups.

BTW for simple washing I LOVE .... LPS Precision Clean mixed with water 4:1. It is very expensive, about $140 for 5 gallons retail at Honolulu (Gold Wings). Get it truck shipped from Spruce for a lot less on the mainland!

Jim,

We're you grilling at FTG today? I drove by where I think your Maule was towing my 170 from the gas pumps and saw a bonanza in the hangar.

Tony

FWIW, I just polished up the Bird Dog today by hand with a product called Prism. Worked great for me, on dull/ chalky paint, and also on the polished spinner. Very pleased with the results.
-DP

AEROPOD wrote:Jim,

We're you grilling at FTG today? I drove by where I think your Maule was towing my 170 from the gas pumps and saw a bonanza in the hangar.

Tony

Hey Tony - That was us! You should have stopped by, introduced yourself and had a burger... Next time for sure!

Jim

Let me re-emphasize what gbflyer said: Do NOT use ANY wax type product before you try to repair those paint flaws. Clean it first, then repair the damaged paint areas, THEN think about polish and wax.

And, painting an airframe/wings is considered "preventive maintenance" thus can be done by an owner. EXCEPT balanced control surfaces. Don't get too carried away "repairing" the paint on control surfaces, and you should be fine.

MTV

I was hoping that the polishing process would remove any other loose paint... The I'll wash the bird, do the touch up and then wax. Good plan?

Yes. You'll want to clean the areas you'll be touching up with a solvent that is probably alcohol based. Cleanliness is key to getting anything to stick to aluminum. Again, talk to your paint supplier and tell them your painting on Al. They should be able to lead you the right way.

3m makes a "scrubber" ( I don't know what they call it) that is made out of Scotch Bright material but its on an arbor and can be chucked in a cordless drill. Used lightly, it is great for scuffing the bare metal spots to be primed. There is also a little tiny sandblaster that does small spots like rivet heads, again very handy but requires extreme care.

JeredP does offer some pretty good advice though. Your patches will most likely be visible when closely examined no matter what. If you're in a salty environment then its worth it for corrosion protection. If you're in AZ, I'd recommend buffing it as best you can as is and fly the hell out of it.

Edit: I see you're in Denver. That's about as dry as it gets.

If you really want it to look good, fly it down to Cimmaron in El Reno, OK and have it painted. Only a couple hour ride in that machine.

Also, when you're getting ready, bear in mind that those tail surfaces are probably magnesium alloy, not aluminum alloy, so be sure to ask the right questions on prepping and painting.

On aluminum, alodine and acid etch are typically used prior to primer, though I understand some primers now are self etching. The also dine is a corrosion reversal and preventive.

Not sure about magnesium.

As others have said, unless you are a real pro (and maybe even then) you're not going to be able to completely hide repairs to the coatings. But a full paint job is spendy.

MTV

I forgot about Beech using magnesium. It's is treated differently than 2024T3 aluminum. There are STCs to replace magnesium control surfaces I was told. Magnesium is a great oxidizer too. Burns out of control in standard atmosphere.

Before doing anything serious review AC 43 on Corrosion prevention ( especially magnesium, applicable) and repair... I would.

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/99861