Well the bug has completely taken hold.. I removed my seats and have sent them off to be sandblasted, painted, and reupholstered. And since I had the seats out I decided to remove the carpet and put in some DOT vinyl flooring... which means I also want to paint the bare aluminum flooring before putting the DOT vinyl. I was reading up on what others have done, it looks like the Imron paint is considered to be a good heavy duty choice (bigrenna being a big influence but others as well). I reached out to a guy on the my field that does some painting, as I don't have a hanger to paint in, nor the equipment or skill set. When I told him I wanted to do it in Imron he said that here in California its not legal due to the environmental impact. He said that he could do it with polyurethane paint with a reducer and hardner, and that it would be very durable (sprayed over a zinc chromate self etching primer). I don't know the intricate details on the different paint types. Was looking for some feedback from some of the more knowledgeable BCP'rs on paint regarding the durability of the polyurethane paint(with a reducer and harder).


-paul

and by the way if the answer is the polyurethane is crap and Imron is really the most durable, I'm willing to just do the zinc chromate primer here and fly to a connecting state (Nevada, Arizona, or Oregon) to have someone shoot the Imron...

Another option would be the old acid etch and alodine followed by epoxy primer. The stuff I got from Superflite doesn't require a topcoat (per their tech guy) and is white. Might save you some weight and you could do the prep yourself.

Edit: Imron isn't Imron any more since DuPont is now Axalta. Maybe the new stuff is CA legal?

corefile wrote:and by the way if the answer is the polyurethane is crap and Imron is really the most durable, I'm willing to just do the zinc chromate primer here and fly to a connecting state (Nevada, Arizona, or Oregon) to have someone shoot the Imron...

Imron is polyurethane, as is Centari. Modern CA legal polyurethanes are lower in VOCs and solids so not as thick as good old Imron, (Imron hasn't really been good old Imron for a long time) but any catalyzed polyurethane paint will be better than nothing. Besides the dot mat is there to protect most of the paint anyways.

As with any painting project it's about prep work and following the manufacturers instructions.

Sam

I'm going to paint my RV-8 interior with JetFlex over a self-etching primer. I've been told by other RV guys it's pretty durable.

http://www.swaerospace.com/products/brands/jetflex/

Chris

Halestorm wrote:

corefile wrote:and by the way if the answer is the polyurethane is crap and Imron is really the most durable, I'm willing to just do the zinc chromate primer here and fly to a connecting state (Nevada, Arizona, or Oregon) to have someone shoot the Imron...

Imron is polyurethane, as is Centari. Modern CA legal polyurethanes are lower in VOCs and solids so not as thick as good old Imron, (Imron hasn't really been good old Imron for a long time) but any catalyzed polyurethane paint will be better than nothing. Besides the dot mat is there to protect most of the paint anyways.

As with any painting project it's about prep work and following the manufacturers instructions.

Sam

I think Stewarts makes a paint that will spray in California. If it's underneath the flooring.....why does it matter what kind of paint? Why not just the Zinc chromate for basic corrosion protection then apply the flooring? I don't know the answer to that question by the way...just asking.

Mister701 wrote: I think Stewarts makes a paint that will spray in California. If it's underneath the flooring.....why does it matter what kind of paint? Why not just the Zinc chromate for basic corrosion protection then apply the flooring? I don't know the answer to that question by the way...just asking.

The reason for why I want to lay down the paint is that even with a flooring down, there is some floor that is visible (near the door, and the transition from the side panel to the floor, as well as the center hump (where the flap handle and trim wheel is)). If you just had the primer, you would see it in those location and its just not the look I'm going for, gray paint with grey vinyl flooring just looks more cohesive to me(again this is all personal preference, but its one of the reasons we own our own planes). Plus the primer scratches easier then a durable top paint. Also, to me at least, the additional coat of paint will add an additional sound barrier, not so much for external noise, but from just the floor, it has a... how do I describe it.. "clackity clackity" bare aluminum sound. Yes the vinyl flooring would help with that greatly, but a good coat of paint helps with that as well. Those are my reasons.

Do it right-- Etch and alodine then spray Stewart's primer and polyurethane. Did a set of fluidyne skis (walk all over em and take beating) and they look great.
Maybe talk to dan at Stewart's-/that may be good place to spray eko cryllic instead of poly?

There are many opinions on paint and everyone seems to have the answer to what "doing it right" means.

I certainly do not claim to be an expert but having done a lot of painting over the years, here are my thoughts..

Yes the "good old days" of paints are gone and yes the really good Imron is now gone, and for sure you cant buy good paint in CA anymore, but there still is a really hearty Imron that is a great flexible polyurethane industrial topcoat that really holds up well.

There are two basic methods of painting. Mechanical adhesion, and chemical adhesion. Chemical would be to "etch" the sub-strait, prime, and then top coat. Some say to alodine and then paint, and some say to use an acid-etch paint, prime, and then top.

Mechanical would be to physically disrupt the sub-straight (scuff or sand,) prime, and then top coat. Nothing beats this method, but the issue is the more you scuff or sand aircraft aluminum, the more integrity and in some cases corrosion resistance you loose...

I have painted with both methods with all kinds of products and certainly each has its own argument. I wont spend time dismissing other methods, but having experimented with most on many projects, all I can say is I choose to do a good prep, use a good two part epoxy primer a then single stage top coat. My favorite paint now is Imron 3.5 I have not used Stewarts in a high traffic area, but my inexperienced guess would be to say it's the wrong application. Im guessing folks have used it not because its the correct paint, but because they had it in the shop. I would also stay away from a "self-etching" primer like Variprime 615S.

With respect to which manufacturer you pick... Thats up to you. But when you look at the R&D budget of a company like Dupont (now owned by the Carlyle Group,) vs much smaller suppliers, its hard to make the argument that a smaller supplier has a more well thought out product... but then again, a ton of great shit has been born from two guys working out of a garage.

Of course there are many many variables that give a good durable paint job. Prep is king regardless of what system you use. Not to be snobby, but dont buy cheap shit or try to convince yourself that its "fine" cuz it aint. Use a good paint, an expensive gun, a moisture free air source from a LARGE compressor with a steady patient hand and you will be good to go. Oh and plan on getting cancer cuz that shit will put you in the ground!



Good luck!