Just curious approximately how much I can expect to have a Straight Tail 182 Skylane repainted a one color (white) with some simple accent striping.

The plane that I'm tire kicking has it's original 1959 paint that is in rough condition. I was told the rest of the plane is in great shape with a very low time new engine and low time airframe. But the asking price seems very high to me.

Thanks!

The shop in Yerington NV charges about 10k I believe. That's where AKT had his 180 painted and they did a great job. I know of another nice 180 that was painted there as well.

robw56 wrote:The shop in Yerington NV charges about 10k I believe. That's where AKT had his 180 painted and they did a great job. I know of another nice 180 that was painted there as well.

About $10k is about what I've been thinking. That will help in determining an offer on a plane tat needs a paint job.

I know a guy who had a C180 painted at Sunquest in Everett WA a year or two ago.
Blue on white with red accents-- they did a beautiful job but what with stripping and addressing some corrosion the total came to over $19K.

Hint- As a general rule you will find that the paint shops in a rural area away from the Eco-Nazis and Nimbys will be less. Their overhead is much lower and many have a reputation to protect as the customer comes to them by word of mouth. I have seen some beautiful paint jobs come out of an offseason ag operators shop. While not their main business, they would do one or two each winter to help keep the shop going. Ask around and word of mouth is usually a good source.

Base cost for a strip and paint with a 2 color stripe design on a 182 in my shop is 9k. The more complex the scheme is, the more it costs. Old after market fiberglass parts that need repair add to the cost along with dings and dents that might need repaired. The most expensive paint job that left my shop was a 73 Cessna 182 that had a difficult paint scheme and multiple dents to repair. It cost 15k, but looked better than a brand new plane when it left here.

Slight threadjack, but very related and we have a captive audience here... How feasible is it to touch up or repaint in a few areas but leave the rest alone? I imagine stripping has a tendency to affect everything around it, but can smaller already-bare areas be successfully prepped and painted in a way that'll last more than two months before flaking off? Likewise, can chipped/worn areas (like a leading edge) be safely prepped without having to strip the whole surface down? Or is it all or nothing, to get anything worthwhile?

Paint repairs is an art in it's self. In my shop, my painting partner and I are fortunate to have over 80 years combined experience in auto collision painting, custom painting, and aircraft painting . We have multiple tecniques for repairing paint issues. But if a paint job is delaminating and won't pass the simple gorilla tape test ( rub a peice of gorilla tape on the paint then yank it off, if the paint comes off), stripping is the only way to properly repair the issue. Spot painting and blending can be done that it is invisable to the untrained eye. We do it every day.

Excellent thread.

My '63 182 is in bad need of new paint on the wings and stabilizer. I was thinking of starting thread but will watch this one instead.

Cliff, the fuselage is generally excellent, not sure why the wings and stabilizer are flaking off, but there is a faded portion over and including the little baggage door where a leaking fuel bladder wreaked havoc.

Would it be reasonable to ask for a repair of the faded part or does the whole fuselage need doing?

My mechanic says removing the wings will add significantly to the cost of paint, is it reasonable to ask that the wings remain on the plane when repainted?

Allan

Allan, upper valley aviation over in Chilliwack gets slow in the summer. They quoted me $13k for my complete 180, including rolling some dent out of the cowling. Costs more if it's during their busy season. Just hate to park my plane for a while during the summer.
I've always heard it will cost more with the wings removed. Just easier to handle they tell me. I'm looking at a 182 that needs paint and was thinking about pulling the wings, although the more I think about it, I think I will leave them on.

Thanks David, exactly the type of info I'm looking for.

There is only one reason to remove wings for a paint job and that is if you don't have a controlled, filtered, and propperly vented place big enough to fit an entire airplane in. Restorations , rebuilds, and already disassembled or new projects are the only thing we paint in pieces. If a plane flys into my facility for a standard paint job, we remove the control surfaces, cowling, plastic or fiberglass parts, most doors, and any thing else that comes off easily that can be painted in our automotive (14' x 27' semi down draft) booth. I can tell you for a fact that not all AP mechanics are painters. Applying paint and being a trained , skilled, experienced painter are two different things. If a guy has 20 years experience as an AP and has painted a hand full of planes in that time, he is not a current, experienced painter. I'm not saying he can't do the job, but I will gaurentee he won't have the same skills and knowledge of a guy who has painted every day for the past 20 years. Being current and up to date with painting is kind of like flying, if you only fly 5 hrs in 20 years you will not be as shap as a guy who flys everyday for a living for 20 years.

Also one thing to think about when shopping around is that not all paint shops are mechanically inclined. By that I mean get a good mechanic to look over the structure and do any repairs prior to painting including replacing screws that are starting to wear out. When I was working as an A&P we had a customer come in for annual with a "surprise" paint job on his well used work horse 170. The paint job was actually very well done but many of the screws were half stripped out on the wing root fairings and one of his squawks was a repair to the door latch.

Just make sure the details are considered and can significantly alter the base price of a paint job.

I'd actually consider replacing screws after paint if the paint shop doesn't do that for you (we replace all hardware and seals that we remove with new on cessna and piper singles) that way the paint shop doesn't strip out all your new stuff if they aren't mechanically inclined, and they don't paint your nice new rubber seals.

Plan on buying new stainless camloc also. It's a nice finishing touch to your paint job that just brings it up 1 more level.

Mike


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mmartin1872 wrote:I'd actually consider replacing screws after paint if the paint shop doesn't do that for you (we replace all hardware and seals that we remove with new on cessna and piper singles) that way the paint shop doesn't strip out all your new stuff if they aren't mechanically inclined, and they don't paint your nice new rubber seals.

Plan on buying new stainless camloc also. It's a nice finishing touch to your paint job that just brings it up 1 more level.

Mike


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I was hoping you'd chime in here Mike. You an Allan should communicate so he can get his plane painted at your shop there.