Is there a Maaco of airplane painting?

SixPapaCharlie

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A POAer connected me with a seller of an aircraft that is immaculate inside. but the paint is in an unfortunate state. Lets say this is a plane I would fly for 3-5 years then move on to something slightly larger.

Is there a scuff and spray option that will turn a 30 foot paint job into a 10 foot paint job.
The plane is priced low to the point that spending a ton of money on paint and given the amount of time I would own it would be completely impractical.

At the negotiated price, I will likely pull the trigger after some MX inspections and just fly it with crappy paint but if there is a $2000 - $4000 paint option that would just be enough to make it presentable, I would like to know about that.

After a flight, I want people to walk away and remember how terrifying it was flying with me and not be so focused on the state of the paint.



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It is possible with aggressive shopping to get an almost-tolerable deal on strip and spray to white, and some folks are doing stripes and numbers in vinyl rather than paint...
 
Not that I know of. A vinyl wrap on the topside might be a decent option.
 
Find the paint shop that Barron Thomas used all the time.
 
You could probably do it yourself for a reasonable cost if all you want to do it brighten up the white.


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Are the issues all on the wings and pants? That should be easy enough to "buff right out"

Someone will ask how the maintenance program was for a plane with that much scratching.

Vinyl is a great option.
 
What plane is that? Good luck with the purchase!

Most of the cost of painting is in the prep work. See if you can find a painter that will help guide you to do the stripping and masking work, and then they would do the primer and paint work.
 
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Gallon or two oughta do it. Either use a sprayer or brush on. You're welcome. :D
 
What plane is that? Good luck with the purchase!

Most of the cost of painting is in the prep work. See if you can find a painter that will help guide you to do the stripping and masking work, and then they would do the primer and paint work.

Looks like a Grumman AA5x. If I recall, the strip procedure is a little different than most.
 
A buddy of mine just got his Mooney stripped and painted for 8K. I know that's way more than you want to spend, but I'm thinking if they will do a complete strip and paint with multiple colors and metal flake for 8K, they might do the job you want for fairly cheap. Not sure of the painter's name, but I believe he's located at Wiley Post. Let me know if you want more info.


You want to buy my 182?
 
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A buddy of mine just got his Mooney stripped and painted for 8K. I know that's way more than you want to spend, but I'm thinking if they will do a complete strip and paint with multiple colors and metal flake, they might do the job you want for fairly cheap. Not sure of the painter's name, but I believe he's located at Wiley Post. Let me know if you want more info.


You want to buy my 182?

in 3-5 years yes.
 
And I would love more info. PM me the deets yo
 
scrap the 'now' plane and just save up for the right '3-5 year' plane.

I have a 3-5 year plane now (Cirrus) but I won't in 3-5 years.
The timeline is like this

Buy Grumman
3-5 years go by
Dad says "I think I'm done flying. Do you want to buy the Cirrus?"
We both laugh
He sells the Cirrus
I sigh a little because that plane costs a lot to share in maintenance
I sell the Grumman
With the proceeds and the money I am not putting into the plastic rocket, I buy something that will carry my now highschool age kids and larger beer gut.
My hair turns greyer and I get older and fatter
I hate all young pilots and females
I begin to despise anyone left of the far right
I can no longer figure out all this newfangled technofads the kids are playing with
Then I am in a nursing home demented and still believing I am flying
I die
My kid comes on POA and says "I have this old scrap plane that my dad flew. How much can I expect to get for it?"
He has a hard time getting a straight answer
He takes my life insurance and blows it on toys because I didn't set a good fiscally responsible example for him as a parent.
 
Here's a better timeline:

6PC buys Andrew's Cessna 182 now
Andrew buys an airplane with enough seats for wife and three kids
 
I'm just not following it. I mean, obviously do what u want but I just don't get it. I just don't wanna see u do something you'll be kicking yourself over in 3=5 years. and I DEF don't want to hear you saying "you were right, eman". cause that just gets old. :)
 
Yeah, I'm not really sure what your going for either. If you're still going to have the Cirrus at your disposal and are still going to be sharing the maintenance, I guess I don't understand what the Grumman is for. If the Grumman was going to be your keeper after the Cirrus is gone, then that makes some sense, but if you're going to sell it post Cirri, why have it to begin with. Know what I mean, Vern?

It's certainly not my business, but I'm just trying to understand the logic.
 
I have a 3-5 year plane now (Cirrus) but I won't in 3-5 years.
The timeline is like this

Buy Grumman
3-5 years go by
Dad says "I think I'm done flying. Do you want to buy the Cirrus?"
We both laugh
He sells the Cirrus
I sigh a little because that plane costs a lot to share in maintenance
I sell the Grumman
With the proceeds and the money I am not putting into the plastic rocket, I buy something that will carry my now highschool age kids and larger beer gut.
My hair turns greyer and I get older and fatter
I hate all young pilots and females
I begin to despise anyone left of the far right
I can no longer figure out all this newfangled technofads the kids are playing with
Then I am in a nursing home demented and still believing I am flying
I die
My kid comes on POA and says "I have this old scrap plane that my dad flew. How much can I expect to get for it?"
He has a hard time getting a straight answer
He takes my life insurance and blows it on toys because I didn't set a good fiscally responsible example for him as a parent.

Take the money you're going to lose on the Grumman over 5 years and put it in the bank for when Pops hangs up his stirrups.
 
Yeah, I'm not really sure what your going for either. If you're still going to have the Cirrus at your disposal and are still going to be sharing the maintenance, I guess I don't understand what the Grumman is for. If the Grumman was going to be your keeper after the Cirrus is gone, then that makes some sense, but if you're going to sell it post Cirri, why have it to begin with. Know what I mean, Vern?

It's certainly not my business, but I'm just trying to understand the logic.

okie, just for shts and giggles, can u pm me the info on ur plane? I don't do high wing but I've heard good things about 182's so I just wanna see what u got. thx!
 
182s are good planes eman. Buy it then you can sell it 6PC in 4-5 years! Easy peasey!
 
okie, just for shts and giggles, can u pm me the info on ur plane? I don't do high wing but I've heard good things about 182's so I just wanna see what u got. thx!
Forget the PM, just post it here.
 
As others have said. I don't understand why you'd buy a plane when you have good access to a plane. Save the bucks, buy a Vision Jet when your Dad sells the plastic fantastic...
 
If one were to strip the aircraft to bare aluminum I suppose it would be a bad idea to keep it tied down outside?

I have a C150 in similar paint condition to OP's. Even a cheap paint job would be more than half of what I bought the airplane for.
 
I think everyone's missing the obvious answer. You need to buy your Gulfstream/Falcon/etc up front. After all it's cheaper in the long run...
 
In all seriousness, remember that even if you find an inexpensive paint job, it can turn into a "after we got the paint stripped we found ----..." which is going to cost ---"...
 
Forget the PM, just post it here.

Well, maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

I'm not really ready to put it on the market, but if somebody is legitimately interested, I'd at least discuss it privately. We will have no choice but to move up to a six seater in the near future, but we can make it work for a little longer while the kids are small.

Besides, we're already hijacking 6PC's thread, and I don't want to turn it into a C-182 ad.
 
I don't understand this @SixPapaCharlie modern day problem.

The plane is owned by a father and son. Father will likely eject in 3-5 years. Son is concerned about taking over 100% of cost.

So... is the plane paid for or financed? Can the son save for 3-5 years to have operating costs covered for a reasonable time? How many siblings does the son have? Will the father divest only because of getting out of flying, or for some monetary need? Can the Son keep the plane and cover all operating cost and handle it as part of some future estate settlement?

It seems to me that you're better off saving until WHEN you lose access to the SR-22 rather than buying and maintaining a "second" plane until you lose access. Saving 5 yrs of loan payments, storage, and maintenance will take you further toward your next plane.
 
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