Cessna paint question

[Joepilotmsp]

Hello fellow pilots! First time here and first post. I fly and do owner maintenance on a pair of C-182’s. One is a 182Q the other is a 182 S. Would like to do some touch up painting on the white on both birds. Can anyone give this F.N.G. Some stick and rudder on the part number and name of that white? Exhausted my internet investigation abilities, not great at best. I know the paint on both have faded, so was thinking maybe an aresol can would allow me to blend it better after sanding and feathering chips. Or would it just be better to pull an inspection plate and take it to automotive paint supply shop to have it scanned and mixed. Thanks for any pointers. Happy landings! Joe

 

[Stewartb]

Go to a local auto paint dealer and get some paint color matched. If you use a catalyzed paint remember the catalyst is time sensitive so don’t buy more than you need. Mix and let it sit for 15-20 minutes (induction time) and apply with touch-up paint daubers. Even if you get aerosol? Spray it into a cup and apply with daubers. It blends to edges better than anything else you can use

https://www.eastwood.com/touch-up-a...kedid=593608187893&wickedsource=google&wv=3.1

 

[Joepilotmsp]

Go to a local auto paint dealer and get some paint color matched. If you use a catalyzed paint remember the catalyst is time sensitive so don’t buy more than you need. Mix and let it sit for 15-20 minutes (induction time) and apply with touch-up paint daubers. Even if you get aerosol? Spray it into a cup and apply with daubers. It blends to edges better than anything else you can use

https://www.eastwood.com/touch-up-a...kedid=593608187893&wickedsource=google&wv=3.1

Thank you Stewartb! Will be ordering the touch up applicators immediately. Sure will beat brushes or Qtips!

 

[Magman]

Many Cessna’s used “ Vestal White”. Some of the Parts Manuals give cross numbers to Dupont numbers. There is a plate in the cockpit with the codes but you have to go to the Parts Manual (again) to interpret.

 

[Jdm]

Check your airframe log books. You’ll find a paint code. I suggest a singe stage urethane.

 

[Jim K]

This might sound silly...

But if it's just a few chips here and there, this stuff is worth a shot:



Comes in a handy little brush bottle. Matches the paint on my piper perfectly, and most airplanes are the same generic white color. Every time the cowl comes off, there's a chip or two on the corners, and I'll walk around the plane and find a couple more spots. It holds up surprisingly well and is fairly thick, so it hides chips usually with just one application. Awesome stuff if it matches.

They also sell it in spray cans, but I haven't used it in that form.

 

[Joepilotmsp]

Wow, great pointers! The older one is going to take some work. It has chips, scuffs, hangar rash, and large chunks of paint missing probably when landing and kicking up ice. Flying in the winter in Maine, comes with the territory. I’ll never bring them back completely, but plan to get as close as I can. The advice and guidance is appreciated more than I can express. I will use them all. Thank you all! Happy landings. Joe

 

[FORANE]

Nail polish.
Oh, and MEOW

 

[Magman]

How much fade goes in the can?

 

[Dan Thomas]

We used to get the paint guy to come over with his special camera and get several takes right off the airplane. Got perfect matches that way.

One shop that I used to buy the paint from had 1100 different whites on file. Sounds unbelievable until you start trying to find one in your shop's leftover paint stock that's close enough.

 

[Jdm]

We used to get the paint guy to come over with his special camera and get several takes right off the airplane. Got perfect matches that way.

We used to do the same Dan but it’s gotten difficult lately, at least with the major auto paint supply shops. None of the gun matches seem to be close enough without special attention. The problem (they say) is in the new computer systems. A gun match now doesn’t search for the mix to obtain the exact color sampled. Instead, it searches to tag the closest car color code available. Most of these car codes are off badly. They’re also normally a different style paint than we need, two stage paint, sheen issues, etc. Also most of the car codes can’t be tweaked (by the machine) to achieve a different shade. In order to get a perfect single-stage urethane match it normally takes the correct aircraft color code (if it still exists) or, a very talented paint mix person.
The young man I’ve been using is amazing with colors. He starts with the closest car code match to get the bases down. Then he begins mixing it in a single-stage urethane until he finds the perfect match. He checks it with light guns, and also takes it outside to check it in different shadows of sunlight. It can take him over an hour on one shade of white! It’s usually not worth it for a supply shop to put that much labor into such a small quantity of paint. I’ve learned to drop off the samples and let him work on it in his spare time. I also bring pics back into the shop to show how great their paint work turns out. They love seeing their work on airplanes!
Here’s a some pics of what they’ve mixed for me over the last year or so. I think it’s about as good as can be expected for touch ups, and small jobs.

 

[Archer Jack]

Wow, great pointers! The older one is going to take some work. It has chips, scuffs, hangar rash, and large chunks of paint missing probably when landing and kicking up ice. Flying in the winter in Maine, comes with the territory. I’ll never bring them back completely, but plan to get as close as I can. The advice and guidance is appreciated more than I can express. I will use them all. Thank you all! Happy landings. Joe

I would say " the plane is still usable" but that's just me.

 

[Magman]

While the focus here has been touch up repairs on later ( in my mind) aircraft there are a few pitfalls you may want to avoid if the job grows.

Cessna has used several paint TYPES ( not colors ) over the years, Lacquer , acrylic lacquer, acrylic enamel and polyurethane are in the mix. The old rule was enamel over lacquer was ok . Usually . Lacquer touch of small areas often worked . There are aircraft later painted with different TYPES of paint though. There is at least 1 172 painted with Rust -Oleum. This creates issues when painting over with anything but the same.

Personal safety is extremely important with any type of spray application.
Personal Equipment should be ON before any can is opened.

“ Boxing “ is a term meaning mixing all of one color together. Applied mixes may look identical in some lighting but have great differences in natural lighting.

Note: In my “ never -again file”

 

[Jdm]

Wow, great pointers! The older one is going to take some work. It has chips, scuffs, hangar rash, and large chunks of paint missing probably when landing and kicking up ice. Flying in the winter in Maine, comes with the territory. I’ll never bring them back completely, but plan to get as close as I can.Joe

You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish if you take the time. It’s seldom worth the effort financially. If you’re not worried about that part of it you might be pleased with the outcome. Check out the before pics here.

 

[Joepilotmsp]

You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish if you take the time. It’s seldom worth the effort financially. If you’re not worried about that part of it you might be pleased with the outcome. Check out the before pics here.

JDM. That is incredible! Wonderful work. Have a question on the wheel pants. Looks like you made a aluminum patch on the inside. Could fiberglass and epoxy be used instead?

 

[Jdm]

JDM. Have a question on the wheel pants. Looks like you made a aluminum patch on the inside. Could fiberglass and epoxy be used instead?

Yep. You can certainly make a fiberglass patch. Problem is that some of these wheel pants have been fiberglass patched numerous times and are running out of solid material to grab onto. Even if it’s the first patch, I’ve found it difficult to last in a high stress area that’s already been busted.
In the case you’re referring to I actually did make a fiberglass and resin patch, but I sandwiched it between the aluminum patch for a solid bond. I’ve found that this not only repairs the cosmetics but also reinforces the flexing area that’s causing the problem in the first place.
Below is video of another example that worked well. In this case the original nut plate had come loose from the fiberglass and the original fiberglass was cracked badly. Ultimately, I had very little solid material to attach a nutplate to. A fiberglass patch alone wouldn’t have held up. Again, same technique. I ground out the damaged area and sandwiched a wet fiberglass resin patch between a solid aluminum patch. This way the aluminum patch is bonded in place and the new nutplate is installed into a solid surface that won’t work loose.
They’ve all held up very well because of the bonded reinforced aluminum patch.

 

[Jdm]

The video isn’t coming through. Oh well, you get this idea

 

[Joepilotmsp]

Thank you! You do very nice work. Looks like we even have the same colors. I’m dipping my toes in the water slowly. The plastics on the bird in my picture are pretty bad. I fall back to the old, well can’t make it any worse, may as well try. Keeping the plane in a down status for any time is a challenge. One is kept in southern part of state, the other north. By car they are at least 2 hours apart, and if one is on another mission…. Well, you get the picture. The wheel pants at least don’t down it.

Gonna do some YouTubeing, see if I can learn some tricks. Probably start on some smaller pieces first. What type of epoxy/brand do you use? I had some old epoxy I had for a boat I had worked on and used it with good results on some cracked interior pieces, but that stuff is gone. Are all epoxies created equal? Different kinds for different pieces, (heat, vibration, exterior, large, small). Hope I’m not going to the well too much with you, but you clearly know what you’re doing. Me, no so much. Appreciate your help. Happy landings. Joe

 

[Jdm]

You’ll find two basic types of fairings on the old Cessnas. Fiberglass, and plastic. The higher quality ones being the fiberglass. You’ll definitely have better results repairing fiberglass. Any quality body shop glass supplies should work fine. You’ll probably want a variety of products depending on the severity of the damage. Different size mesh strands are helpful for filling voids. Sometimes it’s best to cut your own and make a fiber paste when filling those deep voids.

The plastic fairings are more difficult to repair. For small repairs on the plastic ones I use a JB Weld plastic bonder and JB plastic weld. You can read about the differences. They are especially useful for filling small gaps, like where the bottom and top halves of the plastic wheel paints meet together. If the plastic ones are too bad you’re usually better off just purchasing new.

 

[Joepilotmsp]

Thank you! I’ll keep you posted and promise more rookie questions. Happy landings! Joe