Propeller Paint

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Baron62

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Baron62
I recently attempted to paint my Sensenich prop and ran into what appears to be a defective lot of propeller paint - TEMPO EPOXY PROPELLER COATINGS. The paint comes out of the can in globs and spits out. I did follow the directions and clean the nozzle frequently. Are there any other propeller paint options that I could use to paint a Sensenich propeller? I actually like the Tempo product and wish I had a good lot. The gray and white I recently purchased were globing, but the black I bought 9 months ago worked great.

See the reviews:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/epoxypropcoat.php?clickkey=11424
 
Rattle can of Rustoleum enamel. My mechanic suggested it and told me to stay away from the epoxy prop coatings because they are a PITA. Mine looks great and has held up really well.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Rattle can of Rustoleum enamel. My mechanic suggested it and told me to stay away from the epoxy prop coatings because they are a PITA. Mine looks great and has held up really well.
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I don't know about sensinitch but hartzell spells out what paints are to be used in the approved maintenance manual. If you do not use the approved paint it is not maintained iaw the approved manual and is not airworthy. The fight over polishing props and airworthiness has been raging for years
 
Timbeck2 said:
Rattle can of Rustoleum enamel. My mechanic suggested it and told me to stay away from the epoxy prop coatings because they are a PITA. Mine looks great and has held up really well.
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alls I can say is....the expensive stuff at Spruce doesn't seem to be worth the premium. I 've used it and it chips just as fast as the cheap paint.
 
unsafervguy said:
I don't know about sensinitch but hartzell spells out what paints are to be used in the approved maintenance manual. If you do not use the approved paint it is not maintained iaw the approved manual and is not airworthy. The fight over polishing props and airworthiness has been raging for years
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Hartzell recommends the same epoxy paint I attempted above.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Rattle can of Rustoleum enamel. My mechanic suggested it and told me to stay away from the epoxy prop coatings because they are a PITA. Mine looks great and has held up really well.
Click to expand...
Do they have a gray that is a close match? The Tempo Gray matches perfectly.
 
Baron62 said:
Hartzell recommends the same epoxy paint I attempted above.
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The point is, hartzell does not recommend it, they require it. There are two paints approved by hartzell. I don't know about sensinich I don't have there manuals in my library.

Bob
 
For the Tempo epoxy paint. Shake it well. Warm the can in hot-ish water for 10 minutes. Shake again. Usually works for me.
 
I just used Rustoleum on mine and it has held up well. Don't remember the color but it looks just like the original.
 
JAWS said:
For the Tempo epoxy paint. Shake it well. Warm the can in hot-ish water for 10 minutes. Shake again. Usually works for me.
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wish I'd tried that.....I chucked a can that wasn't spraying right.
 
Baron62 said:
I recently attempted to paint my Sensenich prop and ran into what appears to be a defective lot of propeller paint - TEMPO EPOXY PROPELLER COATINGS. The paint comes out of the can in globs and spits out. I did follow the directions and clean the nozzle frequently. Are there any other propeller paint options that I could use to paint a Sensenich propeller? I actually like the Tempo product and wish I had a good lot. The gray and white I recently purchased were globing, but the black I bought 9 months ago worked great.

See the reviews:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/epoxypropcoat.php?clickkey=11424
Click to expand...

Shame on Spruce. I bought two cans of this stuff last year and had the exact same results you had. I called and they admitted they'd had problems with that paint and have had to refund quite a few customers. They refunded me. Still, it is time and effort wasted and I guess they have too much to just throw away. Better to roll the dice.
 
We reviewed the postings to the forum regarding issues that some customers had with Tempo Epoxy Propeller Coatings. Aircraft Spruce sells thousands of cans of this prop paint each year and we do not receive many complaints, but occasionally a customer will report a can that does not spray properly.When this occurs we will promptly replace the can at no charge or refund the customer. We regret any inconvenience caused by a spray can that does not operate properly.

Aircraft Spruce
Customer Service Dept.
 
thank you for that.....maybe I'll try another can. I kinda written those off as bad. I did get a couple of bogus cans in the past....and just tossed them.
 
+1 for the normal rattle can... I too bought two cans of the Tempo epoxy from Spruce, and both cans were darn near worthless...
 
The rustoleum is excellent paint. It gets a bad rap because it comes in a rattle can, but it's good quality paint. The white nicely matches the proverbial "matterhorn white" which is used on alot of airplane and touches up bad places nicely. The only thing I've found is that you need to (for once) follow the directions... two light coats, one heavy coat, let each coat flash off inbetween. It's important. THEN let it dry. Fully. Give it at least 48 hours, depending on the weather, but it's not quickie paint, and whatever the chemistry in it, it takes a full two days to dry. This then, seems to be a good thing, because man does it bite. Shines nicely, and you can get on it with a buffer after about a week.
+1 for rustoleum.
dan
 
I'm certain that your prop will fall off if it's not painted with certified paint. Everyone know that right?
 
DKirkpatrick said:
The rustoleum is excellent paint. It gets a bad rap because it comes in a rattle can, but it's good quality paint. The white nicely matches the proverbial "matterhorn white" which is used on alot of airplane and touches up bad places nicely. The only thing I've found is that you need to (for once) follow the directions... two light coats, one heavy coat, let each coat flash off inbetween. It's important. THEN let it dry. Fully. Give it at least 48 hours, depending on the weather, but it's not quickie paint, and whatever the chemistry in it, it takes a full two days to dry. This then, seems to be a good thing, because man does it bite. Shines nicely, and you can get on it with a buffer after about a week.
+1 for rustoleum.
dan
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Alkyd Enamel.
 
+ about 20 for Rustoleum. I tell everybody that has me do their annual about it and it has never failed me IF IF IF they follow the instructions about coats and letting it dry ("flash off" ) between coats. Besides, if your base coat on the fuselage isn't jet black you can paint the safety stripes on the front to match the fuselage paint. Flat black on the back of the blade and semigloss black on the face, then the stripes after a couple of days.

Jim
 
unsafervguy said:
I don't know about sensinitch but hartzell spells out what paints are to be used in the approved maintenance manual. If you do not use the approved paint it is not maintained iaw the approved manual and is not airworthy. The fight over polishing props and airworthiness has been raging for years
Click to expand...

Unless your make and model prop has instructions for continued airworthiness, it does not require ICAs be followed.

lots of folks believe the propeller overhaul manual is required maintenance in the field, not so. Only ICAs are, So if you don't have ICAs or the prop at hand guess what :)

try finding a manual or an old McCauley.
 
Tom-D said:
Unless your make and model prop has instructions for continued airworthiness, it does not require ICAs be followed.

lots of folks believe the propeller overhaul manual is required maintenance in the field, not so. Only ICAs are, So if you don't have ICAs or the prop at hand guess what :)
try finding a manual or an old McCauley.
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Again, According to FAR
65.81 General privileges and limitations.
(b) A certificated mechanic may not exercise the privileges of his certificate and rating unless he understands the current instructions of the manufacturer, and the maintenance manuals, for the specific operation concerned.

If something bad happens and it is determined that his not following manufacturers manuals, for whatever excuse, was the cause, guess what ;(
 
They make a "semi-flat" black... not totally flat, which starts to look like grey and scratches real easily. The semi-gloss is different - ends up looking just too glossy for my taste. The semi-flat looks good for retouching old radios in the stack, too.
 
Question for the forums.

When painting a prop can effect the balance of the prop, is it a major or minor repair?

What can any A&P do to any prop.

Answers in FAR 43-A( c)-3 and FAR 43.13 and 65.81(a) & 87 (a)
 
Tom-D said:
Unless your make and model prop has instructions for continued airworthiness, it does not require ICAs be followed.

lots of folks believe the propeller overhaul manual is required maintenance in the field, not so. Only ICAs are, So if you don't have ICAs or the prop at hand guess what :)

try finding a manual or an old McCauley.
Click to expand...

Here you go.
http://www.mccauley.textron.com/manuals.html
 
Tom-D said:
Question for the forums.

When painting a prop can effect the balance of the prop, is it a major or minor repair?

What can any A&P do to any prop.

Answers in FAR 43-A( c)-3 and FAR 43.13 and 65.81(a) & 87 (a)
Click to expand...
If you paint it while it's spinning, does it self balance? (Don't do that, everyone!)
 
Tom-D said:
Question for the forums.

When painting a prop can effect the balance of the prop, is it a major or minor repair?

What can any A&P do to any prop.

Answers in FAR 43-A( c)-3 and FAR 43.13 and 65.81(a) & 87 (a)
Click to expand...

OK, I'll bite.

Assuming a metal fixed pitch, as long as the intent of the repair is not major and the procedures used should not affect the required balance, then minor. Is static balance required? Is dynamic balance required?

As far as any A&P to any prop, please fill in the blank. That is too open ended to answer.
 
Tom-D said:
Don't bite, look up the answers I gave you the references

All the references given are not for fixed pitch aluminum props.

Constant speeds and composite
http://www.mccauley.textron.com/manuals.html

Sensenich
http://www.sensenich.com/support/documents
Click to expand...

Um, actually they are.

From the McCauley manual
3. Model Designations
A. The following can be used to determine your constant speed propeller model series:
...
B. Fixed pitch propellers:
• For the purposes of this manual, all McCauley fixed pitch metal propellers are the same model
series

Sensenich Manual
Repairs & Trouble Shooting

SPRM590 is our current and most up to date repair manual. It's last revision was May of 1990.
upload_2017-10-5_21-36-1.png
 
Tom-D said:
Question for the forums.

When painting a prop can effect the balance of the prop, is it a major or minor repair?

What can any A&P do to any prop.

Answers in FAR 43-A( c)-3 and FAR 43.13 and 65.81(a) & 87 (a)
Click to expand...

I don't understand what you are attempting to educate the forum on.
 
JAWS said:
I don't understand .
Click to expand...
not a requirement.
I'm not going to spoon feed you guys, I gave you the pertinent regulations, It's up to you to learn or not.
Things you should have learned is, that an A&P is only allowed to do minor maintenance on props.
and the old metal props that were made and placed in service prior to the advent of ICAs have no instructions for their care after they leave the prop shops.

FAR 43-A ( c) doesn't show a repair that changes the balance of a prop as a major repair.( it doesn't even mention balance in that section) so painting is not a major and allowed in the field. 43 also tells us that painting a prop is not an owner do. and must be returned to service by an A&P.
 
JAWS said:
Um, actually they are.

From the McCauley manual
3. Model Designations
A. The following can be used to determine your constant speed propeller model series:
...
B. Fixed pitch propellers:
• For the purposes of this manual, all McCauley fixed pitch metal propellers are the same model
series

Sensenich Manual
Repairs & Trouble Shooting

SPRM590 is our current and most up to date repair manual. It's last revision was May of 1990.
View attachment 56914
Click to expand...

What is a SPRM?
Who is required to use it?
 
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