Touch up paint

david0tey

david0tey

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Our "new" musketeer needs a paint job. However, having just bought an airplane, we don't have 10k plus to do that right now. The worst of the current paint is on the nose gear strut cover. What is the best way to go about touching up smaller areas? Sanding, pretreating, what type of paint, etc? If anybody has done this to their own airplane, what brands did you use? Thanks.
 
Spray paint works amazingly well for little chips. I spray the pant in a paper cup and dab it on with a Q tip. blends right in. I have only done this with the stock white paint. Have not tried to match the blue or red. Just spray paint the front strut. throw a towel over the tire take a piece of cardboard in hand to stop over spray on the cowling. it will look pretty nice in no time.
 
An owner pilot can touch up paint (other than balanced control surfaces), but it would behoove you to know what you are doing.

First off, the best match is going to require you to know what the existing finish is. If it's the original factory paint, that's probably not a problem. If it was repainted, if you're lucky they might have mentioned it in the logs.

Note that the fact that it's allowed owner maintenance doesn't obviate the need for you to do things correctly and log the work appropriately. First you need to ascertain what it is you're painting. Aluminum takes different prep that steel which is different from fiberglass. Never sand metal with regular sandpaper. In my experience for touch ups, more often than not, one of the more aggressive scotchbrites work best. It scrubs off the loose stuff and the corrosion. Yes if you're down to bare metal you need an appropriate primer.

My finish materials are all SW Jet Glo (this is what my plane was painted with).

Note that if you're using one of the urethanes (like Imron) use the appropriate precautions. The vapors are toxic and it doesn't smell bad enough to give you a warning that you're doing something stupid.

You can usually find a seminar through one of the type clubs or at SnF or Airventure. The manufacturers all love to stump their procedures as well.
 
Dave Wartofsky (manager of VKX who wasn't ever quite stable before 9/11 and has gotten stranger since) used to be found out touching up his forest green Cessna 337 with cans of rustoleum spray paint. I heard he finally had the thing professional repainted a few years back.

It looked OK from a distance, but up close you could see all the shading and texture differences from years of random touchups.
 
willywildes said:
Spray paint works amazingly well for little chips. I spray the pant in a paper cup and dab it on with a Q tip. blends right in. I have only done this with the stock white paint. Have not tried to match the blue or red. Just spray paint the front strut. throw a towel over the tire take a piece of cardboard in hand to stop over spray on the cowling. it will look pretty nice in no time.
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This sounds like a good technique.

I had a 1966 C172 with very rough paint. I actually rattle-canned several sections that were down to bare metal just to protect the aluminum.

I will say that temperature makes an enormous difference. I did some of the work when it was below 50 deg and humid and I had to redo it later. But even then it looked better than the ship's paint.
 
This may sound strange but there is a cheap good strong enamel paint available in a plethora of colors all over and it comes in small bottles with a brush. Nail polish works great at touching up paint on a plane.
 
You should have the paint codes and manufactor info from the last paint job in your log. I'd use that for any touch ups.

You can also get her painted for much less than 10k.
 
Used the spray can method for quite a while,the match was pretty good,but after a time they where calling my aircraft freckles.
 
I use Dupont Nason Fulthane (it is the generic version of their imron line) it is a good single stage urethane. It is not very expensive and the GM-12 white is a spot on match for Matterhorn White that is commonly used on airplanes.
It is very easy to spray and very forgiving.
 
For rock chips? Pick a paint. It could be a custom mix from a local automotive paint store or Krylon. Both will work for dabbing paint into chips. Dabbing works great with these little brushes. You have complete control and no mess. My plane is painted in Imron and I still have leftover paint so that's what I use but if I didn't I'd use whatever I could get to color match the best. These little touch up brushes are magic for painting new rivets, too.

http://www.amazon.com/Detail-Micro-Brushes-Paint-Applicators/dp/B00578QW70
 
There is a small access panel on the airplane I fly that has all three colors.

I took it to an auto body supply store and had them mix up an exact match. A small artist brush fills small chips quickly and easily.

If I want to spray a small area, the local auto parts store has a do-it-yourself spray paint thing for about five bucks.
Pour paint in the glass jar, and screw the propellant & nozzle on, and squirt away.
 
david0tey said:
Our "new" musketeer needs a paint job. However, having just bought an airplane, we don't have 10k plus to do that right now. The worst of the current paint is on the nose gear strut cover. What is the best way to go about touching up smaller areas? Sanding, pretreating, what type of paint, etc? If anybody has done this to their own airplane, what brands did you use? Thanks.
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Just go to a good auto parts or paint store and find the Dupli Color can that is your closest color. Wipe with vinegar and a green scrubby pad, (lightly rubbing surface grime off, not trying to polish it) wipe it dry with an alcohol rag and hit it with a dust coat of Duplicolor (don't use primer if you're spot touching, it's a mess and a waste of time). Dust coat all the spots, then come back and do a semi wet coat, then come back and do a flow coat. Some people mask off the area, I don't unless I have a natural edge. I find a blended edge much easier to buff in, and less ugly than a line in the middle of where there shouldn't be one.
 
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FORANE said:
This may sound strange but there is a cheap good strong enamel paint available in a plethora of colors all over and it comes in small bottles with a brush. Nail polish works great at touching up paint on a plane.
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Nail polish works well, but Dupli Color already has every paint code matched in spray and brush top cans, why reinvent the wheel?:dunno: For small chips I just spray the paint in the cap or a Dixie cup and use a sword tip brush.
 
FORANE said:
This may sound strange but there is a cheap good strong enamel paint available in a plethora of colors all over and it comes in small bottles with a brush. Nail polish works great at touching up paint on a plane.
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Are the little bottles of enamel modeler's paint still available? Or did the druggies ruin that too?

Those little bottles we painted model airplanes with when we were kids would work great for chips and touch ups...
 
image.jpg

Can anybody recommend a process for dealing with these exposed areas where the aluminum is showing? Will a standard grade primer and some exterior spray paint suffice?
 
image.jpg

Don't have a before picture but for now, a little automotive paint seems to have taken nicely.
 
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Small pieces like that can be removed and taken to an auto body shop. More expensive than DIY but a good result.
 
Is DIY painting on the wing a dumb idea? Or for that matter, legal? Stripe down the right wing is severely faded and I honestly just want to paint white over it.
 
david0tey said:
Is DIY painting on the wing a dumb idea? Or for that matter, legal? Stripe down the right wing is severely faded and I honestly just want to paint white over it.
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Someone mentioned it earlier, but as long as it's not a control surface, I believe you're allowed to paint it.
 
Not sure about the pens; my plane is a little beyond that to be honest. Ive been spray painting away for the past couple days just touching up in spots and it seems to be working well. The next step is to address the nose cowling. It is in bad shape. I've found an exterior sample paint from sherwin Williams that seems to match but I'm worried about the engine heat. It really feels odd going to the local paint store and stabbing it on my airplane. Very unsettling for some reason.image.jpg
 
James331 said:
You should have the paint codes and manufactor info from the last paint job in your log. I'd use that for any touch ups.

You can also get her painted for much less than 10k.
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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::goofy::goofy:
 
I just use a one step urethane...with my aircompressor and an old-school paint gun....have never had a problem getting paint matched ...many aviation colors cross-code with PPG (Del-Fleet is commercial grade and works well)
 
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Make sure you use a Nylon brush. You don't want to be scrubbing your aluminum with a steel brush. Scotchbrite is my favorite product.

If you are going to spray the urethane coatings (like Imron), make sure you're using a proper respirator. The problem with the stuff is it doesn't smell bad enough to detect before you're inhaling a dangerous amount.
 
bluerooster said:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::goofy::goofy:
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If you're lucky.

I saw the other day a freshly painted 172 with the color codes logged and even the controls being balanced. Not only that but the person who balanced them recorded the actual measurements (with a date) right on the controls in an inconspicuous area by a hinge for each control surface
 
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I know this is a very old thread but what do you do after painting to blend the touch ups with the surrounding area. Prepped with self etching primer then color matched Imron paint using small artist brushes. Just fixing some smallish chipped areas in the leading edges. Overall the paint job still looks great so I want the touch ups to look as good as possible.
 
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Marshall R. Naquin said:
I know this is a very old thread but what do you do after painting to blend the touch ups with the surrounding area. Prepped with self etching primer then color matched Imron paint using small artist brushes. Just fixing some smallish chipped areas in the leading edges. Overall the paint job still looks great so I want the touch ups to look as good as possible.
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.

You've already done the first two steps of a proper paint repair by obtaining color matched Imron and using a small brush to coat the affected areas. Now all you need to do is step back from the leading edge...farther, farther, just a little more...there!

It looks perfect!

:D
 
flyingron said:
Make sure you use a Nylon brush. You don't want to be scrubbing your aluminum with a steel brush. Scotchbrite is my favorite product.

If you are going to spray the urethane coatings (like Imron), make sure you're using a proper respirator. The problem with the stuff is it doesn't smell bad enough to detect before you're inhaling a dangerous amount.
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Regarding the platers brush and Tom-D’s recommendations on corrosion removal. I had some problems with filiform corrosion and followed his process. Seems very much like the right approach when working down to bare aluminum. Unlike abrasives that actually remove material, the steel brush seems to just move the softer aluminum around while dislodging the corroded material. With that said, I’m a homebuilder and wouldn’t recommend that for Owner’s wanting to touch up chips.

I’d second the thought on polyurethanes; don’t play here, the stuff can and will hurt you. I home-painted my ‘10 which required daily visits to my local paint distributor. No one who has been using polyurethanes without respiration for a few years is untouched. The distributor had closed their perfectly serviceable paint booth because of the brain damage caused by the lack of fresh air respiration. Brain damage that was apparent in the shop.

Hanging out there I slowly realized why so many customers were somehow ‘off’; they too were slightly, to more than slightly, brain damaged by their painting activity. B-r-a-I-n D-a-m-a-g-e-d

My goal became never smelling the not so unpleasant urethane fumes. Took a lot of work and prep and I wasn’t perfect. Where’s the line between no damage exposure and damaging exposure?

BTW, this isn’t about the usual solvents that druggies get high off and that generally aren’t good for you or the environment. This is about the fundamental chemistry of polyurethanes and how they react with moisture, the moisture that coats your mouth, throat, and lungs. I don’t know much about it but I’ve seen the effects and read just enough of the warnings to ‘get it’. Fresh Air


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The problem with the steel brush is it's leaving small steel grains in the aluminum and it going to result in more corrosion.
 
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