sdt22

I have a question regarding painting of an aircraft. The model is an Extra 330L made by Dave Patrick. I have ordered it in the noncovered version with plans to cover it with ultracote but have recently been interested in painting it. My question concerns weight and labor of painting versus covering. If anyone has any helpful advice or general information on this topic I would appreciate it greatly.
Thanks

outssider

My Feedback: (23)

forget painting !! stick to monokote or ultracote. If put on properly, it will out last paint and is easier to repair.

rcalfred

To be a contrarian, let me weigh in an say that the big advantage to painting your model is that you can decide on the color scheme and colors you like. And....IMHO paint will outlast iron-on any day. It will not sag in the hot sun, the edges will not pull away and allow fuel and oil to seep under it, and you don't have to worry about the cowl and wheel pants matching the color of the iron-on. Does it take longer? Some say that a good covering job should take as long to accomplish as the constuction of the airframe.
One caution though. If you have never painted before you need to think out the challenges you'll face. Do you have the necessary spray equipment; do you know about masking and finishing; do you have a place to spray; and so on. If the answer to those questions is no....use iron-on. Regards.

Cheech

My Feedback: (19)

I COVERED my DP Extra that I got as an ARC. I'm pretty good with covering and the plane came out pretty darn good ( http://www.devino.org/mark/airplanepics/dp330l.htm ) . But boy oh boy do I SUCK with paint . You cannot really tell in the picture, but my cowl came out looking like CRAP.

The cowl deserved a professional paint job. I used rattle can paint from Top Flite and ame extremely DISAPPOINTED in the results. I painted the cowl twice. The first time was completely unsatisfactory. The second attempt was usable, but it still looks like it was painted by a sixth grader.

I know you are not asking about using spray paint and can probably do a MUCH better job than me. But I have vowed to never ever paint the cowl of a good airplane again. I'll send it out.

sdt22

Well judging by the pictures of your plane, you must be very hard on yourself. The plane looks beautiful and the cowl looks just as good. I guess you took a picture of the good side huh. The plane I mentioned above was actually ordered by a friend who does fiberglass repair and paint on boats so he shouldn't have a problem painting a plane. I just don't know the best procedure for prepping the plane. He wants to paint it with a base and clear auto paint. I've heard that sig koverall works well for this but I as well as he are still in the dark about most of it.

Cheech

My Feedback: (19)

Thanks for looking at the plane. The cowl looks crappy, trust me. You just cannot tell in the photo.

I would LOVE to find a good painter that I could send stuff like cowls, pants, fairing, etc... off to. If you paint your DP I will be eager to see pics.

-Mark-

sdt22

I'll make sure to post them!

Giant Scale

sdt22,
Fabric and paint finishes are fine for a scale model, but with an aerobatic model you need to keep the weight down. Stick with monokote or ultracote for built up surfaces and paint on fiberglass. Your model will fly better if it is built lighter.

teleplayr

I agree with the last post. I'm building a warbird now, and I just finished 'glassing and priming it. It's not much heavier than an iron-on covering if you take your time and do it right, but on an aerobatic bird like yours every ounce is going to count.

Not to mention glassing and painting is a lot of work. I thought it was easier than iron-on, but takes a lot more time. Drying between coats, wetsanding, etc...

-Joe