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Permalink Reply by Richard Simmons on March 11, 2019 at 12:45pm

I painted mine before final assembly.

I had oerfomed dry assembly though out the build process so I was failry confident in how it would turn out. I also flowed assembly pretty much to the “T” so again, I was failry confident of its outcome.

I polished about 70% of the metal and the rest was automotive paint to match my challenger. I did have to use a special primer so the paint would adhere both to the fiberglass, plastics and aluminum.

I would do it again. Results were good and still is 4 years later.

-Rich

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Permalink Reply by Joe Hopwood on March 11, 2019 at 2:04pm

I painted subassemblies before assembly.  Much easier to transfer to paint shop.  Same paint as on my 2015 Silverado. Solid white and will add some color later with vinyl decals. Red & Blue.  Something similar to USAF Thunderbirds.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Carson on March 11, 2019 at 9:44pm

I painted my sub-assemblies prior to final assembly. I used Steward systems and while it came out fairly nice I was a little disappointed. It did add a lot of weight to the airplane. I believe with the interior primer and the paint it added about 50 pounds to the aircraft. She's a fat girl at 925 lb. I would consider doing it again but I would research out the products better next time.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Zepp on March 13, 2019 at 11:24am

Hi Adam,

I am completing a Zodiac 650B. I did not want to alodine treat my parts, so I have used rattle can etch primer as I built and assembled. I plan to use a local body shop to paint the plane in sections using Imron. However, I did not count on two factors - the fiberglass parts need a spray polyester filler / primer and then a polyurethane primer /sealer before the paint shop.

 - The etch primer is not compatible with having two part epoxy primer sprayed over it. Need to use the polyurethane primer to cap the etch primer before paint shop.

Based on good internet suggestions, I am using Harbor freight cheap gravity HVLP gun for the polyester primer that will run on a smaller shop compressor - 6 CFM at 40 psi. For spraying the 2 part urethane primer - DuPont Corlar or other, I purchased a Fuji three stage turbine HVLP system and external breathing air syste,.

I may be able to print the whole plane with this, but even in sections, my 2 car garage space is limited. The auto body shop has more space and time if he can fit me in.

Best Regards, Larry Zepp; N22LZ, Zenith Zodiac; Fort Wayne, IN

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on March 14, 2019 at 2:17pm

BTW, a tip for scuffing the metal before paint:

Presta makes "Scuff Stuff," which is an abrasive compound for surface prep.  My painter was worried that just scuffing with a Scotchbrite pad would leave "halos" of unscuffed metal around the rivet heads.  So, he used Scuff Stuff with a pad and it worked great!  I was concerned it would get in the rivet mandrel holes and mess up the paint, but it washes out easily (and completely!) with water.

John

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Permalink Reply by Mark Stevens on March 25, 2019 at 1:42pm

I am painting my 601XLB before I attach wings and tail.  Mainly doing this so I can paint the edges between the aileron/wing, flaps/wing, tail/elevator etc.  If you are not an experienced painter, have a professional do it.  I have been struggling for months and invested a lot of cash for paint, spray gun, compressor, etc, and am achieving fair results.  Using the Stewart Systems paint to avoid needing respirators and air systems.  As far as vinyl goes, I have explored that and found some companies won’t do it anymore - they told me they were having trouble with delamination on some control surfaces. A partial wrap wasn’t cheap either.  Hope this helps.

Mark

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Permalink Reply by Jon Humberd on March 26, 2019 at 12:15am

Like some of the rest, I fitted everything up, disassembled, and then painted major components before final assembly.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Pensenstadler on March 27, 2019 at 8:04pm

I'm doing all of the painting before flying. The only exception will be the cowl. I will paint after flying. I first want to make sure that I won't have to cut any additional cooling inlets or modify any part of it. So once I put some hours on it and see that the engine temps are fine, then I'll paint it.

Here's my YouTube channel where I show a lot of my painting...

www.youtube.com/user/s10sakota

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Permalink Reply by Gary Reed on April 1, 2019 at 10:06am

Keep in mind that the Cruzer has balanced flaperons.  If you do any flight testing before painting, you will need to Rebalance them after painting and then re-accomplish the high speed flight checks.  Not complicated but something not to be overlooked.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Hopwood on April 1, 2019 at 10:39am

Believe rebalancing after painting whether any flight testing done or not.”

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