Painting...Now or later?

Is it best to wait for some of the test hours to be flown off before painting or paint before first flight... I am getting lots of opinions from different builders... I am building a 701. The kit is so straight forward that it seems like an easy answer. Please share thoughts and experience...

Views: 171

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Debra and Patrick Nesbitt on March 17, 2009 at 10:12am
Hi Thomas, I to am building a 701. I plan to paint before first flight, reason being once I start flying I am not going to want to stop.

Pat
Permalink Reply by Chris Aysen on March 17, 2009 at 11:17am
I painted my 701 when all the major components were completed. I'm glad I do not have to disassemble the plane to paint it now or have to find a big enough enclosed area to paint the total assembly. However, there were some features that could not be riveted until final assembly and it left me some unpainted rivets and hardware on the exterior. If I were building a show plane then I would wait until total assembly. Alot of my outside hardware is not painted the color of the plane but I did seal them with a clear coating and I made it consistent so it looks natural. I have never had anyone (even other builders) comment negatively on it. It's was all in the availability of space and time for me. A friend of mine built an RV-4 and he said it was a pain to have to stop flying to paint his plane. He disassemble it to paint it.

RSS

New from Zenith:

Zenith Planes For Sale 
  

Classified listing for buying or selling your Zenith building or flying related stuff...

Custom Instrument Panels
for your Zenith:

Custom instrument panels are now available directly from Zenith Aircraft Company exclusively for Zenith builders and owners. Pre-cut panel, Dynon and Garmin avionics, and more.

Zenith Homecoming Tee:

Zenair Floats

Flying On Your Own Wings:
 A Complete Guide to Understanding Light Airplane Design, by Chris Heintz

Builder & Pilot Supplies:

Aircraft Insurance:

 
 

West Coast USA:

 
Pro Builder Assistance:

 

Transition training:

Lavion Aero

K&S Aviation Services

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty for all your building and pilot supplies!

How to videos from HomebuiltHELP.com

Developed specifically for Zenith builders (by a builder) these videos on DVD are a great help in building your own kit plane by providing practical hands-on construction information. Visit HomebuiltHelp.com for the latest DVD titles.

© 2024   Created by Zenith.Aero.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service