F5Ftiger
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2007
- Messages
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I just finished my Citabria 7 and it was done completely from recovering to finish with Ceconite and Randolph products. Basically by the book!
If you are at the point when you start to think about covering and painting, do not start to look on the penny! and make a big step around the old stuff like Randolph dope and enamel if you want your plane nice and perfect.
Attaching the Fabric, rib lace and tying the knots is almost the same everywhere!Than you do the Nitrate Dope and some layers of Butyrate Dope...
At this point you must make a care full decision! Go with Silver UV protection which is the STC'd way and stay with Dope and colored Dope or take something more modern and shiny?
1. Dope and colored Dope
It is really easy to spray and looks cheap if you compare prices by gallon.But it is not! You need almost 3-4 times the amount of modern based 2 part systems.After applying some coats of Dope you need to sand it and respray it...
Dope has almost no filling effect, because it is full of solvent and that evaporates out of the dope during drying. In easy words, after drying the layer is only about 1/3 the thickness of the thickness when applied.
Color differences will be in between areas of pure fabric and underlaying wood or metal.Painting of metal with Dope is impossible! Ok you can Paint it with dope but it will come of sooner or later.So you have to get enamel... You will never ever find the same color! let the Manufacturer tell what ever he wants it is not true!
2. Modern Paint (like Polyurethane ) 2K /
You can get car paint and put the maximum of flex agent in and you will have no problem like you find under 1. and you will be able to paint on fabric, metal and wood and surprise, you will find everything in the same color!
But the only problem could be the long lasting flexibility... (10 years for sure)
You will get around the flexing problem if you choose a PU based paint or a mix of.
The best is that you can delete the silver coat that makes it all brittle! Modern Paints have a very strong and effective UV protection build in.And if you want a yellow or red paint you do not need to paint it white before! It is still recommended to get yellow and red deep but it is not like the old stuff where you see a pencil mark thru 6 layers of yellow...
I really now how to paint, I did some planes and cars before. Always we used to do it with the 2. way or did only single parts like elevators or ailerons with the Randolph stuff.But I swear I will never use it again!It took hundreds of hours to restore and cover the Citabria, it looked so nice. But after finishing and thousands of bucks the final result is more or less nice but makes me not happy...!
So do your self a favor and think very well about it when it comes to the point!
I have finished covering my Skybolt and this winter I will paint it with a PU paint. I started of with Nitrate dope and than I will put on 2-3 coats of Butyrate Dope and than PU paint.
Good luck!Christoph
If you are at the point when you start to think about covering and painting, do not start to look on the penny! and make a big step around the old stuff like Randolph dope and enamel if you want your plane nice and perfect.
Attaching the Fabric, rib lace and tying the knots is almost the same everywhere!Than you do the Nitrate Dope and some layers of Butyrate Dope...
At this point you must make a care full decision! Go with Silver UV protection which is the STC'd way and stay with Dope and colored Dope or take something more modern and shiny?
1. Dope and colored Dope
It is really easy to spray and looks cheap if you compare prices by gallon.But it is not! You need almost 3-4 times the amount of modern based 2 part systems.After applying some coats of Dope you need to sand it and respray it...
Dope has almost no filling effect, because it is full of solvent and that evaporates out of the dope during drying. In easy words, after drying the layer is only about 1/3 the thickness of the thickness when applied.
Color differences will be in between areas of pure fabric and underlaying wood or metal.Painting of metal with Dope is impossible! Ok you can Paint it with dope but it will come of sooner or later.So you have to get enamel... You will never ever find the same color! let the Manufacturer tell what ever he wants it is not true!
2. Modern Paint (like Polyurethane ) 2K /
You can get car paint and put the maximum of flex agent in and you will have no problem like you find under 1. and you will be able to paint on fabric, metal and wood and surprise, you will find everything in the same color!
But the only problem could be the long lasting flexibility... (10 years for sure)
You will get around the flexing problem if you choose a PU based paint or a mix of.
The best is that you can delete the silver coat that makes it all brittle! Modern Paints have a very strong and effective UV protection build in.And if you want a yellow or red paint you do not need to paint it white before! It is still recommended to get yellow and red deep but it is not like the old stuff where you see a pencil mark thru 6 layers of yellow...
I really now how to paint, I did some planes and cars before. Always we used to do it with the 2. way or did only single parts like elevators or ailerons with the Randolph stuff.But I swear I will never use it again!It took hundreds of hours to restore and cover the Citabria, it looked so nice. But after finishing and thousands of bucks the final result is more or less nice but makes me not happy...!
So do your self a favor and think very well about it when it comes to the point!
I have finished covering my Skybolt and this winter I will paint it with a PU paint. I started of with Nitrate dope and than I will put on 2-3 coats of Butyrate Dope and than PU paint.
Good luck!Christoph
