Science

Primer and paint was supplied by Northstar Coatings in SLC. The aircraft was transported to the Larry H. Miller Collision Center to be painted. This facility was large enough to assemble and paint the whole plane at once. Superior Paints supplied the prep materials, abrasives, paper, tape, plastic, fine line, etc. The plane is white and the designs are a Tri-Coat Inferno Red. Smaller parts such as wheelskirts, engine cowling, runners, the door etc... were preped and painted by the Auto Body Class at Granger High School. It only took 1gal of single stage white to paint the whole plane.

Body Work

The materials used for body work are not the same as regular auto body. The fillers are extreemly light, 5 times as light as Auto Body fillers. The reason? The aircraft must be light enough to get airborne so the fillers must be light. The filler is a mixture of Velocipoxy and microglass balloons called Frosting.

It is mixed to the consistancy of cake frosting and is used as body filler. The filler is so light it floats on water. It is hard as a rock but sands like chalk. This method is very time consuming for it takes 24 hours to cure for each application. After the filler is cured sand to shape. 

Warning!!!!

If you desire to let the paint cure overnight before you remove the masking Do not use masking plastic to mask the plane for the reducer will bleed through and will melt the plastic into the paint unless you remove it within an hour of painting.

Prime/Seal/Paint

Mask all windows and areas not to be painted with good quality tape and paper especialy on the windows that are plastic, so the paint does not penitrate.Prime the aircraft with epoxy primer to fill the scraches and pinholes. Sand and prime till all inperfections are elliminated.  Dry or wet sand. The better the pep the better the finish. Finish with 320 grit. Remove the sanding dust from the plane with air gun while wiping it down with a soft cloth. Any dust left will get into the paint.

 Attach static line, chain or metal cable from the landing gear of the plane to the floor to reduce static electricity. Wet the floor to elliminate dust. Degrease the plane. Spray the final wash, degreaser on the plane with a spray bottle.Wipe the area down to clean it. Dry off with dry cloth.  Wipe the surface down with a tack cloth to remove dust.

Seal the primer with 2 coats of sealer leaving 30 minutes between coats. Clean the gun and mix the paint. Apply 2-3 coats of paint leaving time between each coat to get tacky. On the final coat cover evenly and move quickly and to get a good gloss and flow to aviod overspray. There is 4 times the area to cover on a plane and it take a good painter and paint to get a nice finish.

Design

Apply the fine line tape. For strait lines attach one end of the tape to the surface. Lift and pull the tape to length. Do not strech the tape. Lower the tape to the the desired location.  Gently press the tape in place in the with smooth presure in the linear direction of the tape useing a lint free cloth.  Mask the aera not being painted. Scuff the area being painted with a scotch bright pad so the paint will stick. Wipe down with a tack cloth. Apply 2-3 coats of paint allowing the paint to get tacky between coats. Apply a good final caot for a nice gloss.  Clean the paint gun and let cure.  If you desire to let the paint cure overnight before you remove the masking.

Do not use plastic to mask the plane for the reducer will bleed through and will melt the plastic into the paint unless you remove it within an hour.

After cured carefully remove the masking paper. To remove the fine line pull the tape off back across its self at 120 degree angle. This will make a clean sharp edge on the paint.