Painting project

[Don Bradner]

Our ongoing lengthy project list since we acquired Blue Thunder in January
includes replacement of old operational equipment such as batteries, shocks,
tires, and alternators; physical changes to agree with our wants, such as
washer/dryer, bookcase/desk/office chair, and bay slideout trays; and cosmetic
items.

The latter is/was primarily paint. Several years in the Arizona sun had baked
much of the clear coat off on both sides and the back. The front cap is fine,
but has likely been repainted at some point. I did the worst single spot (blue
on the back cap) before we left for a month of travels in early May, and the
rest has been my most time-consuming project since we got back.

I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to spray-painting, so this has been a
learning experience with a lot of picking the brains at the local Dupont shop,
where most of the guys have body-shop experience. The bulk of the labor, of
course, is in surface prep and masking.

I looked through the pictures I have on hand to find a couple that were
illustrative of the problem and tried to take similar "after" pictures. The
first one, http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2 was taken in February in Casa Grande. It is
part of a telephoto shot, so there's quite a bit of fore-shortening, and the
lighting was very flat which reduced contrast, but you can see the missing clear
coat pretty well.

Since the blue heats up more, it is much more affected than the stripes; in fact
the side stripes below the bend are fine and were left alone. The area below the
stripes (what do you call that piece, anyway? Looks designed to direct water
flow from the roof outward) was a particular problem. It is a compound curve,
making sanding with a block difficult. It was missing clear coat in oval
patterns, with the areas over ribs still holding the coat. Trying to feather the
edges didn't work well, as clearcoat kept peeling away, so it was essentially
necessary to sand it all.

The upper part of the gold and red stripes weren't as bad looking, but still had
bad peeling. This picture: http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx was taken in Phoenix by the
inspector we hired pre-purchase.

Here are the after links for roughly the same two views:
http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo
http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf

I'm pretty happy with the results, although I did get a small, unpredicted, rain
shower about an hour after I finished the other side late last week, and there
are some pock marks in the paint on three panels. You can't really tell from the
ground, so I'm waiting until it is cured a bit more to see what a bit of
1500-grit sanding and polishing does.


Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Eureka, CA

[Leroy Eckert]

Looks like a nice job Don. Is that Imron paint?
Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
Niceville, FL

----- Original Message -----
From: Don Bradner
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 4:05 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Painting project


Our ongoing lengthy project list since we acquired Blue Thunder in January
includes replacement of old operational equipment such as batteries, shocks,
tires, and alternators; physical changes to agree with our wants, such as
washer/dryer, bookcase/desk/office chair, and bay slideout trays; and cosmetic
items.

The latter is/was primarily paint. Several years in the Arizona sun had baked
much of the clear coat off on both sides and the back. The front cap is fine,
but has likely been repainted at some point. I did the worst single spot (blue
on the back cap) before we left for a month of travels in early May, and the
rest has been my most time-consuming project since we got back.

I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to spray-painting, so this has been a
learning experience with a lot of picking the brains at the local Dupont shop,
where most of the guys have body-shop experience. The bulk of the labor, of
course, is in surface prep and masking.

I looked through the pictures I have on hand to find a couple that were
illustrative of the problem and tried to take similar "after" pictures. The
first one, http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2 was taken in February in Casa Grande. It is
part of a telephoto shot, so there's quite a bit of fore-shortening, and the
lighting was very flat which reduced contrast, but you can see the missing clear
coat pretty well.

Since the blue heats up more, it is much more affected than the stripes; in
fact the side stripes below the bend are fine and were left alone. The area
below the stripes (what do you call that piece, anyway? Looks designed to direct
water flow from the roof outward) was a particular problem. It is a compound
curve, making sanding with a block difficult. It was missing clear coat in oval
patterns, with the areas over ribs still holding the coat. Trying to feather the
edges didn't work well, as clearcoat kept peeling away, so it was essentially
necessary to sand it all.

The upper part of the gold and red stripes weren't as bad looking, but still
had bad peeling. This picture: http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx was taken in Phoenix by
the inspector we hired pre-purchase.

Here are the after links for roughly the same two views:
http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo
http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf

I'm pretty happy with the results, although I did get a small, unpredicted,
rain shower about an hour after I finished the other side late last week, and
there are some pock marks in the paint on three panels. You can't really tell
from the ground, so I'm waiting until it is cured a bit more to see what a bit
of 1500-grit sanding and polishing does.

Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Eureka, CA





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Don Bradner]

No, it is Nason 2K Full-Than Urethane (another Dupont product). No clear coat.

On 7/16/2007 at 4:46 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:

>Looks like a nice job Don. Is that Imron paint?
>Leroy Eckert
>1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
>Niceville, FL
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Don Bradner
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 4:05 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Painting project
>
>
> Our ongoing lengthy project list since we acquired Blue Thunder in
>January includes replacement of old operational equipment such as
>batteries, shocks, tires, and alternators; physical changes to agree with
>our wants, such as washer/dryer, bookcase/desk/office chair, and bay
>slideout trays; and cosmetic items.
>
> The latter is/was primarily paint. Several years in the Arizona sun had
>baked much of the clear coat off on both sides and the back. The front cap
>is fine, but has likely been repainted at some point. I did the worst
>single spot (blue on the back cap) before we left for a month of travels
>in early May, and the rest has been my most time-consuming project since
>we got back.
>
> I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to spray-painting, so this has
>been a learning experience with a lot of picking the brains at the local
>Dupont shop, where most of the guys have body-shop experience. The bulk of
>the labor, of course, is in surface prep and masking.
>
> I looked through the pictures I have on hand to find a couple that were
>illustrative of the problem and tried to take similar "after" pictures.
>The first one, http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2 was taken in February in Casa
>Grande. It is part of a telephoto shot, so there's quite a bit of
>fore-shortening, and the lighting was very flat which reduced contrast,
>but you can see the missing clear coat pretty well.
>
> Since the blue heats up more, it is much more affected than the stripes;
>in fact the side stripes below the bend are fine and were left alone. The
>area below the stripes (what do you call that piece, anyway? Looks
>designed to direct water flow from the roof outward) was a particular
>problem. It is a compound curve, making sanding with a block difficult. It
>was missing clear coat in oval patterns, with the areas over ribs still
>holding the coat. Trying to feather the edges didn't work well, as
>clearcoat kept peeling away, so it was essentially necessary to sand it
>all.
>
> The upper part of the gold and red stripes weren't as bad looking, but
>still had bad peeling. This picture: http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx was taken
>in Phoenix by the inspector we hired pre-purchase.
>
> Here are the after links for roughly the same two views:
> http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo
> http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf
>
> I'm pretty happy with the results, although I did get a small,
>unpredicted, rain shower about an hour after I finished the other side
>late last week, and there are some pock marks in the paint on three
>panels. You can't really tell from the ground, so I'm waiting until it is
>cured a bit more to see what a bit of 1500-grit sanding and polishing does.
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>
>
>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[bloomas]

----- Original Message -----
From: Don Bradner
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 4:05 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Painting project
Hay Don Looks like a good job to me.
Bob Loomas 1985 PT 36


Our ongoing lengthy project list since we acquired Blue Thunder in January
includes replacement of old operational equipment such as batteries, shocks,
tires, and alternators; physical changes to agree with our wants, such as
washer/dryer, bookcase/desk/office chair, and bay slideout trays; and cosmetic
items.

The latter is/was primarily paint. Several years in the Arizona sun had baked
much of the clear coat off on both sides and the back. The front cap is fine,
but has likely been repainted at some point. I did the worst single spot (blue
on the back cap) before we left for a month of travels in early May, and the
rest has been my most time-consuming project since we got back.

I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to spray-painting, so this has been a
learning experience with a lot of picking the brains at the local Dupont shop,
where most of the guys have body-shop experience. The bulk of the labor, of
course, is in surface prep and masking.

I looked through the pictures I have on hand to find a couple that were
illustrative of the problem and tried to take similar "after" pictures. The
first one, http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2 was taken in February in Casa Grande. It is
part of a telephoto shot, so there's quite a bit of fore-shortening, and the
lighting was very flat which reduced contrast, but you can see the missing clear
coat pretty well.

Since the blue heats up more, it is much more affected than the stripes; in
fact the side stripes below the bend are fine and were left alone. The area
below the stripes (what do you call that piece, anyway? Looks designed to direct
water flow from the roof outward) was a particular problem. It is a compound
curve, making sanding with a block difficult. It was missing clear coat in oval
patterns, with the areas over ribs still holding the coat. Trying to feather the
edges didn't work well, as clearcoat kept peeling away, so it was essentially
necessary to sand it all.

The upper part of the gold and red stripes weren't as bad looking, but still
had bad peeling. This picture: http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx was taken in Phoenix by
the inspector we hired pre-purchase.

Here are the after links for roughly the same two views:
http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo
http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf

I'm pretty happy with the results, although I did get a small, unpredicted,
rain shower about an hour after I finished the other side late last week, and
there are some pock marks in the paint on three panels. You can't really tell
from the ground, so I'm waiting until it is cured a bit more to see what a bit
of 1500-grit sanding and polishing does.

Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Eureka, CA





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Leroy Eckert]

I have not used that product. I would expect that you could thin the final coat
(I use three coats with Impron)with a little more reducer to create a wet coat
to get the paint to lay out if you are not satisfied. Just do not get in a
hurry.That is what I did with Imron on my airplane.
To aid in prep work, the most important part of a paint job, I use a hand held
sand blaster I purchased from the paint store. Blasting sand from Ace Hardware
can speed up the prep process over rivets and tight spots. You gotta shower when
finished. The rain drop spots may be able to be removed by wet sanding and
buffing with compound.
Looks really good. Great job.
Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
Niceville, FL
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Bradner
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 5:16 PM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Painting project


No, it is Nason 2K Full-Than Urethane (another Dupont product). No clear coat.

On 7/16/2007 at 4:46 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:

>Looks like a nice job Don. Is that Imron paint?
>Leroy Eckert
>1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
>Niceville, FL
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Don Bradner
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 4:05 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Painting project
>
>
> Our ongoing lengthy project list since we acquired Blue Thunder in
>January includes replacement of old operational equipment such as
>batteries, shocks, tires, and alternators; physical changes to agree with
>our wants, such as washer/dryer, bookcase/desk/office chair, and bay
>slideout trays; and cosmetic items.
>
> The latter is/was primarily paint. Several years in the Arizona sun had
>baked much of the clear coat off on both sides and the back. The front cap
>is fine, but has likely been repainted at some point. I did the worst
>single spot (blue on the back cap) before we left for a month of travels
>in early May, and the rest has been my most time-consuming project since
>we got back.
>
> I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to spray-painting, so this has
>been a learning experience with a lot of picking the brains at the local
>Dupont shop, where most of the guys have body-shop experience. The bulk of
>the labor, of course, is in surface prep and masking.
>
> I looked through the pictures I have on hand to find a couple that were
>illustrative of the problem and tried to take similar "after" pictures.
>The first one, http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2 was taken in February in Casa
>Grande. It is part of a telephoto shot, so there's quite a bit of
>fore-shortening, and the lighting was very flat which reduced contrast,
>but you can see the missing clear coat pretty well.
>
> Since the blue heats up more, it is much more affected than the stripes;
>in fact the side stripes below the bend are fine and were left alone. The
>area below the stripes (what do you call that piece, anyway? Looks
>designed to direct water flow from the roof outward) was a particular
>problem. It is a compound curve, making sanding with a block difficult. It
>was missing clear coat in oval patterns, with the areas over ribs still
>holding the coat. Trying to feather the edges didn't work well, as
>clearcoat kept peeling away, so it was essentially necessary to sand it
>all.
>
> The upper part of the gold and red stripes weren't as bad looking, but
>still had bad peeling. This picture: http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx was taken
>in Phoenix by the inspector we hired pre-purchase.
>
> Here are the after links for roughly the same two views:
> http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo
> http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf
>
> I'm pretty happy with the results, although I did get a small,
>unpredicted, rain shower about an hour after I finished the other side
>late last week, and there are some pock marks in the paint on three
>panels. You can't really tell from the ground, so I'm waiting until it is
>cured a bit more to see what a bit of 1500-grit sanding and polishing does.
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>
>
>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Don Bradner]

Nason calls for 2 coats with metallic, but I find that it is color-specific
dependent on the amount of pigment in the paint. The gold has to go on very thin
or it will run - less solids, so it takes 5 coats. The red takes 2, and the blue
and silver take 3. Nason could probably be considered "econo Imron" and it is
not easy to tell how they differ, since Imron has a couple of non-clearcoat
products (3500 and 400) as well.

On 7/16/2007 at 5:43 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:

>I have not used that product. I would expect that you could thin the
>final coat (I use three coats with Impron)with a little more reducer to
>create a wet coat to get the paint to lay out if you are not satisfied.
>Just do not get in a hurry.That is what I did with Imron on my airplane.
>To aid in prep work, the most important part of a paint job, I use a hand
>held sand blaster I purchased from the paint store. Blasting sand from Ace
>Hardware can speed up the prep process over rivets and tight spots. You
>gotta shower when finished. The rain drop spots may be able to be removed
>by wet sanding and buffing with compound.
>Looks really good. Great job.
>Leroy Eckert
>1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
>Niceville, FL

[Leroy Eckert]

Yes, the key to metallics is to prevent tiger stripes. Always over lap about 50%
with lighter coats. Let it tack up between coats. Then all is well.
An old toothless painter friend of mine has always told me when I asked him how
long will it take. He said, "you can rush the painter but you cannot rush the
paint." I think he is brain dead from the fumes, but correct.
Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
Niceville, FL
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Bradner
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Painting project


Nason calls for 2 coats with metallic, but I find that it is color-specific
dependent on the amount of pigment in the paint. The gold has to go on very thin
or it will run - less solids, so it takes 5 coats. The red takes 2, and the blue
and silver take 3. Nason could probably be considered "econo Imron" and it is
not easy to tell how they differ, since Imron has a couple of non-clearcoat
products (3500 and 400) as well.

On 7/16/2007 at 5:43 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:

>I have not used that product. I would expect that you could thin the
>final coat (I use three coats with Impron)with a little more reducer to
>create a wet coat to get the paint to lay out if you are not satisfied.
>Just do not get in a hurry.That is what I did with Imron on my airplane.
>To aid in prep work, the most important part of a paint job, I use a hand
>held sand blaster I purchased from the paint store. Blasting sand from Ace
>Hardware can speed up the prep process over rivets and tight spots. You
>gotta shower when finished. The rain drop spots may be able to be removed
>by wet sanding and buffing with compound.
>Looks really good. Great job.
>Leroy Eckert
>1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
>Niceville, FL





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Gardner Yeaw]

What did you do to prep the galvanized surface to insure the primer
got a good hold?

Gardner
78fc33

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Don Bradner"
wrote:
>
> Nason calls for 2 coats with metallic, but I find that it is color-
specific dependent on the amount of pigment in the paint. The gold
has to go on very thin or it will run - less solids, so it takes 5
coats. The red takes 2, and the blue and silver take 3. Nason could
probably be considered "econo Imron" and it is not easy to tell how
they differ, since Imron has a couple of non-clearcoat products
(3500 and 400) as well.
>
> On 7/16/2007 at 5:43 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:
>
> >I have not used that product. I would expect that you could thin
the
> >final coat (I use three coats with Impron)with a little more
reducer to
> >create a wet coat to get the paint to lay out if you are not
satisfied.
> >Just do not get in a hurry.That is what I did with Imron on my
airplane.
> >To aid in prep work, the most important part of a paint job, I
use a hand
> >held sand blaster I purchased from the paint store. Blasting sand
from Ace
> >Hardware can speed up the prep process over rivets and tight
spots. You
> >gotta shower when finished. The rain drop spots may be able to be
removed
> >by wet sanding and buffing with compound.
> >Looks really good. Great job.
> >Leroy Eckert
> >1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
> >Niceville, FL
>

[Leroy Eckert]

I know your post was for Don. Scuff it with ScotchBright and follow with
PrepSol. And be certain you do not use a can of silicone lubricant anywhere
nearby. Fisheyes will be the result. Just do not have that stuff in the shop.
Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors'
Niceville, FL
----- Original Message -----
From: Gardner Yeaw
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 6:40 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Painting project


What did you do to prep the galvanized surface to insure the primer
got a good hold?

Gardner
78fc33

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Don Bradner"
wrote:
>
> Nason calls for 2 coats with metallic, but I find that it is color-
specific dependent on the amount of pigment in the paint. The gold
has to go on very thin or it will run - less solids, so it takes 5
coats. The red takes 2, and the blue and silver take 3. Nason could
probably be considered "econo Imron" and it is not easy to tell how
they differ, since Imron has a couple of non-clearcoat products
(3500 and 400) as well.
>
> On 7/16/2007 at 5:43 PM Leroy Eckert wrote:
>
> >I have not used that product. I would expect that you could thin
the
> >final coat (I use three coats with Impron)with a little more
reducer to
> >create a wet coat to get the paint to lay out if you are not
satisfied.
> >Just do not get in a hurry.That is what I did with Imron on my
airplane.
> >To aid in prep work, the most important part of a paint job, I
use a hand
> >held sand blaster I purchased from the paint store. Blasting sand
from Ace
> >Hardware can speed up the prep process over rivets and tight
spots. You
> >gotta shower when finished. The rain drop spots may be able to be
removed
> >by wet sanding and buffing with compound.
> >Looks really good. Great job.
> >Leroy Eckert
> >1990 WB-40"Smoke N Mirrors"
> >Niceville, FL
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[David Brady]

Looks like a million bucks Don, way to go.

David Brady
'02 LXi, Smokey
NC

Don Bradner wrote:
>
> Our ongoing lengthy project list since we acquired Blue Thunder in
> January includes replacement of old operational equipment such as
> batteries, shocks, tires, and alternators; physical changes to agree
> with our wants, such as washer/dryer, bookcase/desk/office chair, and
> bay slideout trays; and cosmetic items.
>
> The latter is/was primarily paint. Several years in the Arizona sun
> had baked much of the clear coat off on both sides and the back. The
> front cap is fine, but has likely been repainted at some point. I did
> the worst single spot (blue on the back cap) before we left for a
> month of travels in early May, and the rest has been my most
> time-consuming project since we got back.
>
> I'm pretty much a neophyte when it comes to spray-painting, so this
> has been a learning experience with a lot of picking the brains at the
> local Dupont shop, where most of the guys have body-shop experience.
> The bulk of the labor, of course, is in surface prep and masking.
>
> I looked through the pictures I have on hand to find a couple that
> were illustrative of the problem and tried to take similar "after"
> pictures. The first one, http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2
> <http://tinyurl.com/2w53e2> was taken in February in Casa Grande. It
> is part of a telephoto shot, so there's quite a bit of
> fore-shortening, and the lighting was very flat which reduced
> contrast, but you can see the missing clear coat pretty well.
>
> Since the blue heats up more, it is much more affected than the
> stripes; in fact the side stripes below the bend are fine and were
> left alone. The area below the stripes (what do you call that piece,
> anyway? Looks designed to direct water flow from the roof outward) was
> a particular problem. It is a compound curve, making sanding with a
> block difficult. It was missing clear coat in oval patterns, with the
> areas over ribs still holding the coat. Trying to feather the edges
> didn't work well, as clearcoat kept peeling away, so it was
> essentially necessary to sand it all.
>
> The upper part of the gold and red stripes weren't as bad looking, but
> still had bad peeling. This picture: http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx
> <http://tinyurl.com/2w6ukx> was taken in Phoenix by the inspector we
> hired pre-purchase.
>
> Here are the after links for roughly the same two views:
> http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo <http://tinyurl.com/2kjvqo>
> http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf <http://tinyurl.com/2jv2lf>
>
> I'm pretty happy with the results, although I did get a small,
> unpredicted, rain shower about an hour after I finished the other side
> late last week, and there are some pock marks in the paint on three
> panels. You can't really tell from the ground, so I'm waiting until it
> is cured a bit more to see what a bit of 1500-grit sanding and
> polishing does.
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.6/902 - Release Date: 7/15/2007 2:21
PM
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]