Since I'm just in the process of painting, I'll share some of the items I've learned during the process.
1. My wife owned the design and color process, but I retained veto capability in case she wanted to do something bizarre. This caused her to take ownership of the design and she's been more engaged in the process since then. She even did a significant amount of fiberglass sanding.
2. Determine which paint system you want to use. For example, I found that PPG Deltron and another PPG name I can't remember were almost the same price a Sherwin Williams JetGlo and Acryglo. Once you make that decision, get the paint charts from the choosen vendor to make your paint color choices.
3. I have red and silver AcryGlo stripes. Acryglo is metallic. I've been told that red and silver tints, regardless of products are the most expensive. The JetGlo Matterhorn white was about $150/gal (plus hardner), where as the AcryGlo Red and Silver were about $150/qt (plus hardner). Be prepared for the sticker shock on the materials.
4. Marking the striping is a pain. It took more time that painting did. The real problem areas are around the control surfaces. When you have a stripe that isn't perpendicular, it's alignment gets fubar when the control surface goes to one extreme to the other. There is no perfect solution, but you have to come up with a comprimise. I chose not to continue the stripes by connecting them to the other side of the control surface. My suggestion is to mount the control surface while you are taping and tape them at the same time.
5. Get good striping tape. You don't want paint bleeding under the tape. We had a problem with the red and have to give multiple coats to get the color dark enough to our taste. We had one spot that got under the tape. It was a pain to fix.
6. Last but not least, there is only one opinion that counts. Yours!!! Who cares what everyone else thinks? All that matters is that you like it.
bob
p.s. I think your design looks good too!
CJ
CJ
