RivetBangers.com

I will be starting to drive rivets as soon as I return from this trip. I have a few questions.

1. Has anyone one here gone with priming and painting all the way to finish coats as subassemblies are completed.

2. Were there any major gotchas to doing it that way.

I plan on a pretty basic white finish coat with only colored additions being tips and transitions to flow better. Then after all is said and done probably vinyl graphics on the fuselage.

It seems to me that it would be the best way to protect everything while waiting for final assembly. And I know for me taking the plane apart later for paint would be very difficult to do (mentally) and probably get relegated to the back burner for the sake of more fun (flying). Painting it myself it would also seem easier to tackle one section at a time.

Have nothing but mental prep time for the next few months... I want to get my plan of atack hashed out so I can hit the ground running.

Mike,

I don't know of anyone who has done that and I wouldn't either.

I am just getting around to painting the top coat now (this spring/summer) and am glad I waited until now for many reasons.

Your taste in design and color will likely change many times between now and when you are flying. The parts are likely to get dinged and chipped in the process of fitting them up. Some would say that I am ahead of the game by painting mine now before it flies too!

Personally, I think that I would never want to take it offline in order to paint it later, hence the reason I am doing it now.

Also, at your stage of the game I would just stay in "sheet metal mode" and keep the fiberglass/top coat mode for later in the game when it can all be done simultaneously.

My two...

CJ

I agree with CJ.

Prime the interior / hidden side of the parts if you so decide.

Paint the exterior when you have all the major components ready for final assembly.

My build took almost six years and this method worked well for me.

If you paint the exterior as you build, I guarantee you will have to repaint due to all the scratches that will occur during storage while you're building.

bob