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Vans RV12is interior paint process

D

DavidHarris

Well Known Member
I'm a newbie painter building a Vans RV12is. I'm looking for advice about the prep and paint process. I'm at step 39-10 where Vans advises painting the canopy frame, latch, and skirts. Once I get the empennage attached and do a bit of related work, I'll come to step 38-13 advising to paint the interior. For various reasons, it may be 18 months before I get there.

I'm based inland in California and have elected not to alodine or prime any of the alclad parts while building.

A friend has half a gallon of gray Sherwin-Williams JetFlex Polane-L left over that he's offered for me to use for the canopy and interior. I asked Sherwin-Williams about the application process and got the following response:

"David per your question below, if going over direct to metal you would need to abrade the metal and clean once that's done a pretreatment is needed. Acid etch and alodine or AC131 are good pretreatments. Primer would be next, see attached. Let me know if you have any question. "

If I understand this right, the process is:
* scuff with scotchbrite
* clean with water and acetone
* acid etch
* alodine
* mask off all the access holes, nut plate holes, brakes components, and everything else that I don't want painted gray in the interior
* prime with Sherman-Williams CM0483800 two-part epoxy primer
* paint with Polane-L

I'm having a terrible time visualizing how to do this to a completed 3-dimensional interior. Section 5 of the plans isn't enough for me to understand. Would I apply acid etch with a sponge, let it sit, then wipe it up with a shop towel? Same for alodine? I've only sprayed with a rattle can, and when I used self-etching rattle can primer, I didn't etch or alodine. Is etch and alodine important for two-part epoxy primer adhesion? Is it difficult to spray the interior with a gun evenly and without getting drips, given that some surfaces point down? Is it sensible to skip some areas, such as the aft side of the firewall (to prevent fumes in the event of a fire), the underside of the avionics bay (invisible and hard to reach), the side skins just aft of the firewall (maybe not visible during normal use), or any areas that will be covered with carpet, sets, or interior panels (still getting my head around which these are). My buddy said I might experiment with applying paint with a good brush. Is that viable or hopeless? Do the ingredients hold up for 18 months stored at room temperature, or will I just be using a little on the canopy and then reordering everything when the interior comes around. Is painting an unprepared interior something beginners successfully do, or should I go find a professional shop? And will an auto body shop be accustomed to a process that works for aviation interior paint, or would I need an aviation paint shop?

I'm not looking for absolute perfection, and would like to minimize weight and total effort, but I do want an unblemished interior that holds up well.

Thank you for the advice.

David Harris
 
I have had good luck with PreKote. It replaces the acid-etch and Alodine. Way less toxic. I think it would be tricky to remove every last bit of acid from all those nooks and crannies. You don't have to paint anything that won't be covered by upholstery. If the free paint you were offered contains isocyonates you will need a full forced-air respirator to spray it. Yes, it's tricky to spray all the corners and work in a tight space.
 
DavidHarris said:
A friend has half a gallon of gray Sherwin-Williams JetFlex Polane-L left over that he's offered for me to use for the canopy and interior. I asked Sherwin-Williams about the application process and got the following response:
...

David Harris
Click to expand...

Do you have Jetflex or Polane? I understand them to be different products.

I used Jetflex WR in my interior. I did not etch. I scuffed and cleaned with acetone, then Rustoleum self etching primer, then the Jetflex WR. It worked great. It stuck well and is very durable everywhere but the roll bar. Roll bar being a different allow seems to be a challenge, I notice it on lots of RVs.

I did a few test cards to really settle on primer and sanding practices but in the end the Jetflex seemed to be a pretty tolerant paint product.

Can't help with the rest of your questions. I painted as a I went, before assembly. I prefer the exposed rivet look and all the logistics you run through of painting it when complete was easy to decide to avoid. It was a bit of a grind to batch and spray a number of times, but the 3M Accuspray simplifies the process and it was nice to be finished once it was assembled. This also allowed facilities a 2 tone interior (textured charcoal on all my 'floor' surfaces with Pepperdust everything else).
 
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David,

Since it sounds to me like you're not looking to get into the painting business or building a show plane bound for the museum in Oshkosh, you might take a simpler approach that will save a bunch of time, money and hazard to your health.

My 7 is only 2 years old, but the interior is holding up great with the following approach:

- Scuff the interior surfaces, especially anything with any shine with green SB pads. Blow or vacuum well.

- wash the interior with Simple Green Extreme or something similar at the 5:1 ratio (this will actually etch the surfaces a little). Rinse the heck out of it, blow out the seams, and let everything dry for a day or so in the sun. Goal is to make sure all the water is out of the seams/overlaps.

- Prime with Rust-oleum self etching gray primer. Wait an hour or so.

- Spray the interior (using any simple gun) with Rust-oleum Professional High Performance Enamel Gloss. Thin with paint thinner to the correct viscosity and spray on a couple of coats as prescribed. If you can't find the color you want, mix them as required. I made a nice gray out of, you guessed it, white and black. Then I went back after it was all done and speckled it with white/black splatter.

- Then ... oh wait, that's it. Build on.

This whole process with take about 8 hours or less, all the materials are available at HD, and will cost about $50.
 
SW tech support

I sprayed Jet Flex over P60G2.
Sherwin Williams tech support tried really hard to convince me it would not work. One area on the top skin had to be removed to Sika the windshield. I almost gave up. That paint did not want to come off.
Bottom line, don't overthink it. Do what works for you. I don't recommend the Alodine. It's virtually impossible to get all the products out of an assembled canoe.
Scuff for mechanical adhesion. Vacuum and wipe clean till the cloth has no black. Spray a primer. Spray the paint.
Remember to mask everywhere you don't want paint. Paint floats and gets stuck.

Personally, I would skip the SW and just shoot a good primer. I've had some scratches and re-sprayed parts with Kirker EnduroPrime. Almost exactly the same hue of black and tough as nails.
The white EnduroPrime on my 4x4 wheels has been through 4 years of abuse. Colorado road salt, intense sun, etc. They still look like the day I sprayed and it was just a quickie job.
 
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Wiring in?

The plane I’m building has already had wiring installed. I’m concerned about chemicals used to clean or etch. Suggestions?
 
Hmmm.. I do really like the Simple green extreme treatment, and I don't think it would bother the wire insulation one bit. If it makes you queezy, maybe go a little lighter on the solution. And be sure to cover all the ends of the wire/connectors to avoid any issues ... then you need to deal with how to mask the wire that's in place before prime/paint.
 
Thanks…covering for spray while time consuming is doable. Wiping things down and then washing that off has me concerned. I’ll dilute the Simple Green more. Thanks again.
 
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