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Opinions please: How to proceed?

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  • Opinions please: How to proceed?

    There is no question that the fuselage will be repaired and a two-part applied; that the landing gear will have the sameas well as anything structural, but I'm looking at the cowl and the firewall and asking myself "Self, do I really need to strip the paint off, reprime and paint, or simply leave it alone; do I need to strip the steering assy. ('H' frame) to bare metal? Would a good sandblasting followed by a spray of Rustoleum do for the brake parts?".

    This will not be a show plane. I don't intend to rival Rob Lee's job. OTOH I don't want to slop my way thru the project

    How do you know when enough is enough? My thinking is that if the part is hard to get to or structural, do a careful job; if it's easy to work on, ....... - Mike
    Mike Horowitz
    Falls Church, Va
    BC-12D, N5188M
    TF - 14954

  • #2
    Re: Opinions please: How to proceed?

    Its worth the little extra time involved to blast and prime the "H" bar and other small airframe items that unbolt. I have spent countless hours using paint stripper to get my old doors down to bare metal. I sure hate the process but like the end result. Unfortunatly I still have the cowl/boot cowl to do

    Just all part of the game I guess. Also it may just be my opinion but try staying with aviation related/accepted paint and primers instead of using rustolium. If you are looking for a one coat epoxy type paint use Rand-o-plate. It's incredable hulk green, and kind of an industry standard for painting airframes. you could leave it as is but I would reccomend a top coat of polyureathane on everything. It adds a hard wearing and dam near impenatrable top coat totaly sealing the epoxy primer underneath and it is a bitch to remove without blasting again. Univair mixes Rand-o-plate and the yelowish in color chromate based Epi-bond to paint allmost all of their airframe parts. That gives them a chromate epoxy primer. Jim Dyer (president of Univair) says it was because they didn't like the color of Rand-o-plate and wanted to have a lighter color primer.
    Jason

    Former BC12D & F19 owner
    TF#689
    TOC

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    • #3
      Re: Opinions please: How to proceed?

      Mike:
      Your question goes to the heart of the rebuilding process. When is enough enough? It's a philosophical question.

      I guess most folks feel "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Like if you have a perfectly good part with a decent paint job, why are you sandblasting it down to bare metal and re-painting it? What's the point?

      Make it functional, make it airworthy, make it original. That's enough.

      My philosophy: disassemble, clean, and inspect everything, repair all defects, then re-assemble to original condition.

      Bob
      Bob Gustafson
      NC43913
      TF#565

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Opinions please: How to proceed?

        Originally posted by mulwyk
        Mike:
        Your question goes to the heart of the rebuilding process. When is enough enough? It's a philosophical question.

        I guess most folks feel "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Like if you have a perfectly good part with a decent paint job, why are you sandblasting it down to bare metal and re-painting it? What's the point?

        Make it functional, make it airworthy, make it original. That's enough.

        My philosophy: disassemble, clean, and inspect everything, repair all defects, then re-assemble to original condition.

        Bob
        Thanks - Mike
        Mike Horowitz
        Falls Church, Va
        BC-12D, N5188M
        TF - 14954

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Opinions please: How to proceed?

          On my airplane there are things I did during my disassemble/repair episode, that when I look at it now I wish I would have done it a little better. Then again, I ALSO am looking in my logbooks these days and seeing flight time instead of rebuild time. There's a big value to that too.

          Take out the H-frame, and make a very thorough inspection. If there are places where the metal is showing and has some rust, then sand it down to bare metal and re-prime. If there is no damage, no worn out surfaces, the paint is intact, and there are no rusty spots showing, then it is airworthy and you can clean it with solvent, throw another coat of paint on and put it back in the airplane.

          If money is not the primary issue, take all those little parts and have them sandblasted and powder coated or epoxy primed. The FAA does not like powder coat for somewhat of a valid reason, but if the part underneath is solid then powdercoat will provide a permanent protective finish.
          Taylorcraft : Making Better Aviators for 75 Years... and Counting

          Bill Berle
          TF#693

          http://www.ezflaphandle.com
          http://www.grantstar.net
          N26451 (1940 BL(C)-65) 1988-90
          N47DN (Auster Autocrat) 1992-93
          N96121 (1946 BC-12D-85) 1998-99
          N29544 (1940 BL(C)-85) 2005-08

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          • #6
            Re: Opinions please: How to proceed?

            Ever been to a car show? Some vehicles there have had every single thing that comes apart disassembled. I bet some people have polished the inside of the bell housing. Then there are other cars there that are "drivers" just something cool and brings back memories of high school or whatever and they just did what it takes to get it licensed and perhaps a bit of paint. This is more a function of personality I think than practicality. The given is that the plane needs to be airworthy. Beyond that, a ton of time and money can be spent. Up to you. There are probably guys out there that have spent 50k fixing up a plane that is still going to be a $20k plane. Go for it if you have the time, money and desire to do that. If you would rather be flying the plane than polishing it go that route. No right or wrong here, do what you like.

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