Ranthane

[Laz]

I am about to spray my first coats of Insigina White Ranthane on the first wing I have finished. Any words of wisdom from the tribe?

How many coats?

Do you cross coat Ranthane?


So far no real probems with spraying polybrush or Poly spray. My Costco spray booth works great. No dust or dirt problems. As you all know these are big wings and suck up more material than a cub. I have a whole new level of respect tor the people who cover planes. I also doubt that you can cover a T-craft with $3500 in materials

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Ranthane

Laz,
Awesome getting to the color coats. It is very satisfying to see the final coats go on.

Some observations:
You can't have too many work lights. You have to see the glare on the paint to lay down good shiny coats.

Put on a tack coat! Then wait 15 minutes before the cross coats. Yes do cross coat. Consider one "coat" to be a cross coat.

Slow drying improves shine, but don't add so much retarder that it runs and sags.

Spray items sitting level whenever possible.

Shoot a test pass on the wall or someplace - you have to know what your gun pattern is doing.

Use light passes overlapped 50% to eliminate streaking.

[crispy critter]

Re: Ranthane

Well put Mark....I second his advice. I really like ranthane but as mentioned above,don't retard too much and try not to rush it.....once you start your cross coats let it tack up good before going to the next coat. I recommed only two cross coats. Another idea is when you spray your tack coat try to hit your leading and trailing edges with an extra fast pass,be very careful not to overdue it but when you start sparying full cross coats it is very easy to overlook a small area on the trailing edges or in those hard to hit corners so if you hit them during your tack coat you don't have to worry too much about thin spots later and if you try to go back and touch them up after the final cross coat has started to tack then you run a risk of streaking or dry spray in the touch up spots. Also DO NOT try to apply extra coats after the second cross coat just because you think it is not enough or maybe you see some pin holes starting to develope. If you start to see imperfections in your finish don't try to fill them in with paint. Finish what you have started(unless it is extreme fish eye,pin hole, something else over very large areas) and once it has dried you will find that ranthane will flow out and fill in itself as it dries and cures,it may not flow out completly to all imperfections but it will surprise you. So,if you feel you need a 3rd cross coat I highly recommend waiting until the 2nd cross coat has completly dried then evaluate,wet sand with about 400-600 then spray your 3rd coat if needed.

[3Dreaming]

Re: Ranthane

Ranthane, or Aerothane? I thought the STC required use of Poly Fiber products all the way through now. Tom

[N96337]

Re: Ranthane

It specifies that you can use either...or polytone...but nothing else, on the fabric. I've only used Ranthane a couple times but had great results so far. It's still a polyurethane, and catalyzed with an isocyanate, so fresh air breather (not just a respirator or filter) and all soft tissue body parts covered is mandatory....ESPECIALLY when mixing.
JH

[Laz]

Re: Ranthane

Thanks for all the tips. The temp is perfect for spraying 75 and low humidity. One last question.

Do you sand the last coat of silver. I know the bood says no, but I was thinking of a very lite sanding with 1000 to take off any slight overspary. My be this is overkill and not needed. So far I have been pleased with the spraying.

[Buell Powell]

Re: Ranthane

Laz,
I don't think it would be a good idea to sand the last coat of poly spray. If it is rough in places you can lightly wet sand with 400 grit then spray 3 parts poly spray to 1 part RR 8500 reducer which should give you a nice smooth coat. If you already have the R65-75 you can make RR 8500 by mixing 3 parts R65-75 to 1 part BR-8600 blush retarder. I haven't used the Ranthane but one thing I learned about Aerothane is that it is very prone to run if the previous coat isn't dry enough. Something that works for me is to check before spraying the next coat by pressing on some overspray--if any paint comes off then wait a few more minuets and check again.
Hope this helps,
Buell

[Pearson]

Re: Ranthane

How did the paint job come out?

Photos?

[Laz]

Re: Ranthane

The white is on. I did exactly as directed by polyfiber. My only complaint is that at the very top of where the wire clips are under the tapes it apears that you can see just a slight haze of siver. You have to look hard. It apears that as Ranthae flows out it thin at this peak area. I sprayed three medium coats. I wated till the paint was " tacky" at least 45 minutes to an hour between coats. Painting temp was 74 deg no humidity. The finish looks great. a few specks of dust here and there. I may put one more coat on but I am not sure. I think you have to wait at least 4 days for a new top coat.

My big problem was my floor. I covered it with plastic and had no problem with polyspray. The floor become so tacky with Ranthane my shoes began to stick.

This stuff is unlike any automotive paint I have sprayed.

[Pearson]

Re: Ranthane

Laz,

Good to hear it came out so well! I wouldn't worry about a few specks of dust. When you get it outside in the sunlight, you won't even be able to find them.

After putting three medium coats on, I would not put any more paint on. It sounds like it came out pretty nice. Maybe sometime you can post some pictures.

The "thin" spot over the fabric wires is not a problem either. You probably won't be able to notice it out in the sunshine either. But if you do, I would just touch it up with a camel hair touch up brush. Use paint that is well thinned, and just touch the brush to it. Don't try to brush it on, just dab it. By using well thinned paint it will lay down flat after a day or so and you will not see it.

What did you mean when you said this paint is unlike any automotive paint you have sprayed. Are you referring to the way it flows out?

[crispy critter]

Re: Ranthane

I am somewhat confussed.....are you using Aerothane,polythane,or ranthane and what covering process are you using it on?

[Laz]

Re: Ranthane

I am using polyfiber process with a color finish of Ranthane. As far as the wire clips go I think I will just leave it. I plan on my original orange sunbust on the top and that will take care of the wire problem. I will leave the first two coats dry longer between spraying on the next wing and see if that helps just for the record I did lightly sand the last coat of polyspray. I checked with the factory and the teck guy said it was ok as long as I did not remove much and check to see if I still had UV protection. All I really did was remove some dry overspray and some dust spots I used a Iwata 400 HVLP gun witha 1.3 nozzle. I will move up to a 1.4 nozzlefor the polyspray on the next wing. The Factory rep said all products can be sprayed with a 1.3 but I don't buy it. All that silver in polyspray makes a difference. I will also thin a bit more.

The Ranthane really flows out nice.

By the time I get this thing covered I will know how to do it.

[Acroeric]

Re: Ranthane

Having just sprayed Randthane and run into a similar issue with the silver showing through just a litttle over ridges- I found the trick to be to let it dry a little longer. . . .the solvents pull it to low spots when the previous coat isn't quite ready. Mine did this especially where I was spraying my gear legs- I had to go back later with a light 3rd coat to get it covered correctly but it looks awesome now.

I saw several guys questioning the Randthane- polyfiber bought out randthane - the new company name is Consolidated Aircraft Coatings and in the latest copy of the manual it includes it as an acceptable paint. I have found it sprays much easier than Aerothane and usually covers in 2 coats unlike the 3 required for Aerothane. Just my 2 cents. Your mileage may vary.

[M Jones]

Re: Ranthane

Hey Mike,

Post some pictures for us when you can! The sunburst orange should look great.