Latex Paint for Your Homebuilt

[Aaron Novak]

Let me begin by saying that I find the insinuation that what I have posted is "completely careless and dangerous" personally offensive and insulting. Those that have used my services as an EAA Technical Counselor and friend to a multitude of builders would also be offended by that statement.

Now....having gotten that out of the way, here are some thoughts concerning the use of latex paint for EXPERIMENTAL aircraft:

We are indeed talking EXPERIMENTAL aviation on this forum. If a builder is not comfortable with the latex process, or it doesn't meet his personal risk management....then don't use it. Latex paint is not for every builder or every aircraft. It has been adopted primarily for inexpensive, slow aircraft where spending upwards of 25% of the airframe cost in finishing materials is not practical. If I was building a Bearhawk, J-3 clone, or other $30,000 airframe, or an airframe designed for high cruise speed, latex would not be my choice. Resale value of a more expensive airframe would be impacted by the use of latex paint because not all buyers would accept that finish.

My personal experience with latex paint on inexpensive and slow aircraft covers a span of twenty years. Latex was first introduced to the low-n-slow community a few years prior to my first project. There is a lot of field history on latex paint, and it has proven to have a good track record. But, it was controversial when first introduced to experimental aviation and remains a subject that generates opposing opinions.

The presenter of the webinar that began this thread, and my personal experience, does not drive anyone exclusively toward a particular brand but instead presents a process. I have used various brands of latex over twenty years and have found all of them to meet my expectations. I do, however, recommend buying the premium level of latex paint regardless of brand. A premium grade of primer is also important for UV protection and adhesion. These recommendations are apparent to those who actually watched the webinar.

I have not seen any evidence of incompatibility of latex with PolyTac adhesive. The few times I have had opportunity to remove lightweight latex-finished fabric that was attached with PolyTac has resulted in the fabric tearing instead of the glue joints failing.

So....there is considerable field history to support the use of latex paint. But if a builder doesn't want to use it for whatever reason...use something else. But please don't denigrate the users of latex just because it doesn't meet your personal standards.

Sam,
Sorry I was not clear, when I stated "YOU" I was referring not to you as a person specificly, but as a component of a dialogue of information. If that makes any sense. It was never intended as a personal attack. You did however bring up what is my biggest gripe with the thought process going on here reguarding something like this. Simply put your past experience is meaningless for future decisions unless you can assure the material you are using has not changed. If you find fault with the previous logic, I would like to know how.


P.S. I do use "latex" paint quite a bit, on everything from my house, to equipment, to model aircraft. So I have nothing against the material technology at all.

[Sam Buchanan]

Sam,
Sorry I was not clear, when I stated "YOU" I was referring not to you as a person specificly, but as a component of a dialogue of information. If that makes any sense. It was never intended as a personal attack. You did however bring up what is my biggest gripe with the thought process going on here reguarding something like this. Simply put your past experience is meaningless for future decisions unless you can assure the material you are using has not changed. If you find fault with the previous logic, I would like to know how.


P.S. I do use "latex" paint quite a bit, on everything from my house, to equipment, to model aircraft. So I have nothing against the material technology at all.

I don't want to belabor this point, but in the case of using latex paints for low-n-slow airplanes, I think the logic you referred to is indeed faulty. I understand the point you are trying to make but I don't think it is reason to abandon latex paint in the real world.

I agree that formulations may change over time as paint manufacturers improve their product. But regardless of the changes, latex paint in general continues to work very well for this application, probably even better than in years past (adhesion and UV protection). The changes made over the years have not turned it into something that no longer works in our application.

As long as latex paint continues to be "latex paint" with characteristics we recognize based on previous experience, I think it is a good option for our experimental aircraft.

[Aaron Novak]

I don't want to belabor this point, but in the case of using latex paints for low-n-slow airplanes, I think the logic you referred to is indeed faulty. I understand the point you are trying to make but I don't think it is reason to abandon latex paint in the real world.

I agree that formulations may change over time as paint manufacturers improve their product. But regardless of the changes, latex paint in general continues to work very well for this application, probably even better than in years past (adhesion and UV protection). The changes made over the years have not turned it into something that no longer works in our application.

As long as latex paint continues to be "latex paint" with characteristics we recognize based on previous experience, I think it is a good option for our experimental aircraft.

Sam,
Well I guess we will have to disaggree on the logic then. And thats ok. I would however suggest to anyone, that when using something that has unknown chemistry ( be it paint, welding rod, adhesives etc ), that the suitability of it for a given application be derrived from testing the actual material batch to your satisfaction before use. That is just plain common sense, or should be.

[Trackwelder]

my only real complaint, is it never was really explained how you would repair a laex paint job, I had bought an aircraft that had originally been coated in dope, then was painted was painted with latex, only half of it was done well, so when I washed it most of the paint blew off and I wound up having to recover, it was a good idea as there were some repairs that needed to be made but how do you fix a tear in a latex paint job, with polytone it is easy,, but after the seminar I still didn't know how to repair latex I will stick with polytone.

[Sam Buchanan]

my only real complaint, is it never was really explained how you would repair a laex paint job, I had bought an aircraft that had originally been coated in dope, then was painted was painted with latex, only half of it was done well, so when I washed it most of the paint blew off and I wound up having to recover, it was a good idea as there were some repairs that needed to be made but how do you fix a tear in a latex paint job, with polytone it is easy,, but after the seminar I still didn't know how to repair latex I will stick with polytone.

Here is one of the best web sites I've found on latex paint:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/latex.html

About 1/2 way down the page latex repairs are discussed. Xylene will dissolve latex and repairs can be made using traditional techniques.

[bookmaker]

Although this is not a latex paint comment, it is related to painting with non-traditional aircraft paint systems.

Last weekend I attended the SouthEast Regional Fly In (SERFI) in Evergreen, AL, Nice weather and good turnout. One extremely nice aircraft that got my attention was a Lycoming 0-235 powered Pietenpol. The overall look and finish was exceptional. (It won an award in category). What really struck me was the paint. It was extremely smooth and professional looking. I asked the builder what paint he used and he said Rustoleum enamel. I about fell over. This was not the spray cans, but the paint in a can that he sprayed with a gun. He said he used the Rustoleum aluminum first directly on the fabric as a filler and UV blocker, then sprayed the red and yellow over that.

I tell you, it is something to look into.

Dale

[I_FLY_LOW]

Although this is not a latex paint comment, it is related to painting with non-traditional aircraft paint systems.

Last weekend I attended the SouthEast Regional Fly In (SERFI) in Evergreen, AL, Nice weather and good turnout. One extremely nice aircraft that got my attention was a Lycoming 0-235 powered Pietenpol. The overall look and finish was exceptional. (It won an award in category). What really struck me was the paint. It was extremely smooth and professional looking. I asked the builder what paint he used and he said Rustoleum enamel. I about fell over. This was not the spray cans, but the paint in a can that he sprayed with a gun. He said he used the Rustoleum aluminum first directly on the fabric as a filler and UV blocker, then sprayed the red and yellow over that.

I tell you, it is something to look into.

Dale

Didja get any pics???

[bookmaker]

Yes, I did get a few photos, but I haven't downloaded them yet. I'll do that this evening.

[Sam Buchanan]

Although this is not a latex paint comment, it is related to painting with non-traditional aircraft paint systems.

Last weekend I attended the SouthEast Regional Fly In (SERFI) in Evergreen, AL, Nice weather and good turnout. One extremely nice aircraft that got my attention was a Lycoming 0-235 powered Pietenpol. The overall look and finish was exceptional. (It won an award in category). What really struck me was the paint. It was extremely smooth and professional looking. I asked the builder what paint he used and he said Rustoleum enamel. I about fell over. This was not the spray cans, but the paint in a can that he sprayed with a gun. He said he used the Rustoleum aluminum first directly on the fabric as a filler and UV blocker, then sprayed the red and yellow over that.

I tell you, it is something to look into.

Dale

My MiniMax was topcoated with Rustoleum. I used latex primer on bare fabric then a couple of coats of Rustoleum thinned with mineral spirits shot with a gun. It was a three color paint job and turned out very nicely with a satin gloss finish. The plane was only in service a couple of years before a friend tested it to destruction, but the finish never had any problems. Photos here:

http://thervjournal.com/hanger.html

Entire paint job cost less than $75.

[bookmaker]

Ouch! Glad the "tester" didn't get hurt. Looked nice.