Original Posted By: "Michael Brusilow"
Included are several emails that I have written in the past to others onthis subject. If you have further questions please ask,Steve EldredgeSteve(at)byu.edu IT ServicesBrigham Young UniversityThe latex coatings are not really that hard. You > cover the> > aircraft using the stits (poly fiber) process up to the > point of putting> > on> > the first poly brush coat. Instead of filling the weave > with the poly> > brush> > you brush on a coat of flat laytex outdoor black 90 degrees to the> > airflow.> > then another coat to fill the weave parallel to the > airflow. The black is> > the UV protection. After the black is done put on your dark color> > coats,for> > lighter surfaces paint a coat of flat white to hid the > black. The secret> > is> > keeping the coatings thin to avoid cracking. Mine is two > years old and> > still looks fine. It isn't an award winning finish however.> > I actually brushed the first two coats, then sprayed the white primer forthe wings, to smooth out the brush marks and just left the fuse as is, thensprayed the color. Rolling on the final coats is also an option. Justdepends on what kind of finish you want. Duane used the UV latex coats andthen sprayed an automotive finish to get the wet look. ... I have been satisfied with the latex method that I have used, andwould use it again on a vintage airplane such as a piet. I did learn a fewthings doing it however, that I will pass along. I painted my project whenit was too hot (80+ degrees) and had trouble with the paint drying too fast.The High Gloss latex need time to dry correctly. Also I used an airlesssprayer like you paint a house with. I would try a regular spray set upnext time. I also would be more patient in applying second coats. I admitthat once it started to take color, I was anxious to see the luster I hopedfor and applied successive coats to quickly which caused some catastrophicrunning that I had to fix. More below.I was just now looking at your message dated 03/03/1988 regar-ding the latex fabric finishing method you used on your Pietenpol,and wondered whether you were still satisfied with it. From picturesof your a/c at Oshkosh this year, I must say it looks great!There are a couple of things in your message that I would like clari-fied:1. It seems you used the Poly-Fiber steps to attach and shrink the fabric. After applying the surface tapes, was there any reason why you did not use Poly-brush to fill the weave of the fabric? Was it a matter of cost? Or was there a technical reason?yep. both really. If you fill the weave with poly-brush the latex won'thave enought toothto stick to the slick coatings. I had to brush some places a couple oftimes to get good adhesion where there was a significant buildup ofpoly-brush already.2. You stated that you used Sherwin Williams best grade exterior flat black latex to fill the bare fabric and that it is "100% UV formu- lated". Does this mean that the latex itself is not affected by UV rays, or does it mean that the black latex coats prevent UV from deteriorating the fabric? (Normally, aluminum pigmented coatings are used to reflect the sun's rays in order to shield the fabric under- neath.)The color exterior latex paints themselves are UV protected, and the flatblack performs the same function to as the aluminum pigmented coatings inother systems. you know that your UV protected if after the two coats ofblack you cannot see light through the fabric. Using flat black justassures that no light will reach the fabric through other color coats. My Pietenpol was recovered in 1985 after 15 years of service with aGrade A cotton cover, doped finish. I recovered it with polyester fabric,doped finish. It is still good, but it is time to look at that wooden struc-ture again. Aircraft dope prices are out of sight and your method seemsto be a good one. I only have 2 flying years on mine, but so far so good. I touch up with abrush during the annual condition inspection and within a couple of days thecolors blend well. If I had the money I'm sure I would have gone with amore conventional method, but this is what makes mine a special piet to me.________________________________________________________________________________