On Mon, Mar 19, 2012 at 3:17 AM, Charles Brown <browncc1@verizon.net> wrote:

OK, the guys who already know this can sit back and chuckle, the rest of you, here's a bulletin on flying IFR in primer.  I gather that WLS primer is not as hard as paint and about a half hour in moderate rain at 210ktas was enough to visibly erode small areas of all the leading edges.  I think all that really happened was that defects in the underlying layers, which had been filled by WLS, were revealed.  At any rate, there were numerous small areas (largest:  1/4" X 1/4"; most areas smaller) where pinholes, underlying BID mesh, and occasional air bubbles in micro were revealed.  Recommendation:  fly with a harder coating than WLS or avoid rain.  The WLS held up just fine in ordinary flying for 100 hours.

I've scheduled paint as soon as I can get into the shop, in the meantime I'm repairing the leading edges and spraying the repairs with K36 primer which the paint shop recommended (and I can get a quart for $80 rather than paying $300 for a gallon of WLS).  Then, until painting, I'll cover the leading edges with leading edge tape.

Question for you IFR guys with APA (Already-Painted Airplanes):  What's your experience with rain and paint?

Charley Brown
Legacy #299  100 hours
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