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Charley,
I got about 120 hrs on my paint now. It is an automotive base coat +
clear coat. Out of the 120 hrs there may be 10 - 15 hrs IFR with very
little exposure to ice and approx. 2 hrs in the rain. I fly between
10.000 and 25.000 depending on the wind. Here is what I see so far.
Before I added the static wicks high/altitude high speed IFR did some
noticeable damage to the leading edges of my wings. It looks like little
stone nicks. After adding the static wicks it got a lot better but I am
not sure if it stopped completely (all static wicks are grounded well).
Rain - when I get in the rain I slow down the plane to 170 kts or so. I
am able to see some small damage at exposed edges of the plane e.g.
around air intake of the cowl, around the wind shield etc. I think it
does not hurt to fly an approach in the rain with 130kts or so.
I also got some small cracks in the paint by now.
I am here in Ohio and I also flew the plane in the winter. When I come
down from high altitude and cold air down into warm air I can see
sometimes condensation on the paint on spots where bolts are underneath
or where your fuel bays are. I can just assume that it must be hard on
the different materials with different heat expansion factors going
through these rapid temperature changes in climb and descent.
My conclusion (and others might have a different opinion): when you use
your airplane as a serious travel instrument you will be exposed to
weather at times and it will do some damage to your paint. If you do
your planning completely around your plane and your paint I am not sure
if it will look like new forever or if the vibrations and G-forces get
to it at some point of time....
Ralf
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Brown [mailto:browncc1@verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 6:18 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: Rain, primer, and paint
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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