Painting rivet heads

[Jay Honeck]

We just installed the Skycraft landing lights, which meant drilling a
few dozen holes into my beautiful paint job.

Is there ANY way to touch those rivets up with paint that will yield
satisfactory results? I've tried using automotive touch-up paint in
the past, with limited success. I'd like to find something that
actually looks half-way decent.

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article om>,
"Jay Honeck" > wrote:

> We just installed the Skycraft landing lights, which meant drilling a
> few dozen holes into my beautiful paint job.
>
> Is there ANY way to touch those rivets up with paint that will yield
> satisfactory results? I've tried using automotive touch-up paint in
> the past, with limited success. I'd like to find something that
> actually looks half-way decent.
>
> Thanks!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

Try masking them off and using an airbrush. I have found that my Badger
woeks quit well with Imron -- and -- you can mix only a teaspoonful at a
time!

[Jon A.]

That's great advice. Will it last? Should it be primed and
everything else that goes along with a good paint job?

On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 21:15:34 GMT, Orval Fairbairn
> wrote:

>In article om>,
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
>
>> We just installed the Skycraft landing lights, which meant drilling a
>> few dozen holes into my beautiful paint job.
>>
>> Is there ANY way to touch those rivets up with paint that will yield
>> satisfactory results? I've tried using automotive touch-up paint in
>> the past, with limited success. I'd like to find something that
>> actually looks half-way decent.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> --
>> Jay Honeck
>> Iowa City, IA
>> Pathfinder N56993
>> www.AlexisParkInn.com
>> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>Try masking them off and using an airbrush. I have found that my Badger
>woeks quit well with Imron -- and -- you can mix only a teaspoonful at a
>time!

[Kyle Boatright]

For something like a rivet head, I'd just scuff the area immediately around
it with scotchbrite (and we're talking close... 1/8" if you can do it), wipe
it down with a degreaser, mask to your scuff line, then shoot the paint.
Immediately after shooting the paint, remove the masking so the ridge left
by the masking tape will blend in much better.

KB

"Jon A." > wrote in message
...
> That's great advice. Will it last? Should it be primed and
> everything else that goes along with a good paint job?
>
> On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 21:15:34 GMT, Orval Fairbairn
> > wrote:
>
>>In article om>,
>> "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
>>
>>> We just installed the Skycraft landing lights, which meant drilling a
>>> few dozen holes into my beautiful paint job.
>>>
>>> Is there ANY way to touch those rivets up with paint that will yield
>>> satisfactory results? I've tried using automotive touch-up paint in
>>> the past, with limited success. I'd like to find something that
>>> actually looks half-way decent.
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>> --
>>> Jay Honeck
>>> Iowa City, IA
>>> Pathfinder N56993
>>> www.AlexisParkInn.com
>>> "Your Aviation Destination"
>>
>>Try masking them off and using an airbrush. I have found that my Badger
>>woeks quit well with Imron -- and -- you can mix only a teaspoonful at a
>>time!
>

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article >,
Jon A. > wrote:

> That's great advice. Will it last? Should it be primed and
> everything else that goes along with a good paint job?

Treat the rivet head just like a piece of bigger aluminum:
1. Clean it with lacquer thinner.
2. Prime with a good 2-part epoxy primer (I like PPG DP-series)
3. Paint with top coat.

The airbrush has several sizes of tip which can give you a good
selection.

It should last as well as the original paint.





> On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 21:15:34 GMT, Orval Fairbairn
> > wrote:
>
> >In article om>,
> > "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
> >
> >> We just installed the Skycraft landing lights, which meant drilling a
> >> few dozen holes into my beautiful paint job.
> >>
> >> Is there ANY way to touch those rivets up with paint that will yield
> >> satisfactory results? I've tried using automotive touch-up paint in
> >> the past, with limited success. I'd like to find something that
> >> actually looks half-way decent.
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >> --
> >> Jay Honeck
> >> Iowa City, IA
> >> Pathfinder N56993
> >> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> >> "Your Aviation Destination"
> >
> >Try masking them off and using an airbrush. I have found that my Badger
> >woeks quit well with Imron -- and -- you can mix only a teaspoonful at a
> >time!

[Jay Honeck]

> The airbrush has several sizes of tip which can give you a good
> selection.

I know nothing about airbrushes. Any recommendations? What do these things
cost?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Carl Ellis]

On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 14:14:03 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

>> The airbrush has several sizes of tip which can give you a good
>> selection.
>
> I know nothing about airbrushes. Any recommendations? What do these things
> cost?


Go to your local hobby store. They should have a small airbrush that costs
around $50-75. You can use commercial "canned air" (available at the hobby
shop) or buy an extra hose to attach to your own recharable source. The
paint jar on these things is pretty small, about the size of a bottle of
model paint.

You can actually do a lot with these brushes. My friend repainted the
struts on his Tcraft with his. Because it's so small you have a lot of
control and won't have much overspray. Practice first!

- Carl -

[Ron Natalie]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>The airbrush has several sizes of tip which can give you a good
>>selection.
>
>
> I know nothing about airbrushes. Any recommendations? What do these things
> cost?

You can get a decent airbrush for well under $100. I have a little Pasche VL
that comes with three different needle sizes and an assortment of cups (and I
think it even came with a can of gas, which is a pain in the butt for real use
and I normally drive it from an air compresser). I think it runs $65 for the
whole set at a hobby store.

Just be real careful with IMRON (I think we went through this before) especially
when spraying it. Frankly, if you have a steady hand, a small paint brush on
just the heads might work as well.

[Jay Honeck]

--
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message
m...
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>>>The airbrush has several sizes of tip which can give you a good
>>>selection.
>>
>>
>> I know nothing about airbrushes. Any recommendations? What do these
>> things cost?
>
> You can get a decent airbrush for well under $100. I have a little
> Pasche VL
> that comes with three different needle sizes and an assortment of cups
> (and I
> think it even came with a can of gas, which is a pain in the butt for real
> use
> and I normally drive it from an air compresser). I think it runs $65 for
> the
> whole set at a hobby store.
>
> Just be real careful with IMRON (I think we went through this before)
> especially
> when spraying it. Frankly, if you have a steady hand, a small paint
> brush on
> just the heads might work as well.

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article <LCpNd.52822$eT5.29890@attbi_s51>,
"Jay Honeck" > wrote:

> > The airbrush has several sizes of tip which can give you a good
> > selection.
>
> I know nothing about airbrushes. Any recommendations? What do these things
> cost?


You can buy one from Harbor Freight for about $20.

You will also need a good regulator (I have one at the end of the
airbrush hose.)

I have found the airbrush to be perfect for touching up striping and
even painting striping, as you have a lot of control over your work.

As others ahve said, hobby stores also sell them. Badger is a good brand
-- others may prefer different brands.

Who knows -- you may end up painting your own nose art on the plane!

[Mike Spera]

Jay,

A good method is to first dab some solvent on a clean rag and wipe off
the rivet heads and the 1/2 inch around them to clean off oil and
grease. Get a fiberglass brush. These are used to clean up printed
circuit boards. I believe you can get them at Rat Shack. Expose only
about 1/16 of an inch. Then carefully "sand" the head in a circular
motion. Try not to scratch the surrounding area. Wipe again with the
solvent. You can mix up some etching primer and put it on, then sand it
down again with the brush and paint. I would just paint the things and
forget primer. If it peels off in time, you can repeat the process using
primer.

To apply primer and paint, I use a matchstick from a book of matches.
Works as well as anything else. Much more controllable than a touch up
brush. Cheap and disposable. In all the years I painted, I never found a
good substitute. Don't glob on a huge drop. Take a little from the
mixing can and wipe off the excess on the can lid. Mix only about 1
ounce. You won't even need that much.

The airbrush method is O.K., but catalyzed enamels are too thick to
shoot well from them. Masking is a hassle. If you do use an airbrush,
you might want to get a paper punch of the right size and punch the hole
in a piece of wide masking tape. Tape over all the holes so the punched
out circle is over the rivet and mask the remaining area. Be sure to
MASK 4 FEET around the rivets. I would personally go one better and
cover the rest of the wing and the top of the fuselage if you airbrush.
If you think it is overkill, it ain't. Cleaning over spray is one of the
worst jobs a painter can have and these paints do get EVERYWHERE, even
with an airbrush. Normally, an airbrush uses little pressure, however,
the pressure needed to shoot thick enamel from an airbrush will cause
the paint to carry a long way.

Again, I prefer the brush method for such a small defined area.

Good Luck,
Mike

Jay Honeck wrote:
> We just installed the Skycraft landing lights, which meant drilling a
> few dozen holes into my beautiful paint job.
>
> Is there ANY way to touch those rivets up with paint that will yield
> satisfactory results? I've tried using automotive touch-up paint in
> the past, with limited success. I'd like to find something that
> actually looks half-way decent.
>
> Thanks!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

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