Repainting Wingtip

[JB Gunner]

The wingtip skid on my glider had become worn down and I didn't catch in time. I landed on a concrete runway. The under surface of the wingtip scrapped on the runway wearing off the paint. There seems to be no damage to the fiberglass just scratched gelcoat. The scrape is about two inches wide and 4 inches long. The wing tip is painted red but white gel coat shows where the paint has been scraped off.

Does anyone have some suggestions on how to repair this? I was thinking of of applying a layer of white gelcoat to build it back up then repainting the over the gel coat as it seems this is how the wingtips have been done.

[Bob Kuykendall]

Sawzall.

[[email protected][_1_]]

Bondo, sandpaper to 600 grit and 1 each rattle can of lacquer primer and white paint. And fix the skid.

[KEN]

On Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 12:33:32 PM UTC-5, JB Gunner wrote:
> The wingtip skid on my glider had become worn down and I didn't catch in time. I landed on a concrete runway. The under surface of the wingtip scrapped on the runway wearing off the paint. There seems to be no damage to the fiberglass just scratched gelcoat. The scrape is about two inches wide and 4 inches long. The wing tip is painted red but white gel coat shows where the paint has been scraped off.
>
> Does anyone have some suggestions on how to repair this? I was thinking of of applying a layer of white gelcoat to build it back up then repainting the over the gel coat as it seems this is how the wingtips have been done..
http://www.simteccoatings.com/index2.ivnu

[JB Gunner]

On Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 6:49:41 PM UTC-8, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
> Sawzall.

and I happen to own one of those ! maybe start a clipped wing trend

[JB Gunner]

Thanks guys for the help

[Michael Opitz]

At 04:34 20 November 2017, wrote:
>Bondo, sandpaper to 600 grit and 1 each rattle can of lacquer
primer and
>white paint. And fix the skid.
>
Finding lacquer in a rattle can is not that easy unless you go to an
auto parts store like Advanced Auto or Autozone. They sell the
Duplicolor automotive touch up rattle cans, and they are lacquer.
There are a number of different shades of white that you can try to
match. I have found that the Ford "Performance White" is a very
good color match for our 35-40 year old Twin Astir Schwabbelack
gel-coat. Wal-Mart sells sandpaper packs to 3000 grit. Fill, primer,
paint (probably 3-5 coats, waiting for each coat to become touch dry
before repeating), then sand out the orange peel starting with
~600 grit. Use successively finer sandpaper grits after that, and
then some white rubbing/polishing compound to finish it off. If you
take your time, and do it right, it will come out very nicely.

The Simtec/Prestec process is also good, but I think you'll have to
buy at least a quart which (with shipping) is not cheap. It's a 2 part
epoxy, so you'll have to deal with mixing it, and also having a spray
rig to apply it correctly. Then, you'll have to clean up the spray rig
afterwards. You could also brush it on, but the edges will be difficult
to feather in and you will probably see a shade difference. I would
use the Simtec if I were going to redo a larger area, but for the
superficial (non structural) underside of a wingtip, the rattle can
solution works best for me...

Good Luck..

RO

[Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot)]

Keep in mind, you can spray enamel over lacquer, but you CAN'T spray lacquer over enamel.

When you sand, it is wet, not dry. Otherwise you clog/fill up the paper real fast. You "almost" can't use too much water.
The exception is when the floor is so wet, the "boss" starts soaking water up through holes in his work shoes so his feet get damp, then, well, it gets ugly......LOL.....

Sanding gelcoat is sorta like polishing granite with wet toilet paper, lots of work with minimal progress, trust me, I know. Yes, you can go coarse, but the coarser you go, the faster you can go too far and have to lay more gelcoat down.....sigh.

PS, IIRC, spray enamel using "titanium dioxide" (or was it trioxide?) was a close cheap rattlecan for some gelcoats. Also look up "automotive touchup" online, they can provides gallons down to rattle cans of car paint colors.

[[email protected]]

On Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 12:33:32 PM UTC-5, JB Gunner wrote:
> The wingtip skid on my glider had become worn down and I didn't catch in time. I landed on a concrete runway. The under surface of the wingtip scrapped on the runway wearing off the paint. There seems to be no damage to the fiberglass just scratched gelcoat. The scrape is about two inches wide and 4 inches long. The wing tip is painted red but white gel coat shows where the paint has been scraped off.
>
> Does anyone have some suggestions on how to repair this? I was thinking of of applying a layer of white gelcoat to build it back up then repainting the over the gel coat as it seems this is how the wingtips have been done..

Put some tape on it until you have enough stuff to fix to justify doing in polyester topcoat- Simtek 2481. Amazon has vinyl tape as wide as 3 inches in width in many colors.
UH

[K m]

On Monday, November 20, 2017 at 4:15:07 PM UTC-7, Michael Opitz wrote:
> At 04:34 20 November 2017, wrote:

> Finding lacquer in a rattle can is not that easy unless you go to an
> auto parts store like Advanced Auto or Autozone. They sell the
> Duplicolor ..................
> The Simtec/Prestec process is also good, but I think you'll have to
> buy at least a quart which (with shipping) is not cheap. It's a 2 part
> epoxy.............

The Duplicolor is cheap, Low grade garbage made by Rustoleum. Much better to take an access panel in to a Auto Body supply shop and match some paint which can be put into a rattle can.
Also, Simtec is Polyester.

[[email protected]]

On Thursday, November 23, 2017 at 9:42:56 AM UTC-5, K m wrote:
> On Monday, November 20, 2017 at 4:15:07 PM UTC-7, Michael Opitz wrote:
> > At 04:34 20 November 2017, wrote:
>
> > Finding lacquer in a rattle can is not that easy unless you go to an
> > auto parts store like Advanced Auto or Autozone. They sell the
> > Duplicolor ..................
> > The Simtec/Prestec process is also good, but I think you'll have to
> > buy at least a quart which (with shipping) is not cheap. It's a 2 part
> > epoxy.............
>
> The Duplicolor is cheap, Low grade garbage made by Rustoleum. Much better to take an access panel in to a Auto Body supply shop and match some paint which can be put into a rattle can.
> Also, Simtec is Polyester.

He was talking about a wing tip.
If it is a patch and spray job Rustoleum would do just fine. Don't worry about perfect match, just mask and spray the whole tip.
UH

[Dan Marotta]

Mask and spray both tips and it's a perfect match all around!

On 11/23/2017 8:08 AM, wrote:
>
> He was talking about a wing tip.
> If it is a patch and spray job Rustoleum would do just fine. Don't worry about perfect match, just mask and spray the whole tip.
> UH

--
Dan, 5J