Thinning paint

[Michelle P]

I recently tried to touch up the paint on my Maule. The paint went on
fine and seemed ok. I flew yesterday in IMC and rain. Most of the touch
up eroded away in under four hours of flying. The factory paint is ok.

I thinned the paint 50/50 with VM/Naptha. It flowed and stuck ok. Any
suggestions on another thinner that would make the finished product
harder? Would a heat lamp after partial drying help?

Michelle

[Ron Natalie]

Michelle P wrote:
> I recently tried to touch up the paint on my Maule. The paint went on
> fine and seemed ok. I flew yesterday in IMC and rain. Most of the touch
> up eroded away in under four hours of flying. The factory paint is ok.
>
> I thinned the paint 50/50 with VM/Naptha. It flowed and stuck ok. Any
> suggestions on another thinner that would make the finished product
> harder? Would a heat lamp after partial drying help?

What kind of paint?

[Michelle P]

Duh?
The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)

Ron Natalie wrote:

> Michelle P wrote:
>
>> I recently tried to touch up the paint on my Maule. The paint went on
>> fine and seemed ok. I flew yesterday in IMC and rain. Most of the
>> touch up eroded away in under four hours of flying. The factory paint
>> is ok.
>>
>> I thinned the paint 50/50 with VM/Naptha. It flowed and stuck ok. Any
>> suggestions on another thinner that would make the finished product
>> harder? Would a heat lamp after partial drying help?
>
>
> What kind of paint?

[George Patterson]

Michelle P wrote:
>
> The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)

Go back to where you got that and buy the thinner for it. Auto paint comes in a
variety of formulae and it's best to buy thinner made for that paint by the same
manufacturer. Depending on the formula, you may also need a hardener for it.

For the usual oil based paints used on home projects, mineral spirits is better
than naptha. MS has an oilier formula. For this reason, naptha makes a better
cleaner.

George Patterson
"Naked" means you ain't got no clothes on; "nekkid" means you ain't got
no clothes on - and are up to somethin'.

[Ron Natalie]

Michelle P wrote:
> Duh?
> The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)
>
>
You stil don't say which of their paints. For the TEC/One and
Tec/Glo urethanes theysuggest thinning with their matching retarder.
For Tec/Plus they suggest acetone. All available presumably at
your local NAPA store.

[Michelle P]

Ron,
I do not know. I was given a pint of the stuff when I bought the plane.
I will try my local NAPA store and see what i can come up with.
Sounds like I need a course in automotive painting.....
Michelle

Ron Natalie wrote:

> Michelle P wrote:
>
>> Duh?
>> The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)
>>
>>
> You stil don't say which of their paints. For the TEC/One and
> Tec/Glo urethanes theysuggest thinning with their matching retarder.
> For Tec/Plus they suggest acetone. All available presumably at
> your local NAPA store.

[Michelle P]

George,
sounds like a trip back to the factory is in order. They gave it to me
when I bought the plane ( ok I had to ask for it).
Michelle

George Patterson wrote:

> Michelle P wrote:
>
>>
>> The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)
>
>
> Go back to where you got that and buy the thinner for it. Auto paint
> comes in a variety of formulae and it's best to buy thinner made for
> that paint by the same manufacturer. Depending on the formula, you may
> also need a hardener for it.
>
> For the usual oil based paints used on home projects, mineral spirits
> is better than naptha. MS has an oilier formula. For this reason,
> naptha makes a better cleaner.
>
> George Patterson
> "Naked" means you ain't got no clothes on; "nekkid" means you
> ain't got
> no clothes on - and are up to somethin'.

[George Patterson]

Michelle P wrote:
>
> sounds like a trip back to the factory is in order. They gave it to me
> when I bought the plane ( ok I had to ask for it).

Interesting. You bought that when I bought mine, didn't you? ('95). They were
using Randolph enamels at the time, and that's what they gave me for touchup.

Anyway, any good auto paint retailer that handles Seynour should be able to help
you out. Just take the can along.

George Patterson
"Naked" means you ain't got no clothes on; "nekkid" means you ain't got
no clothes on - and are up to somethin'.

[Michelle P]

I had some cracks in the paint and I tried dope thinner on the paint on
fabric fuselage and it just did not work..... I called the factory and
they told me they had switched paints that year.
The trouble around here is finding a store that handles Senour paint.
They seem to be scarce in my area.
Michelle


George Patterson wrote:

> Michelle P wrote:
>
>>
>> sounds like a trip back to the factory is in order. They gave it to
>> me when I bought the plane ( ok I had to ask for it).
>
>
> Interesting. You bought that when I bought mine, didn't you? ('95).
> They were using Randolph enamels at the time, and that's what they
> gave me for touchup.
>
> Anyway, any good auto paint retailer that handles Seynour should be
> able to help you out. Just take the can along.
>
> George Patterson
> "Naked" means you ain't got no clothes on; "nekkid" means you
> ain't got
> no clothes on - and are up to somethin'.

[George Patterson]

Michelle P wrote:
> I had some cracks in the paint and I tried dope thinner on the paint on
> fabric fuselage and it just did not work..... I called the factory and
> they told me they had switched paints that year.

I spoke with the Randolph rep. at Oshkosh a few years after I bought mine. He
said that old B.D. set up the painting method there. They shot the fabric with
silver dope. Then there was a layer of white primer -- he implied that that was
also dope, but I don't recall him saying that in so many words. Then they
applied color coats of enamel with plasticizers. Doesn't matter what the paint
manufacturer was, that was the method.

Now, enamel doesn't work over dope. Never has, never will. It gradually shrinks
and cracks. In severe cases, it'll crack the fabric. No amount of dope thinner
or rejuvenator will help. The Randolph guy said to either redo the whole plane
from scratch (that's what Ray Maule will tell you to do) or to sand off the
enamel layer, apply rejuvenator to the dope, and paint with either dope or
polyurethane.

After B.D. died, Maule changed over to using polyurethane top coats, but they
didn't throw away the enamel they had in stock, so there's about a 2-year
transition period in which you could've gotten either type of paint job.

On of the few things I don't like about the people at Maule Air is that it's
like pulling grizzly bear teeth to get any info at all about the paint on an
older plane. I think that everybody there knew it was a lousy system but nobody
wanted to say anything bad about the old man (even after he was dead).

George Patterson
"Naked" means you ain't got no clothes on; "nekkid" means you ain't got
no clothes on - and are up to somethin'.

[Ron Natalie]

Michelle P wrote:
> I had some cracks in the paint and I tried dope thinner on the paint on
> fabric fuselage and it just did not work..... I called the factory and
> they told me they had switched paints that year.
> The trouble around here is finding a store that handles Senour paint.
> They seem to be scarce in my area.

Did you try a NAPA store? The Martin Senour automotive stuff is
exclusively handled by NAPA.

[Maule Driver]

Michelle, I for one would be very interested in how any of this turns
out. My Maule is chipped and cracked all over the place (flying in the
rain seems particularly effective in removing paint). I bought some
Randolph thinner and paint but didn't do anything with it.

Michelle P wrote:
> Ron,
> I do not know. I was given a pint of the stuff when I bought the plane.
> I will try my local NAPA store and see what i can come up with.
> Sounds like I need a course in automotive painting.....
> Michelle
>
> Ron Natalie wrote:
>
>> Michelle P wrote:
>>
>>> Duh?
>>> The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)
>>>
>>>
>> You stil don't say which of their paints. For the TEC/One and
>> Tec/Glo urethanes theysuggest thinning with their matching retarder.
>> For Tec/Plus they suggest acetone. All available presumably at
>> your local NAPA store.
>
>

[Mike Spera]

That still does not tell us what kind of paint this is, only the brand
name. Most paint manufacturers made several different "automotive"
paints (acrylic lacquer, acrylic enamel, vinyl dyes, and polyurethane -
possible several different polyurethane). Each is reduced (or catalyzed)
with different materials. Can you tell us more?

A ready reference is a person who deals in that brand, you can check the
phone book (or Bigfoot.com). Dealers of a particular brand attend
classes and are usually quite knowledgeable about their paints. Most
manufacturers also put out publications specific to each of their paint
lines. These are also available at the paint dealer. I find the pubs and
the advice of the dealer to be extremely helpful. While you are talking
to the dealer, ask which local body shop buys that particular type of
paint. Give the shop a call (or better yet, visit) and ask to have 10
minutes of the painter's time. Tell them you are touching up an airplane
and they will probably be tickled you are approaching them for advice.
Ask the painter(s) their real world experience with the particular paint
line. Bring a couple of 1 pint bottles with screw on metal caps and
seals and ask if you can buy small quantities of whatever they say you
need to thin, cure, and accelerate the particular paint.

Good Luck,

Mike
>> Ron,
>> I do not know. I was given a pint of the stuff when I bought the
>> plane. I will try my local NAPA store and see what i can come up with.
>> Sounds like I need a course in automotive painting.....
>> Michelle
>>
>> Ron Natalie wrote:
>>
>>> Michelle P wrote:
>>>
>>>> Duh?
>>>> The paint is Martin Senour Automotive paint, Maule White.....(cream)
>>>>
>>>>
>>> You stil don't say which of their paints. For the TEC/One and
>>> Tec/Glo urethanes theysuggest thinning with their matching retarder.
>>> For Tec/Plus they suggest acetone. All available presumably at
>>> your local NAPA store.
>>
>>
>>