fuselage refinish - one shot or two?

I'd like to get the thoughts of folks who have refinished their glider. I'm planning to paint it with PPG concept. The question is should I build a stand so I can spray the fuselage in one session? Or is it ok to paint the bottom and the top on different days?

If doing it in one day is the answer, how did you support the glider? I'm thinking of making a rig that captures the wing support pins on the side of the fuselage (ASW-19) and lets them support the weight.

Thanks,

John

On Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 9:22:51 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I'd like to get the thoughts of folks who have refinished their glider. I'm planning to paint it with PPG concept. The question is should I build a stand so I can spray the fuselage in one session? Or is it ok to paint the bottom and the top on different days?

If doing it in one day is the answer, how did you support the glider? I'm thinking of making a rig that captures the wing support pins on the side of the fuselage (ASW-19) and lets them support the weight.

Thanks,

John

I'm doing my third '19 now. I hang the fuselage from an electric hoist with the lift point being a rope loop though the shoulder harness attach points..
The tail area is supported at the tail wheel area at a single point.
With this arrangement, I can put a rod through the front lift pins that extends about a foot outside the fuselage. Hanging a 1 gallon can of water allows a bit of tilt to help with getting at the bottom more easily. I move the weight side to side as I switch sides.
The lift gives me the option of going higher when doing the bottom if I'm a bit stiff that day(usually the case).
This arrangement allows the whole thing to be done in 1 session.
Good luck
UH

Very clever! And simple! Thanks!

I am also thinking about having some work done on my fuselage. It was previously re-finished in PPG Concept. It is in dire need of touching up due to trailer rash, paint chipping, runway scrape etc. Some is pretty bad, Is it, in fact, possible to do "spot work" that will look O.K. or would I be looking at the entire fuselage? I'm not planning on doing this myself but would have a competent person handle it.

Very clever, Hank...........I have been hoisting the fuselage up and then lowering the main and tail wheels onto pedestals with a beam clamped at wing cut-out to the wall. The external hoist strap was then removed. I would slide along on a creeper to spray the underside, but I was always terrified of accidentally bumping something and have the whole thing come crashing down!
JJ

On Wednesday, December 16, 2015 at 9:33:01 AM UTC-5, wrote:
I am also thinking about having some work done on my fuselage. It was previously re-finished in PPG Concept. It is in dire need of touching up due to trailer rash, paint chipping, runway scrape etc. Some is pretty bad, Is it, in fact, possible to do "spot work" that will look O.K. or would I be looking at the entire fuselage? I'm not planning on doing this myself but would have a competent person handle it.

spot work can be done on concept. it's fairly easy to blend, it just takes longer because urethane takes several days to truly harden to the point where it can be polished. also, you can't just fill a ding with a blob of urethane paint like you can with gelcoat. you have to fill it with bondo, prime a small area, and paint over it. in expert hands, the repaired area can be nearly impossible to find with the untrained eye.

Thanks. That's good news.

On Wednesday, December 16, 2015 at 9:57:31 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Very clever, Hank...........I have been hoisting the fuselage up and then lowering the main and tail wheels onto pedestals with a beam clamped at wing cut-out to the wall. The external hoist strap was then removed. I would slide along on a creeper to spray the underside, but I was always terrified of accidentally bumping something and have the whole thing come crashing down!
JJ

I first saw a similar rig at Richard Kellerman's garage when they were doing a glider. My contribution to the solution is the $99 Harbor Freight back saver hoist that lets me do a lot of stuff solo, like lift and move an ASK-21 fuselage.
RAS is good for something.
UH

What is the Harbor Freight number please?

harbor freight is a hardware store that is all over the place. And on-line. It's a pretty good place to get cheap tools. Don't use them if you're getting tools you want to use everyday for the next 20 years, but they are great for things you need every now and again that you don't want to spend a bunch of money on. And as an added bonus, they always smell like a tire factory. The only thing I can't understand is why my wife prefers shopping at Marshalls instead of hanging out a harbor freight.