Paint removal

[dialedin]

Can anyone offer any advice for removing paint? My dads c150 has about 3 lays of old stuff on it and its flaking off pretty badly. Our ame suggested a product but it has been discontinued apparently. He is gone away for a couple weeks so im unable to ask him to suggest anything else. I'd like to hear what has worked for others. Thanks

[2R]

Aircraft spruce has some stuff , check their website .
Your Ame might be able to get some of the Boeing paint remover from Aviall .
Temperature and humidity affect the efficiency

What ever method you use mechanical or chemical , protect yourself from the dust and fumes . Your future self will thank you in twenty years .

The paint shops make it look too easy , it isn’t . One error and it will look crap . A good paint shop is the best option . Get some quotes . By the time you factor the risks ,the paint shop is usually the best choice.

Watched a guy use boat paint on his 150 , he said it was aluminum paint and he saved a bundle as boat paint is cheaper than Aircraft paint . The boat paint lacking the qualities of aircraft paint came off in large strips within a year . Maybe it was the prep ,maybe it was the paint . There is a spec difference between boat paint and aircraft paint .

I have seen paint from a good shop last twenty five years .

I have also seen home builders do some amazing work as good as the factory jobs. The home built planes guys have some great ideas.
There was that 172 on Salt Spring with the Trem clad paint job . I thought it would have trapped the rust under the paint , but the last time I saw it , it still looked as shity as the day he painted it !!! with spray cans from the local hardware store.

[PilotDAR]

Aside from a very small local paint repair, take it to the paint shop, there is a lot that can go wrong with home paint work and little which can go right. You could introduce future corrosion damage, and you must account for the weight of the paint in flight control balance - not a do it yourself task.

My 150 was professionally painted in 1992, and is still a 9.5 out of 10 - it was well worth it!

[dialedin]

Not looking to repaint at the moment, just strip it down to the aluminum. I asked the ame where i do my flight training and he said he wouldnt have his crew do it for less that 30k. Which is about double what our little c150 is worth so...

[PitchLink]

Not looking to repaint at the moment, just strip it down to the aluminum. I asked the ame where i do my flight training and he said he wouldnt have his crew do it for less that 30k. Which is about double what our little c150 is worth so...

It’s not the product that is what costs 30k it’s the prep, labour and cleanup/environmental fees. Knowing what to mask etc and all the mechanical involved. It’s more involved than “just stripping”. Unless you really know what you’re doing I’d advise leaving it to an AME. Oh and I am one btw lol

[Pacqing]

I've saw plexiglass windows destroyed during paint stripping, and not on a150 but C550s and not your small shop but at the big pro paint shops. If you want to do it yourself its not impossible but do some research. Pros will mask it off and hit it with a spray gun, you might do a few sq. ft. at a time. Regardless its a big job.

[Dronepiper]

We once had a set of wings for a C-170 come to our AMO to have the majority of the rivets replaced. Turns out the owner brought it to an autobody shop to get painted, and the guys accidentally sanded off the heads of rivets while stripping paint

[boeingboy]

$30,000 ???

If he gave you that number it's because he doesn't want to do it. Ask an actual paint shop. They will do it for a few thousand. A complete strip and paint is like $12,000 for a 150 so the strip alone might set you back $5000. You can do it yourself as others have done, but there are pitfalls and if it's not done nicely the when you do come to paint it - there might be more labor involved.

An alternative may be media blasting. I had my 150 stripped this way. mind you it was an aviation company that used the proper media (which was Walnut shells or plastic) I think it cost $2400, but that was a while ago.

[edmanster]

Plse do not media blast thin skin Cessna wing / fuselage surfaces .. same thing as 'bead blasting'
You will work harden the contact surface & it will prematurely start to crack in the near future.
- just get a sheet of 12" x 12" 2024-T3 and blast one surface - note how it will deform. Only reason the skins on your wing do not deform is because they are riveted to internal structure. given enough surface area & blasing intensity - you can easily twist the wing !
ok to blast props & fittings due to the thickness of the material - but definitely not thin (less than .040) skins.

[boeingboy]

You will work harden the contact surface & it will prematurely start to crack in the near future.

Only if you dont know what your doing

[digits_]

30k is way over the top.

I got quoted 14k for a strip and repaint, includes all materials and labor, for a mooney sized airplane by a professional small paint shop.

[photofly]

Why aren’t you shouting how dishonest that place is?

[digits_]

Why aren’t you shouting how dishonest that place is?

Not sure if that was directed at me, or where I have been shouting about dishonest places?

If it makes you feel better, I'm sure there are dishonest AMEs/AMOs out there as well. I just don't deal with them very often, so I don't have that many negative experiences with them. Homebuilts rule!