I supervised the recover of both a Taylorcraft and a TriPacer with Stewarts system in the last few years.?? I have to say, the TriPacer came out exceptionally nice as the owner also put a lot of $$ and work into it besides just the cover.? But the Stewart system is simple and relatively easy to do if you follow their instructions.? I didn't care for the cost of the Stewart systems, but otherwise I thought it was a good covering system.? ? I have also covered using the Nitrate/Butyrate, and Polyfiber systems.? All of them work well, although the Stewarts system is significantly less toxic to work with. ? I have also done quite a bit of paint work as well, although I don't consider myself to be anywhere near a "professional" quality painter.? However, I have used a lot of different types of paints.? Stewarts would not be at the top of my list of paints that I would use on wood and/or glass.? However, I do understand using it because of the lower toxicity.? I'll write my evaluation of the various types of paints below based on the last 20 years of painting planes and cars, some of which came out really good, and some of which didn't.
All of these paints must be used with either a fresh air source into a hood, or a chemical and particulate respirator along with an adequate quantity of fresh air. ? Acrylic Enamel - The first professional paint I ever used.? I found it to be easy to spray as long as you were close to the recommended temperatures, but found that once cured, it chips quite easily and tends to be pretty brittle, so touch ups and repaints are in your future if you use it. Also pretty toxic stuff. ? PolyUrethane - Can be difficult to paint. Loves to "Orange Peel" if anything is less than perfect for conditions. But leaves a gorgeous finish in the event you get everything right. Sticks to darned near anything. Is also pretty flexible as I have shot this on top of dope and fabric and haven't seen any kind of significant cracking after 5 years of service. Probably one of the most toxic paints you can use. Also, many PolyUrethane paints are quite expensive >$300/gal. (I found the overspray from PolyUrethane stuck to my next door neighbors $150K Cirrus very nicely, which was a lot of work for us to clean back to "new" condition). Base Coat (urethane) / Clear Coat (PolyUrethane)- The Urethane Base coat is so easy it's like spraying primer. You get spoiled by shooting the base coat. Then you spray the clear coat. Well, it's clear, so takes really good lighting to be able to see how you're spraying. Like the PolyUrethane above, it loves to "Orange Peel" and is really easy to get runs and sags since it's clear and you can't see it. Also, since it is a PolyUrethane, it's pretty darned toxic. However, you can lightly sand and polish out the runs, sags and orange peel to make it look good. Acrylic Urethane - My current favorite. Sprays easy like Acrylic Enamel. Even uses the same catalyst. But is much more flexible when cured, and seems to be as tough and durable as PolyUrethane. This paint seems to have the good qualities of spraying easy like Acrylic Enamel with the shine, durability, and flexibility of PolyUrethane. But, it's still high on the toxicity scale. This is what I recommend for amateur painters like myself as I get good results with a shiny durable finish without the need for a paint booth and superior lighting. Stewarts Acrylic Urethane - You want to follow the directions to the letter including prep work. No short cuts. If you stay within their directions, it paints reasonably well and will give you a good finish. It's used over fabric, so is clearly flexible and has reasonable durability. Stewarts is the least toxic of all of these paints and there is a lot to be said for using water as your reducer and for clean up rather than chemicals that like to attack your liver when inhaled or exposed to your skin. Jeff Scott Los Alamos, NM I know just enough about painting to make a really big mess! ? ? ? ? Sent:?Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 1:30 PM From:?"Doran Jaffas via KRnet" <krnet at list.krnet.org> To:?KRnet <krnet at list.krnet.org> Cc:?"Doran Jaffas" <vintageaircraftowner at gmail.com> Subject:?Re: KR> Smooth Prime problems I have the Stewart Systems DVD instruction set. I plan on using it on my Tri Pacer in a cpl of years. School of Missionary Aviation Training at Y70 uses it exclusively. I looked at several systems and I like Stewarts the best. Great Luck to You!! Doran Jaffas Rob wrote: ... My 1st finish paint job was sprayed on using a "Boat" acrylic enamel. That didn't last. My second paint job was Stewart Systems and it seems to be holding up much better (rolled on).---------------- A reminder to everyone. Stewart Systems will be doing a forum Saturday morning at the Gathering ?
