As I previously mentioned, I would hesitate to use chemical strippers on fiberglass. As mentioned, you may be able to somewhat safely use them but, I think you also take the risk of allowing a chemical to penetrate into the fiberglass which could at the very least bleed out of your surface later causing paint fish eye and other issues. Worse then that would be causing de-lamination.
If I was repainting a fiberglass surface, and I have as I changed my air scoop on my KR and have more then once scuffed and repainted my KR to the point of completely re-painting it. Yes, I bought my plane already built and subsequently damaged. So, I completely repainted it and that involved a lot of sanding already painted surfaces and glass work. Yes, if it has some of the newer poly or super hard epoxy paint like my KR has, sand paper will get build up problems.Some papers like cheaper papers will have issues with this. Thats why you wet sand. Old paint build up in the paper with also build up heat and also do a lot of damage to the surface. That damage will show through in your new paint job. The air holes in the sandpaper on the sanding device that Dan Heath suggested will probably help to lower paint build up in the paper. But, no offense Dan, I dont think you could get a paint finish like mine using that sander. I would only use a multi orbital sander like the ones I use on my air compressor to sand a surface that I intend to have a high quality paint finish on. Dans mention of a 60 or 80 grit sand paper would also be a very deep cutting paper. If it were me. ( I have not seen your project) I would scuff the current paint with a 320 grit. Prime any needed areas and re-scuff with 320. Then go to a 400 and maybe even a 600 grit to do your final scuff. Then, paint the plane. Put the first coat on as a very light coat to get an initial surface bond. I personally like epoxies for painting on fiberglass because they will bond to the surface much better then other paints. Think of it as like epoxy glue. But, the downside is epoxies are so caustic and dangerous because of that. If you are doing a base coat clear coat, then I would wet sand the clear with a 800 then a 1000, then 1500 and finish with a 2000 grit paper. Tape off any sharp edges or corners so as not to sand through them. Keep you paper and surface a wet as possible to prevent paint build which will scratch the paint and also keep it as wet as possible to keep heat build up as low as possible. I know Im giving a pretty high level overview of how I do it but, if you do this, you can come up with as nice a paint job as anybody. Just take your time in the prep and the real quality will show. Especially in the color wet sanding after you paint. Also, if you are doing a base clear, do the first coat of clear as heavy as you can without running. I know this is a bit out of conventional wisdom but, it works well. Also, make sure you get enough clear on there that you dont wet sand through it. When you put on a lot of coats of paint, you cant help but get orange peal. But, thats what you will take out with the very fine grit wet sanding. then of course there's the buffing. Dont think you can buff a paint job with one of those cheap polisher things from Walmart. Get a buffer with variable speed. Dont go over 3000 or so RPM or you will just burn the paint. Also, keep the surface as wet as possible to prevent heat build up. Good luck Jeff York KR2 Georgetown Scott County Airport 2010 National Gathering People Choice, Best Interior 2011 Air Fest Best Experimental, Best Interior, Best Instrument ________________________________ From: Dave_A <dave.a.kr...@gmail.com> To: billie settles <furtrapper1...@yahoo.com>; KRnet <kr...@mylist.net> Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2012 12:43 PM Subject: Re: KR> Repaint Paint stripper should logically be OK on the wood parts, just not the glass parts or the glass-to-wood joints... On 12/29/2012 5:31 PM, billie settles wrote: > Any of you guys out there ever repaint an older KR? You obviously wouldn't > use a paint stripper, so, do you just sand the old paint and paint over it, > or what? > > Thanks Bill. > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://tugantek.com/archmailv2-kr/search. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html _______________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at http://tugantek.com/archmailv2-kr/search. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html
