I agree that certain flavors of thought and criticism has been brought to the table in this discussion. I hope I didnt offend anyone. . One such comment about HVLP and paint contained a reference to hours on a KR tach or time in type and I am not sure why comments like that are made or how they have anything to do with the subject matter. I have been flying for 30 years and between flying everything from different planes I have owned or co owned to corporate King Air's and more to being a single dad raising three sons alone, I have not had as much time to fly my KR as I have wanted. But, with the last son now in college, I hope that changes. That is if I dont buy a RV instead.
I know that my comments can come off very matter of fact but, I would rather come off matter of fact on a subject I probably feel I know a lot about and therefore give a very detailed and direct answer verses telling someone what they want to hear and then they dont get the whole truth and end up misinformed. This way it helps the person that is looking to paint their airplane know as much as they can so that they can then make a reasonable decision on the effort and money they want verses the level of paint job they want. Not everyone wants a show quality finish. But, some want to be able to look at ten years of work and just let that stand out with a quality paint finish. . Can a KR 2 be painted with a Harbor Freight HVLP gun ? Of course it can be. I have used Harbor Freight HVLP guns but, lets be very straight forward here. Harbor Freight does not sell a true HVLP gun. It may say HVLP, but it is absolutely not an HVLP gun. True HVLP does not use the standard air handling supply system as a traditional compressor based spray gun. A true HVLP gun atomizes the paint significantly better. This gives better coverage without the typical orange peel and you get a lot less over spray. I can tell you that a HF HVLP gun will use as much or more paint as a traditional gun by wasting as much due to severe over spray. You can typically expect at l;east a 25 % loss of paint due to over spray using a typical gun or a so called HVLP gun. Many of the so called HVLP guns do not even have the correct tip size to spray automotive base color and or clear coat. They are ok for spraying primer. But, It takes no larger than a 1.3 tip to spray finish and clear coat. Most of these guns have a 1.7 tip. I assume I set a few people off with my comments about cutting corners when you paint your plane after spending 10 years building it and I honestly do not understand why anyone would do that. I understand that after 10 years of building that a person will get anxious to fly and therefore get in a hurry. I believe Mark Langford is an example of an alternative. Prime it and fly it, then paint it later. Lots of value there because it allows the body work to cure and shrink before you put a pretty paint job on it. I am not here to criticize anyone's decision as to the level of effort of finish they want on their planes paint job. Its all a matter of personal preference. I can tell anyone that they can paint as good as me or better with the same amount of effort and that blocking and wet sanding a two stage paint job that has lots of orange peel , runs and dirt in the paint, can produce an incredibly nice paint job. I got my KR painted and damaged so it was easy for me to decide to paint it again. If somehow you can read through my seeming rants that are not intended to be rants but rather some simple straight forward talk, I hope that you see it as encouragement to take your baby that you spent years building and take it to the same level and effort you took building it. Or not. Its not about my or anyone's opinion, its about what you want. Thats the spirit of home building and experimental aircraft. Jeff York On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 11:35 AM Kayak via KRnet <krnet@list.krnet.org> wrote: > Well the subject of paint sure brings out good if sometimes > contradictory information. For example, here is what based the "HF gun > can paint as well as a $600 one": https://youtu.be/tEtlhLqXPNU > > As to the applicability of building a KR (or anything else) , I think > other than safety, most aspects are a compromise based on builder > skill and of course, cost. > > If I ever get around to the KR1 (its well-built to boat stage and I > have Diehl wing and tail skins), it will be after I catch up on these > lesser projects which are creating skills. For example I have gone to > machinist school and put together a home machine shop. Im not an > experienced machinist but I have the basics and the (old) machines to > make parts. > > As to paint, I am restoring an old Cub Cadet garden tractor. Not > looking for show quality but i did have the steel components > sandblasted. When I went to price paint, I was blown away! An ideal > option, would be prime with epoxy and finish with a single stage > (catalyzed) urethane. When I looked at etching primer, that called > for another primer over that! Then the costly top coat. Well I looked > at the cost and said NO WAY, but what are the options? I wanted a > hardened paint so rattle cans were out. > > My local auto paint distributor pointed me to a Lusid product that is > DTM (Direct To Metal). It still cost me $210 for the 2 colors, > hardner, thinner, etc, for a freakin garden tractor! But thats better > than the $450+ for the other options. > > Then I started learning about respirators. Those OV/P100 canister > respirators have charcoal for the organics, and that charcoal only > soaks up so much then you are beathing it. The worst stuff in urethane > is actually odorless (although everything else stinks). > > Thats when the respirator issue came up. Bottom line is I think anyone > not using supplied air is crazy. Its too simple and too good. No > filters to fill up and fail, etc. > > I probably will buy a hobby air system, but also was researching DIY > options. This guy used a full face scuba mask with a hose attached and > an off the shelf consumer pump. I would be cautious about any pump, > would not want anything that if it shorts out would put fumes into the > mask. Which means a pump with a motor separated from the impeller (I > think most are).. I've seen them made with old CPAP machines which are > made to provide breathing air. This guy used an interesting approach. > > https://youtu.be/cX-glTu6tz0 > > _______________________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at > https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. > Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. > see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change > options. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org > _______________________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
