Painting Preparation

This blog covers the painting preparation and RAF camouflage scheme.

Overview
The RAF 2010 Battle of Britain colour scheme sent this builder down the road to create the Shorts T1 and a desire to give the Australian Tucano a linkage with the Australian pilot Walter Cale's story.

In the time from the original decision and a lot has run under this bridge, the scheme has been refined but was guided by the Battle of Brittian pattern.

The final decision was the selection for ID lettering, and belly colour between Duck Egg Green, Sky Blue and Grey with the Duck Egg Green to be the most likely applied to aircraft of the 266 Squadron in the Battle of Britain.

Another decision had to be made on the paint method, it was decided early that the aircraft was to be finished in a Satin, so base over clear was selected. 

This process requires a 1K primer, colour and finished using a 2K satin clear with a weight advantage as 1K is thinned 1:1 compared with 2K paint at 2:1

Next task was to obtain samples of the three colours required, Dark Green, Earth and Duck Egg Green. This was made possible with the popularity of plastic models for this era, a Vallejo Battle of Brittian paint pack will allow the base colours to be tinted with reasonable accuracy.

Hardware
The first issue to be solved was a spray booth and having spent enough time getting to this point I was not in the mood to build a spray booth. Three [3] 3 x 3-meter and one [1] 6 x 3- meter canopies were purchased and require being unpacking then folding out. Once in position over the aircraft, a plastic sheet will be fixed to the sides using a lot of 3M cloth tape.

How to apply the paint - big issue for a non-painter, the only way is a spray gun, but the decision was what was to provide the puff. A meeting with Larry Black at Frazier Lake in California, a long time ago revealed a very tidy Falco with a great finish. Larry used a turbine sprayer and as a skilled shooter was impressed by the lack of overspray and economy of application - 4 litres of paint to be exact and this meant saving weight, a lot of it.

Back in now, I decided that this is the way to go. The turbine sprayer has come a long way since Larry used one on the Falco, so which one. Well after a lot of web time I settled on an Apollo 5 stage Premier model - not cheap, but if in doubt get the biggest and best in the range, they charge more for a reason.

These units produce dry, warm air that should be free of water and other contaminants. The main gain is the lack of over overspray as the extraction is primitive, not a match for a spray booth. It is generally stated that a turbine should put better than 85% of the paint on the job when set up correctly.

Note: Once finished it is hoped to sell it for 60% of what it cost. 

Preparation
The first job which was done earlier involved filling around the rivets using applications of etching primer. Blade putty and a lot of careful and gentle sanding. Foam sanding block was used to create the control needed with a combination of 320/400 wet and dry. 

Sanding stopped when any rivet head or aluminium appeared, then a new sanding angle used until the whole area was smooth. The countersunk pop rivets are not as flush as I would have hoped with the primary reason the lack of ability to create a crisp dimple with a hand tool plus the operator's skill.

What was gained - not a lot but it does remove is that product of "Proletariat Tractor Factory No 3" look that an all riveted wing seems to have - its a choice with a lot of work attached to it.

Note: Primer in spray packs is the same type that will be sprayed

Wings filled and etch primed ready for the 
application of the sprayed primer

At this time the end ribs were primed using the SLS Etch spray as was the underside and mating faces of the inspection covers. Once dry, the overspray was removed using methylated spirits and paint thinners.

Note: Methylated Spirits proved to be a very effective remover of the Wattyl SLS Etch primer, and if you can have it with orange juice it cannot be all that harmful, can it?

All the covers were reinstalled using sacrificial screws to be disposed of after painting. 

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