Poly Fiber Solids

[Esser]

Does anyone know how many solids Poly Fiber actually has? It seems crazy to me that for a J3 sized plane you will need 11 gallons of poly spray and 10 gallons of top coat.

[Av8r3400]

Yes. That seems an awful lot. Quantities quoted by the paint supplier? :rolleyes:

I haven't done my wings yet, but I'd forecast I'll use 6 of each when finished. It's always better to have more than you need, but...

[HighWing]

I find the estimate from PF very interesting. As I recall in the manual, they say that if you can't see the fabric weave, you have put on too much solids, as you phrase it. I did a IV a couple of times and if memory serves me, it was a couple of gallons of each - maybe three. But then again, I used the 1.8oz fabric.

[AirFox]

I used 8 gal of Aerothane top coat and it was more than enough. You will need lots of Polyspray to get 3 full cross coats. Good luck Josh.

Scott

[ken nougaret]

Here is basically what i used. I noticed 2 gallons of something else afterwords that wasnt in the pic. Ken

[ken nougaret]

And that doesnt include the cowling or wing struts.

[Lion8]

Hi Ken. Wow, that's a lot of paint. I used to paint hot rods and classics and never used that kind of volume. Now for the questions. Did you use a High Pressure gun like the 65p.s.i.? if so, most of what you buy goes up in smoke. I painted a 31ft. Sport Fishing boat with just under 3 gal. of poly urethane. It stayed brite white for over ten years. I used an HVLP. The paint came out great. Most of the product you buy will go onto the item you are painting if you use an HVLP system. I just ordered another one, due in Monday. Hope this helps -Tom (Lion8)

[AirFox]

Just an FYI Josh, I think that I could have got away with 4 gallons of Aerothane if I wasn't a first time painter. I still have two gallons of the eight that I bought. I used an HPLV sprayer with the fresh air breathing system. Contact me if you want to chat about my experience.

Scott

[Paul Z]

I wonder how many of the builders it is the first time that they attempted painting something tha required more than a rattle can to shoot? I've painted two cars, and would be hesitant to paint another!

[avidflyer]

I've recovered an Avid Flyer and a Kitfox 4 and in each case used about 3 gallons of each, poly brush, poly spray, and poly tone. I did put one less coat of poly spray on the bottom of the fuselage and wings and tail feathers. If I remember right, I used 2 cross coats of poly spray, and couldn't see a light bulb held inside the fuselage. One thing to bear in mind, is poly fibre system should last for many, many years on a plane that sits outside. I knew mine would always be in a hangar when it's not out flying, and so UV is far less of a problem in my case. Another thing is I wasn't worried about completely filling the weave, just getting a even paint job with no light spots. Here is the Avid Flyer. Jim Chuk

[ken nougaret]

My pic shows 3.5 gallons of paint(poly-tone). The rest is polybrush and polyspray.

[rosslr]

Josh, We used pretty much the same as Ken described. I found I used a lot more Poly Brush than I expected and getting a good white base for any colour top coat was essential.

cheers

ross

[AirFox]

Hay Josh, I need to correct my prior post from 8 gallons of Aerothane to 4 Gallons of Aerothane for my top coat. I think I could have got it done with two gallons if I was an expert with the HVLP sprayer. Good luck Josh.

Scott

[Esser]

Thanks everyone. Scott, I am using urethane so that should be similar for what I need. Did you paint your whole plane grey first and then add the blue?

[AirFox]

I just overlapped 6 inches or so. Looking forward to see your progress.

[Eric]

Does anyone used a roller instead of a spraygun with the polyfiber solids?

[rosslr]

Hi Eric, I certainly didn't. But curious about your thoughts of using a roller? I can't imagine it would give anywhere as good finish as spraying.

cheers

ross

[KFfan]

There are videos on u tube of the method of using a roller and then tipping with a brush. I looks good on boats. I don't know how well it would work on fabrics.

[avidflyer]

I tried it once on a patch on the bottom of the plane. Wasn't to happy with the results. Also, the strong solvents in poly fibre will eat up some rollers or at least maybe the glue that was holding it together..... I've done two planes with a cheap Harbor Freight spray gun and had good results. Those sprayers are cheap to buy and most people have a compressor. Poly fiber is way thinner than most paints that you would roll on, that might also effect it not wanting to roll out well. Jim Chuk

[Eric]

I have A spray gun but I was curious if it was possible with a roller.
It wouldt be easyer to do if you don"t have to male a spraycabin.
I thought it is called poly BRUSH so it was possible to use a brush.:)

In Europe they use often DDlack from IRSA over dopes and that is also a 2 component laquer that can be used with a roller.
I think with a spray gun you also need a lot more product?

[ken nougaret]

I know there was a post on this forum a couple of years ago about a member or 2 having very good results with roll and tipping. I watched some videos of boats being painted this way. I needed to paint a boat so I decided to try it. I even bought some expensive brushes because that was said to be the key. There must be a secret art to it because it didn't work for me. I decided to spray.

[PapuaPilot]

I think it is called Polybrush because you brush on the first coast to make sure you get penetration into the fabric. After that coat you want to use a spray gun of some sort. I used an inexpensive HVLP gun from Harbor Freight and got good results.

[Lion8]

Just a quick couple tricks on painting. What ever you use, High Pressure or HVLP, put a couple marbles or ball bearings in the bottom of the container before you button it up. It will act as a 'rattle can'
The other one is to always have a roll of 1" masking tape on your hip. If you get a run, hang the gun up, take a piece of tape about 6" to 8" long. Make the sign of the 'Omega' with the sticky side towards the paint job. Lay the tape into the run and let it splay out a bit. lift it out slowly. It sill lift the run off. Come back in a minute and give it a couple shots. Wa-la- Run is gone. May leave a bit of a molted finish is you wait to long. Hope this helps-Tom