Help on spray painting panels

Hi all

A quick BUT VERY important question if i may :)

I have cut and spray painted a couple of panels thus far. BUT the question that keeps coming up in my mind is: HOW do you paint your panels? Do yuo use can based spray paints or a small air gun etc?

The reason i am asking is I did an annunciation panel for a King Air B200 this weekend and it has 20 cut outs - thing is i almost used a full can of spray. This is definitely not economical! How do you do this? I can't imagine using 1 can for a panel! That's a bit much.

Any ideas OR is there a thread on how best to paint panels? Thanks a million.

Ok since there is no response on the post above perhaps another question?

I have been spraying clear acrylic blocks for annunciators and i find that the edges, though slightly sanded, do nt hold the paint well and still get light bleeding through.

Do you have a trick to this or how would you suggest i best approach this issue?

Thanks again.

Sean

Hi Sean

Sorry you got no reply. I have painted my panels with a paintgun and a compresser. Not all have such but it does a very good job. I have sonme pictures on my site how i have done

Regards
Claus
Build your own 737 NG home cockpit

Hi Claus

Thanks so much for your response. I have a compressor and could do that. Need a spray gun though. What type of paint do you use to make clean up easier? I have always shied away from that for time reasons. Unless it's water based lol

I am also having problems with some edges. I have roughened the edges but still get light bleed with painted clear acrylic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by claushansen

Hi Sean

Sorry you got no reply. I have painted my panels with a paintgun and a compresser. Not all have such but it does a very good job. I have sonme pictures on my site how i have done

Regards
Claus
Build your own 737 NG home cockpit

---

Hi Sean
I use acrylic paint from your local DIY store( household emulsion paint). It's water based so you can thin it easily for spraying with clean water, doesn't poison the environment with nasty solvents. Tint it yourself to any colour you like. I actually use crushed walnut shell water based wood stain to colour my emulsion to get the shade of brown for my 767.
Buy 5 litres and mix it all to the same shade for future use, it's the cheapest paint around.
The overspray is quite heavy so tends to sink to the floor quickly rather than filling the area with clouds of paint spray. Wash up everything in water.
Buy a small gravity fed HVLP spray gun (about£10 in UK). buy one which is all stainless/aluminium not plastic except the paint cup like this example

HVLP Mini Gravity Fed Detail Spraygun | eBay

You can use this from the smallest panels right up to 1000x500mm sheets of acryilic. I ise it with a very small compressor amd it works fine with any pressure from 40-100psi.
Buy 150 micron paper filters to filter the paint as you pour it into the gun
Rough up the acrylic with 400 grit wet and dry abrasive using clean water with a tiny amount of washing up liquid in it as this kills the static in the acrylic which would otherwise attract dust. Dry off.
Spray very thin coats from about 12 inches away allowing to dry between coats. Use an infra red heater to speed up the drying and to help harden the acrylic paint. I normally have to apply 7 or 8 coats to get the opacity required. I hold it up to a strong light source to check in between coats. If you make a mistake you can simply wash it all off with water, dry it and do it again. If you spray a minimal amount of paint from further away you can get a paint finish which looks like powder coating. If you check a real cockpit I think you'll find the paintwork is not smooth. Use MATT acrylic paint and when you are happy with the opacity spray it with CLEAR MATT laquer to protect the surface because acrylic paint is quite soft. If you going to engrave the painted area do the engraving before the MATT laquer as the laquer tends to gum up and melt to the engraving cutter.
round off sharp edges to prevent your bleed through problem.
hope this helps
regards
geoff

Qs geoff said you have to round the edges with sime sandpaper, and also it gives a nice look.

another technique is mark the edges with black or gray marker (anything that prevents the leaking) before painting the panels. This one is easy and saves you a lot of paint. Always make a test first and see how the paint blends with the marker.

Hey jones

Thanks for this post - helps a HUGE deal!! I will look out for one of those spray guns and I believe there is a place not too far from me that stocks ALL sorts of spray paint equipment and requirements.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jonesthesoftware

Hi Sean
I use acrylic paint from your local DIY store( household emulsion paint). It's water based so you can thin it easily for spraying with clean water, doesn't poison the environment with nasty solvents. Tint it yourself to any colour you like. I actually use crushed walnut shell water based wood stain to colour my emulsion to get the shade of brown for my 767.
Buy 5 litres and mix it all to the same shade for future use, it's the cheapest paint around.
The overspray is quite heavy so tends to sink to the floor quickly rather than filling the area with clouds of paint spray. Wash up everything in water.
Buy a small gravity fed HVLP spray gun (about£10 in UK). buy one which is all stainless/aluminium not plastic except the paint cup like this example

HVLP Mini Gravity Fed Detail Spraygun | eBay

You can use this from the smallest panels right up to 1000x500mm sheets of acryilic. I ise it with a very small compressor amd it works fine with any pressure from 40-100psi.
Buy 150 micron paper filters to filter the paint as you pour it into the gun
Rough up the acrylic with 400 grit wet and dry abrasive using clean water with a tiny amount of washing up liquid in it as this kills the static in the acrylic which would otherwise attract dust. Dry off.
Spray very thin coats from about 12 inches away allowing to dry between coats. Use an infra red heater to speed up the drying and to help harden the acrylic paint. I normally have to apply 7 or 8 coats to get the opacity required. I hold it up to a strong light source to check in between coats. If you make a mistake you can simply wash it all off with water, dry it and do it again. If you spray a minimal amount of paint from further away you can get a paint finish which looks like powder coating. If you check a real cockpit I think you'll find the paintwork is not smooth. Use MATT acrylic paint and when you are happy with the opacity spray it with CLEAR MATT laquer to protect the surface because acrylic paint is quite soft. If you going to engrave the painted area do the engraving before the MATT laquer as the laquer tends to gum up and melt to the engraving cutter.
round off sharp edges to prevent your bleed through problem.
hope this helps
regards
geoff

---

Hey tote

Thanks for that tip. I will also try that. I have a nice piece of clear 8mm acrylic that i am using to test the annunciator design and paint plan.

This is actually for a King Air B200 Simulator.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tote_320

Qs geoff said you have to round the edges with sime sandpaper, and also it gives a nice look.

another technique is mark the edges with black or gray marker (anything that prevents the leaking) before painting the panels. This one is easy and saves you a lot of paint. Always make a test first and see how the paint blends with the marker.

---

Learjet 45 Home cockpit

Sure, sanding the edges is the best option, and some marker makes a great help, thats how i did my panels.

FANTASTIC! This is the upper annunciator panel - excluding clear acrylic lenses - which is what i am battling with LOL. I will try the acrylic route!

Attachment 7695

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tote_320

Learjet 45 Home cockpit

Sure, sanding the edges is the best option, and some marker makes a great help, thats how i did my panels.

---