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I’m happy to report that as of this afternoon, paint work on the Krosno is complete. We owe a debt of gratitude to Pete Leganza, who lent his time, tools, and considerable experience to make sure this job got done right. I don’t know exactly how much time we spent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are 40 man hours in the project as of today.
Background: You may have seen the Krosno in various states of sanding and bondo-application over the past few months. The primary goal of this project was to stop the delamination of the paint in the aft fuselage area, and properly seal the bare aluminum to prevent corrosion. The secondary goal was to improve the appearance, especially as we give the majority of our guest rides in 97V.
Paint Selection: We settled on using a single component alkyd epoxy basecoat. Specifically Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy. (Yes, out of a rattle can if you can believe it!) We chose an epoxy process as it’s the most durable single component paint readily available that can be polished and touched up easily without special tools, mixing or spray gun application.
Results:
I think the results speak for themselves! Watching the paint lay out smooth made the prep work worth it. With luck, we’ll have many trouble free years ahead.
Once unmasked, you may notice that the original paint has a yellowish hue compared to the newly panted areas. This is normal, and is likely due to oxidization and UV damage of the original paint after decades of sun exposure. The undersides of the fuselage, wings, and rudder covering match the new paint quite nicely. I’ll polish the original paint on Saturday to help blend this transition.
Maintenance and next Steps:
I will be out Saturday to compound and polish the fuselage before assembly. This will help remove the yellow hue from the original paint and match the gloss on the painted and unpainted sections. Please do not wax or apply any type of sealer to the aft fuselage for 30 days. The epoxy will be polymerizing and gaining harness over the next 30 days. The addition of silicone or paraben (common in most auto waxes) will stop this reaction and soften the paint. Fear not, I will enlist volunteers in early may to put a fresh coat of ceramic wax and UV blocker on the painted surfaces of the Krosno before the peak of guest ride season. -
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