Painting Dacron Sails
Gisle Kofoed
sails. The fabric is not "conventional" fabric like Stits etc., but of
quality more like a sailboat sail.
The sail has not been treated in any way.
I'm considering painting the wing sails to archive a more attractive
look and to protect it from the sun. The sails are old and to some
degree faded, but a pull test shows sufficient strength. The aircraft
has almost always been stored inside, and we do not excactly have very
much and very strong sun in the northern part of Norway.
I've read about several products that can be applied, among them a
product called Stits AO100. A guy I spoke to has spray painted his
aircraft (Rans S6) with car paint with 25 % "softener" added (to avoid
cracking). I've even read that exteriour house paints have good UV
protection (see: http://www.ultralightnews.com/news/uv.html).
Which paint should I use, and how should I mix it? Spray painted or
applied in any other way? What about adhesion and cracking. What about
the ALU tubes in the wing - will the paint penetrate the sail and
paint the tubes too? Can the sails be colored in any other way?
Any comments or good advice???
Bobby Hester
All of Rans aircraft have Dupont Clearcoat, including mine. They sell a
video that explains how to do it. They also get a better deal on the
Dupont Clearcoat they most people can so it is cheaper to buy it from
them. Get the video and see how easy it is. I did find out one thing do
not use any part of the clear coat system after it has sit in your hanger
thru winter, it will look fine while mixing but will gel as you spray it,
causing the paint job to look dirty.
--
Surfing the Web from Hopkinsville, KY
Visit my web site at: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7373/
and see my Rans S12xl experimental aircraft.
Bill Berle
>
> I own an old ultralight (Rotec Panther 2 Plus, 1986) with dacron
> sails. The fabric is not "conventional" fabric like Stits etc., but of
> quality more like a sailboat sail.
> The sail has not been treated in any way.
> I'm considering painting the wing sails to archive a more attractive
> look and to protect it from the sun. The sails are old and to some
> degree faded, but a pull test shows sufficient strength. The aircraft
> has almost always been stored inside, and we do not excactly have very
> much and very strong sun in the northern part of Norway.
> I've read about several products that can be applied, among them a
> product called Stits AO100. A guy I spoke to has spray painted his
> aircraft (Rans S6) with car paint with 25 % "softener" added (to avoid
> cracking). I've even read that exteriour house paints have good UV
> protection (see: http://www.ultralightnews.com/news/uv.html).
>
> Which paint should I use, and how should I mix it? Spray painted or
> applied in any other way? What about adhesion and cracking. What about
> the ALU tubes in the wing - will the paint penetrate the sail and
> paint the tubes too? Can the sails be colored in any other way?
>
> Any comments or good advice???
I have used the Stits products for years, always with good results. If
your fabric is good (really good, not just poked a few times with a
finger) then anything Stits sold me to put on the sailcloth I would use
without worry. I am certain that whatever Stits sold me to spray on
would be lighter, last longer, and be easier to use than house paint!
Sunshine degrades polyester fabric to the point where it will KILL
someone. You'd better take it a lot more seriously than the side of your
house.
Ric Lee
paint well and held up under the wear and tear of multiple folding and
unfolding.
I used cut paper stencils for the general outline and sprayed with a
conventional paint spray gun, about 40 psi for broad color strokes and
added detail with a Paasche air brush at about 60 psi.
The color: Water soluble silk screen ink, it thins with water, cleans
easily, and best of all sets up with UV exposure. So, rather than sun
fading, it only gets more durable with sun exposure. Since I painted a
white sail, I covered the whole thing with a coat of Scotch guard
afterward. You can buy it in gallon containers designed to treat
carpets after they are cleaned. Spray it on with your clean paint gun.
The only down side with the silk screen ink is, you have to be careful
of over spray, and it can "crock" a little if two surfaces rub together
firmly for a while.
My hang glider sail has a red tail hawk on the right wing, with a
rainbow which starts behind the hawk and breaks up into stars on the
other wing. It hasn't faded a bit in over 10 yrs.
Shari Lee