Painting Props

MikeOH58

MikeOH58

Well-Known Member
So the Mx shop painted my prop tips with primer only, and the white stripes are cracking and peeling off....

I tried light sand paper and re-painting, but i'm not getting enough of the orignal paint off...

I've heard people use rubbing alcohol, or some type of oil to help?

Suggestions?
 
BE CAREFULL WITH CHEMICAL STRIPPER! If you don't do it right, it will seep into the poors of the prop and the paint adjacfent to it, and paint will never stick to it again. Go at it with some rougher grit. Start with a 120 grit, and work your way down to a 400 grit. Use a block sander to keep it even and follow the contour of the blade. If you do use a striper, tape off the area inside of that you don't want to strip. But I'd stay away from it if your only doing the tips.
 
also, if you sand down to the bare metal on a prop you're supposed to alodine it again. Alodine is a corrosion preventative, it's not hard to do but it may be kinda hard to find... though my local airport shop carries it.
 
Polish it for that Shinny prop bling!

Sand n paint, let it dry before flying (at least 24 hrs, more if possible) Paint that is still even the least bit soft will stretch and ripple on a prop
 
or if you like that spin paint look.... ;)


Consult with a shop if you're going to polish it, word on the street is that manufacturers aren't real big fans of that anymore.
 
no chem stripper. sand harder! Use an electric or air sander if you have it. Clean it prime it, and paint it
 
Never know painting a prop would be so hard. I have been toying with the idea on the cherokee 140 since the leading edges the paint is gone on the prop. After reading this maybe I'll just leave it alone.
 
Colgan always used black or grey spray paint! :)

It's actually not 'that' hard... No harder than doing a propper paint job on something else
 
mooneyguy said:
no chem stripper. sand harder! Use an electric or air sander if you have it. Clean it prime it, and paint it
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REAAALLLY don't recommend this. Too easy to remove too much metal if you're not careful.
 
mooneyguy said:
no chem stripper. sand harder! Use an electric or air sander if you have it. Clean it prime it, and paint it
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Never, EVER, use an electric or air sander on a prop.

There is no fast way to do this but there is a good "speed" for it.

The speed you should use is "right the first time".
 
So roger what is the recommened way to strip and paint a prop? We have a 3 month span in the winter when we tear it down and do touch up paint jobs and what not to the plane and this year I'd like to do the prop.
 
Inverted25 said:
So roger what is the recommened way to strip and paint a prop? We have a 3 month span in the winter when we tear it down and do touch up paint jobs and what not to the plane and this year I'd like to do the prop.
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I'm not a paint guy. The most I do to a prop is rattlecan some flat black on the black side of it to keep glare out of the pilot's eyes. If you are really that picky about how your prop looks, I would say scuff the whole thing by hand with either scotchbrite pads or maybe some 220 grit sandpaper, then wipe really clean with MEK or Acetone. Then mask as appropriate and paint. I don't know what "good" paint is, but at my last place we had some stuff specifically designed for props... I forget the brand name but they came in rattlecans labeled something like "Propeller Enamel" and colors like "Hartzell Gray". Of course you'll need to mask as appropriate.
 
BigWaveDave said:
I would just leave it alone. If I were you.
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I think i'm just going to let it be until next month when we have some scheduled mx. Bummer of it all is they were "doing us a favor" (not that they needed to be repainted to begin with), which turned more into a problem.
 
I haven't seen it mentioned; is there something about steel wool that does not work well with aluminum or aircraft?
 
Minuteman said:
I haven't seen it mentioned; is there something about steel wool that does not work well with aluminum or aircraft?
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Yes. The theory goes that when you use steel wool, it leaves behind tiny pieces of steel in/on the aluminum. That then sets up dissimilar metal corrosion, destroying the aluminum.
 
Contact the prop manufacturer. Or look for the prop maintenance handbook that may still be available with the aircraft in question.

You may have no idea what damage or potential for failure you are causing. Prop maintenance really involves more than you think.

Yes, I've owned planes with Ham Stan, Sens, and McCauly wood and alum props. For my Cherokee's alum prop, I simply handrubbed petro oil on the blades per the mfg recommendations.
 
Roger said:
Yes. The theory goes that when you use steel wool, it leaves behind tiny pieces of steel in/on the aluminum. That then sets up dissimilar metal corrosion, destroying the aluminum.
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The 'theory' has been proven multiple times. The 'destroying' will usually be catastrophic. If you're lucky it'll be during engine run-up prior to flight, ie, not in the air.
 
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