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Hello, I am Daniel,
I write from Italy, I wanted information about my Kitfox 2.
I recently purchased this aircraft I must restore it all.
I will make you questions hoping that I can I have your aiuto.Partendo from telaio.Come do I paint removing the frame? A DIY method.
thank you
I would strip it completely and repair any parts/areas that need repairing,..if your going to upgrade any part of it ,,prior to painting would be the best time to add tabs etc
check all drilled holes for proper size,,if its suppose to be 1/4" make sure it is.. you can check each hole by inserting appropriate an bolt or mic each hole a snug fit is good :)
Daniele,
There will likely be more than one opinion about how to refinish the frame. There is cerainly more than one way strip & finish it. I will admit that I am somewhat opposed to using chemical strippers on the old paint because of the potential of not getting all of the chemical off the frame and having it affect the new paint later.
One way to remove the paint from the frame is to sand/abrasive blast it. This also gives a person a chance to inspect the welds after the paint is gone...also removes any rust and corrosion down to clean metal. It is areally dirty job if you do it yourself; and, you might find someone to do this professionally if you don't have the inclination to do your own blasting. The great thing about sandblasting is that it gives an excellent surface for anything you coat/paint the fuselage with afterwords.
A lot of the Kitfoxes had powdercoating...I don't know if the KFII had this or if it was painted originally; but, the type of original finish may influence your decision.
If you do sand/abrasive blast the frame, you need to be prepared to immediately paint it or have it powdercoated....If you paint it, The polyfiber epoxy primer does an excellent job of providing a durable finish....much better than the non-epoxy painrts that were used in days gone by.....the trick is to do a really good jop of spraying the frame after it is stripped......it seems a person has to spray the tubes from all sides to get a uniform coating.
Other folks have done spot repairs to only the damaged/corroded parts of the paint - depends on one's resources, equipment available and what you want to do. (and how dirty you want to get!).
A couple photos attached of our S7 which I bought bare, sandblasted, primed with epoxy and finished with urethane - my polyfiber dealer of many years experience rebuilding old tube and fabric aircraft was a great help providing advice that worked really well with the products. I did the blasting out in my driveway witha portable sand blast rig and a 1 1/2 Horsepower compressor. Used a plastic sheet to collect and recycle the silica abrasive I used. A person wants to use adequate respiratory/face/eye protection and a sandblast hood/helmet to cover their head.
Sincerely,
Dave S
KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive
thanks for the info will opt blasting on it will keep you informed step by step.
I ask if anyone in the photos of the Kitfox 2 under construction?