Poly Fiber Solids

[Esser]

Does anyone know how many solids Poly Fiber actually has? It seems crazy to me that for a J3 sized plane you will need 11 gallons of poly spray and 10 gallons of top coat.

[Av8r3400]

Yes. That seems an awful lot. Quantities quoted by the paint supplier?

I haven't done my wings yet, but I'd forecast I'll use 6 of each when finished. It's always better to have more than you need, but...

[HighWing]

I find the estimate from PF very interesting. As I recall in the manual, they say that if you can't see the fabric weave, you have put on too much solids, as you phrase it. I did a IV a couple of times and if memory serves me, it was a couple of gallons of each - maybe three. But then again, I used the 1.8oz fabric.

[AirFox]

I used 8 gal of Aerothane top coat and it was more than enough. You will need lots of Polyspray to get 3 full cross coats. Good luck Josh.

Scott

[ken nougaret]

Here is basically what i used. I noticed 2 gallons of something else afterwords that wasnt in the pic. Ken

[ken nougaret]

And that doesnt include the cowling or wing struts.

[Lion8]

Hi Ken. Wow, that's a lot of paint. I used to paint hot rods and classics and never used that kind of volume. Now for the questions. Did you use a High Pressure gun like the 65p.s.i.? if so, most of what you buy goes up in smoke. I painted a 31ft. Sport Fishing boat with just under 3 gal. of poly urethane. It stayed brite white for over ten years. I used an HVLP. The paint came out great. Most of the product you buy will go onto the item you are painting if you use an HVLP system. I just ordered another one, due in Monday. Hope this helps -Tom (Lion8)

[AirFox]

Just an FYI Josh, I think that I could have got away with 4 gallons of Aerothane if I wasn't a first time painter. I still have two gallons of the eight that I bought. I used an HPLV sprayer with the fresh air breathing system. Contact me if you want to chat about my experience.

Scott

[Paul Z]

I wonder how many of the builders it is the first time that they attempted painting something tha required more than a rattle can to shoot? I've painted two cars, and would be hesitant to paint another!

[avidflyer]

I've recovered an Avid Flyer and a Kitfox 4 and in each case used about 3 gallons of each, poly brush, poly spray, and poly tone. I did put one less coat of poly spray on the bottom of the fuselage and wings and tail feathers. If I remember right, I used 2 cross coats of poly spray, and couldn't see a light bulb held inside the fuselage. One thing to bear in mind, is poly fibre system should last for many, many years on a plane that sits outside. I knew mine would always be in a hangar when it's not out flying, and so UV is far less of a problem in my case. Another thing is I wasn't worried about completely filling the weave, just getting a even paint job with no light spots. Here is the Avid Flyer. Jim Chuk