Removing paint

[AVanlent]

Is there a way to strip off the old paint from the plane without hurting the fabric? I have a Kitfox 2 that I am the 3rd owner of, and I have no idea what they used when they painted it. So I was thinking about stripping it and starting fresh.
Thanks
Andy

[HighWing]

Most likely Polyfiber. This was the factory standard and most builders followed the book.

Get the Polyfiber covering manual and I am pretty sure it can be done.

[Esser]

If it's polyfiber it will be very easy to remove and repair. Does your paint look smooth? Or when you inspect really closely can you see the weave of the fabric? Also, look on the inside of your airplane for a black stamp that is printed on the fabric. It might give you a clue of what fabric and paint you have.

[avidflyer]

Basicly, if it was covered with the poly-fiber process, MEK is the solvent that will dissolve the paint. That works good for repairing smaller spots and such. I don't think I know of anyone who took off all the paint with MEK and repainted with new paint using the old fabric. Usually I would think they just recover the airplane. Another way to maybe tell real quick what system was used, is if the inside of the fabric looks pink, that is poly-fiber system. What you are seeing is the poly-brush seeping through the fabric. You can also get clear poly-brush though, but I think most use the pink tinted stuff. Jim Chuk

[Esser]

I misread your first post, I think stripping the whole airplane would be quite the job. Not saying it's impossible, but it may be less hazardous for your health to cover.

[Dave S]

What Lowell Said.....get the book - if it is polyfiber.

One caveat on Polyfiber. If the top coat is polytone - it dissolves just like lacquer with MEK per the PF instruction book.

However, it it happens to have been finished with Poly Fiber's catalyzed urethane product....AKA "Aerothane" - MEK will not dissolve it......unless you apply the MEK to the backside of the fabric to dissolve the undercoats and pick the aerothane off the top in sheets which is impossible with the wings and some other parts. I have never heard of anyone successfully stripping Aerothane entirely from fabric - spots for repair using the back soak method, but not totally. There may be some methology for prepping and overspraying aerothane but that will be in the book and a very good question to ask a Polyfiber rep about regarding potential success.

One way to find out - take a rag and try to dissolve a spot with some MEK on a rag - a little soaking & rubbing and if it has polytone for the rop coat, it will wipe off ...if it is areothane, all that will happen, unless there are holes in the paint is to clean the surface nicely - MEK will not dissolve aerothane.

Side by side, aerothane normally looks shiny while polytone has a satin finish.

Care needs to be taken not to dissolve the glue in any case.

If it is polytone - should be entirely doable with a little patience. Actually, a person can take down the layers one by one to the fabric if they want to with polytone....but you probably want to stop at the polyspray layer and leave the gray stuff. Again - the book will help you.

Last disclaimer.....if it isn't polyfiber.....disregard everything I have just said.

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive

St Paul, mn

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF7 Trigear

[Av8r_Sed]

If it turns out to be Polytone, there's a rejuvination process to restore the current paint. I haven't seen it done, but it sounds better than taking it all off.

http://www.polyfiber.com/techquestions/rejuvenating/

[n85ae]

I'd get a fabric tester and test the fabric before you do anything. If I couldn't
just paint over it ... I'd rip the fabric off and recover it before I would try to strip
and paint. Maybe fabric test, scuff sand with 400 if it's good and then re-spray
over the old paint?

Regards,
Jeff

[av8rps]

I bought my kitfox with really bad , ugly paint (polytone) and after sanding it down and using some of that nasty , nasty mek (dangerous to one's health) to fix and replace some crooked tapes, I painted over all the now smooth polytone and resprayed the whole airplane with aerothane, and it looks great. Well, at least from a short distance

Check out my ugly old paint job made new in the archives under kitfox of the month. Its the bright yellow kitfox on amphib floats.

Only downside to fixing bad paint this way is a little added weight.

Now, my disclaimer; If you really want a showstopper NEVER try to fix bad fabric/paint. If you want it beautiful, recover it.

[cjb]

Stripping all of the paint will loosen the tapes and possibly the fabric glue.
Save time and money... and end up with a better plane - recover.
Chuck and Bev