That's correct. Black and dark colors make it very difficult to see problems.
Phil Nelson
A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
Flying since 2016
From what I understand - if you are worried about cracks in the tubing you should not powdercoat. Powdercoat is somewhat flexible and can hide cracks. If you are worried about cracks, use white paint.
A lot of the airframe tubing will be covered by fabric and not visible anyway, i.e. tubes that are wrapped to secure the fabric.
Jeff
KF 5
340KF
Mask off anything you don’t want painted, scuff with maroon scotchbright, clean up the dust and squirt paint on it!
Jeff
KF 5
340KF
Phil Nelson
A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
Flying since 2016
Im contemplating this same decision. Does anyone have any thoughts/experiences with a grey frame? Im thinking it might be a compromise between less windshield reflections but not too dark to hide rust/cracks.
I’ve ordered mine with gloss black powder coating. I decided against flat black thinking that it might be harder to keep scuff marks and such off. Yes glossy finish will probably reflect the sun light more but it’s a compromise... My kit is going to be ready for pickup in October so I’ll see it when it gets here.
Terry
ATP, Goldseal CFI/CFII/MEI
SS7
Portland, OR