sovietthunder

hi all, just a quick question for anyone that can help me out. is it possible to repaint a fiberglass cowl and what is the best way to remove the old paint, i have a yak ant the cowl has a few chips ang crazing to the paint is it better to remove all the old paint or just flat and fill then repaint

tstotts

In my experience old paint is not a bad primer as long as the new paint is compatable. do a test spot before you attempt to paint it. Just sand off the gloss with fine sand paper fill and sand then repaint. Good luck.

NCIS

I use paint stripper and start with a fresh part. Be sure to test it on the inside first to see if it is to strong and will damage the fiberglass. Then clean it with paint thinner real good before priming it.

Gibbs

sovietthunder

water based paint stripper like nitromors?

da Rock

If that is a cowl from an ARF, be very cautious how you do this deal.

Stripping might not leave you with much. Those areas you call "crazing to the paint" just might need patching from the inside before you strip off what's probably holding the whole thing together.

A buddy had a string of fiberglass ARFs that didn't make 10 flights this summer all together. And he patched a number of them as he went along. He found out the best thing was to CA the devil out of the eggshell areas from the outside. Then go over the insides with glass and epoxy where they needed reinforcing. They all did somewhere or another. And then he sanded the outside to a uniform dull. Then repainted.

da Rock

BTW if you see flat looking (not shiny) glass cloth through a crack, then the crack is through more than paint. The layup coat of resin in the mold had not penetrated into the glass cloth, and you're seeing the result.

kahn41

My Feedback: (4)

I agree with DA rock I repair all my cowls with a generous amount of thin CA from the outside then sand down... But be carful you dont sand thru the gel coat into the glass