Vinyl wrap vs paint

[planesmaker]

Time to start a new thread on this. Let me start by saying paint is lighter than you think, I recently stripped a skyfox of all fabric, wings, fuselage, tail etc, rolled all fabric together and weighed, I was very surprised to find it weighed only 6.5 kg paint, fabric and all coatings associated with fabric.

 

As for putting vinyl wrap over an unpainted aluminium surface you would be asking for trouble, what reaction with adhesive will take place?

 

 

[bexrbetter]

This was discussed a few days ago and is suspected by some as a cause possibility of the Vans RV7 crash that was vinyl wrapped.

 

I wouldn't use vinyl wrap because of the dangers of it peeling and interfering with the flight controls.

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

Personally, I wouldn't ever apply the wrap to bare aly. Simply on the basis that I previously left the (mill) vinyl protective film on my aly sheet to protect it against accidental knocks or abrasion and when I eventually removed it after about 12 months, which was rather difficult, I found that wherever there was the slightest scratch or pinhole in the film there was MAJOR corrosion in a much larger area underneath. It took a LOT of hydrofluoric acid cleaning and scotchbrite work to restore the surface ... and that was 6061T6 which is one of the most corrosion-resistant aluminium alloys of all, so if you wrapped 2024 (even alclad) or 7075 I hate to think what the result might be.

 

Generally, I think vinyl wrap is intended to go over already painted panels. Just my 2c worth.

 

I don't think the peeling aspect is much of a concern provided it is applied correctly with edges downstream, there are literally hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of wrapped aircraft in the USA, and I haven't heard of any issues with it yet. Time will tell, I guess.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I wouldn't use vinyl wrap because of the dangers of it peeling and interfering with the flight controls.

wrap isn't designed to replace paint, its designed to go over paint, lay down some primer and wrap it, no sanding necessary. most race cars have been covered in wrap, I've never heard of anyone crashing because the wrap came off the hood but bex is the expert.

 

 

[spacesailor]

Isn't Wrap, The same vinyl as the number's & letters we have to stick on our planes .

 

spacesailor

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Isn't Wrap, The same vinyl as the number's & letters we have to stick on our planes .spacesailor

No, not the same stuff. Vinyl for signs and lettering will only flex in one direction, it can't be used on compound curves. Also, the sticky backing is full on sticky once you remove the protective backing sheet. Vinyl is applied straight on and then squeegeed on to get the air bubbles out.

Wrap is meant for application over compound curves. It is applied with a hair dryer or heat gun to soften it and allow it to flow around the curves and to activate the adhesive on the back.

 

Vinyl is relatively easy to apply for novices. Wrap is a real bear if you haven't used it before.

 

HTH