Lyndon Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 I'm considering buying a kit and would like to paint it. Apparently being fibreglass this is questionable in a dark colour. Jabaru themselves won't approve it but say many do. Does anyone have any thoughts or real world experience in this. As you can probably tell I like the darker colours which get hotter. Thanks Lyndon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenlsa Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 White only 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacesailor Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 White for the majority on top. Darker beneath would be fine . When your ' overhead ' your paint looks dark. spacesailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyndon Posted August 26 Author Share Posted August 26 Silver or a light grey would be considered a too dark colour in take it . Lyndon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyBoy1960 Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Is the plane epoxy or vinyl ester resins ? The specs are out there for max temps of all the epoxies, dont guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litespeed Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Unless it's built of special high temp epoxies resins and then post cured by a oven, the answer is ... No. Sadly you need a very high reflection level from infrared and UV to stop the resin softening with heat. A hot day and a +4G aircraft can become 1-2G and due to heat soak the spar will still be soft until at height for extended periods. It tends to be only the very expensive prepreg carbon machines from Europe which are oven baked that can take the lovely darker paint and not suffer. You can get away with some colour decals on the vertical sides or cowl but anything else is suspect. If Jabiru say No, then it's No. That also goes for the undersides of a wing, a dark underwing will soak heat esp from a hot concrete or worse tarmac surface. Is it possible to do a ultra high reflectivity silver? Probably but the risk is yours. I personally love shiny silver. If you want to go that way then test modules for heat transmission would be needed to see the effect of the paint. Not all paints are equal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Paint adds weight also. More than you would think. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 I fail to understand why anyone would want a dark-coloured aircraft, car, or house in our generally hot climate. Sitting on the tarmac on any day over 25°C in a light aircraft with minimal ventilation, and you soon start to feel like you're in an oven. Dark colours increase internal heating by a sizable amount. Red is about the worst colour of all, for heating up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIngsWithoutBarriers Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 On 25/08/2024 at 4:24 PM, Kenlsa said: White only Is there a special batch/ colour code that jabiru uses or can it be any shade of white? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyBoy1960 Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Yes, it's shady white Couldnt resist. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendAn Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 3 hours ago, WIngsWithoutBarriers said: Is there a special batch/ colour code that jabiru uses or can it be any shade of white? matterhorn white is the jab colour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 19 hours ago, facthunter said: Paint adds weight also. More than you would think. Nev Yea but not much if you're only painting the mags😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendAn Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Red said: Yea but not much if you're only painting the mags😁 Gelcoat is heavier than paint and I am pretty sure jabirus are painted from the factory. Edited August 27 by BrendAn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Umm was a joke ..see the jab mag thread 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendAn Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 1 hour ago, Red said: Umm was a joke ..see the jab mag thread Sorry , didn't see you had commented on a different thread. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 Never use a soft Primer surfacer. (BOG) The paint will chip easily if you do.. Nev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 10 hours ago, BrendAn said: Sorry , didn't see you had commented on a different thread. No worries, was a little tickler for Nev but he has resisted reacting😁 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyndon Posted August 28 Author Share Posted August 28 Thanks for the input. White on the horizontal and I can paint the vertical. Im also happy to paint any non structural parts. One step closer to building a plane. Thanks Lyndon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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