Surface questions

Any DA40 related topics

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QuickOne
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Surface questions

Post by QuickOne »

Hello everyone,
Had a couple questions hoping you could answer.
#1 are small chips (pencil eraser size) easily repaired on the surface of the aircraft? It looks sort of like gel coat so can you just fill, sand and polish?
#2 are decals easily removed and are new colors/decals easy to apply?
Thanks
Brian
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Karl
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Re: Surface questions

Post by Karl »

The answer to both is yes but much easier if you have some experience.
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mhoran
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Re: Surface questions

Post by mhoran »

Many of us use this "appliance epoxy" to touch up very small chips: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum- ... /100140693. The color matches well and it holds up okay.

To echo what Karl said, I would definitely recommend working with someone who has done striping work before. We had our stripes replaced a few years ago and the plane looks like new. It all cost around $3000. Well worth it to have one of the best looking planes on the ramp.
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QuickOne
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Re: Surface questions

Post by QuickOne »

Can you send me some photos of repairs and the new decals?
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mhoran
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Re: Surface questions

Post by mhoran »

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the touch up paint. Seems the other threads on the matter don't either! I'll try to remember the next time I go out to the plane.

Here are some before and after photos of the striping, which was done by SouthTec in Salisbury, NC. I would highly recommend them even if you are a ways away. I make the trip down there for my annual and am based in NYC.

The striping and paint was in rough shape before I had them do the work. It came back looking like new. Two years later and the paint still looks good as new. There is some light shading from where the old stripes were, but you really can't notice it unless you're looking for it.

Before:
PXL_20210725_201745431.jpg
PXL_20210725_201802946.jpg
After:
PXL_20220603_183343053.jpg
PXL_20220603_183324765.jpg
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QuickOne
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Re: Surface questions

Post by QuickOne »

That came out great! I've done some filling sanding and polishing, so I'm tempted to give it a shot, but think I need to speak to a pro before I go give it a go.
The decal-less route intrigues me because of the glider heritage. But in the end, I think I'd like to go with this:
Image
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mhoran
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Re: Surface questions

Post by mhoran »

That design looks great! I've seen a couple of decal-less DA40s. Personally, I think even simple striping makes a huge difference. And we all know racing stripes make everything go faster...

You'll find the paint to be extremely resilient. I was surprised that with a bit of wet sanding how impressive my 14 (now 16) year old paint looked. It really does look good as new now, and after every flight I now clean all surfaces with a bit of Wash/Wax All which helps keep the shine. I'm no longer embarrassed to have the dingiest looking plane on the ramp! Especially now that I don't lose a quart of oil when shutting down.
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Johnrschaefer
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Re: Surface questions

Post by Johnrschaefer »

mhoran wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:23 pm Especially now that I don't lose a quart of oil when shutting down.
Off topic, but I am curious about loss of oil when shutting down?

Back on topic, my plane (2006 DA40XL) was restriped when I bought her. It looked great!
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Re: Surface questions

Post by mhoran »

Johnrschaefer wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 5:28 pm Off topic, but I am curious about loss of oil when shutting down?
Likely worn piston ring(s). I just had an engine overhaul as the engine was making metal. The metal was from the camshaft, which showed some corrosion and pitting. Compressions were fine and oil usage was within spec, but I'd find the belly regularly covered with oil and the breather would drip for a good while after flight. It made a real mess, and I still have to figure out how to clean up my tie down spot as it's saturated with oil.

All good now though! Plane is running better than ever. Even picked up some extra speed.
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Don
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Re: Surface questions

Post by Don »

When I was having my Diamond XLS custom built at the factory, I wanted a one off unique stripping different than other Diamond DA 40's. So I hade Scheme Designers come up with five different designs and I picked this one. The only change that was made is we reduced the size of stripes on the wheel pants so they were not going over the tire air access doors. Scheme then sent the design to Diamond and they applied it to the aircraft. Anyway, if you want to do something different, I would highly recommend Scheme Designers.
Attachments
N623DS.jpg
custom stripes for 623DS.jpg
Diamond Star XLS, N623DS, SN40.1076
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