DECALS

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p3dave
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DECALS

Post by p3dave »

I am in the process of striping 17 year old stripes from my DA40 180 (I am using a 3M Stripe removal wheel after trying other methods that weren't working as the decals are old/dry/cracked). When I am done I will be following steps provided by others on the forum (thanks), wet sanding, compounding, polishing etc. I have my new stripes and N numbers from Aerographics and will be using the techniques on the forum (thanks again). Just behind the rear windows above the stripes there is a very faded "DIAMOND STAR" labels on each side. I am thinking about replacing these with decals made by a vendor that I get boat decals from but I was wondering if anyone new what the font is?

Also, there are various nicks here and there in the finish, has anyone posted how to accomplish "cosmetic repairs" such as these and touch up painting on the forum? It appears on the leading edge of the vertical stab close to the fuselage that someone has come close to going through the white finish in the past, I would like to be able to touch that up also without a major repainting.
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astaib
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Re: DECALS

Post by astaib »

Hello,

As I'm working for an automotive supplier that make decals (and other things), I made the decoration of my DA40 myself.
I removed quite easily the old 2002 decoration with this tool a patience (https://www.amazon.fr/Grattoir-autocoll ... B08D3G787L).
Then I polished all the plane (not under the wings) with 1.000 and 3.500 polish. The result is incredible.

Then I applied the complete decoration and registration myself. I didn't put any Diamond Star decals, so I can't help you with the font.

For the leading edges, I had to cheat because I was not satisfied with the painting for cosmetic repairs: I used chromed colored film, I cutted stripes of 5 meters (by 5-6cm) that I applied on the leading edges (to imitate the TKIS leading edges), then I applied on top a transparent PU stone shipping film (striped too, but a bit wider 7cm) to prevent new nicks and discoloration due to bugs impact if they are not cleaned immediatly.
When I did this I first wanted to do it with a white film, but it was not exactly the same white, and the use of any other color for decoration was ugly, so I decided to make a fake TKIS decoration as I really wanted to hide the nicks.

Now everybody is asking me if my plane is new! https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10342625

Arnaud.
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Rich
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Re: DECALS

Post by Rich »

Arnaud, I doubt your leading edge approach would pass muster here in the US. It definitely has the potential to alter the airflow characteristics of the wing. Here one would have to show it does not.
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astaib
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Re: DECALS

Post by astaib »

Ah OK, I didn't aked anything here and nobody told anything neither.
It's a 50 microns film, do you think it can change something?
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Rich
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Re: DECALS

Post by Rich »

astaib wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:57 pm Ah OK, I didn't aked anything here and nobody told anything neither.
It's a 50 microns film, do you think it can change something?
Probably not, but I could see it failing a ramp check here in the States, as it could potentially influence the nature of flow separation on the upper wing surface.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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astaib
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Re: DECALS

Post by astaib »

OK, understand. I will not fly to USA with mine then :D
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Boatguy
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Re: DECALS

Post by Boatguy »

Rich wrote: Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:55 pm Arnaud, I doubt your leading edge approach would pass muster here in the US. It definitely has the potential to alter the airflow characteristics of the wing. Here one would have to show it does not.
I applied a protective film on the leading edge of the wing stub a couple of years ago. Never had any issues in flight or from my IA.
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Colin
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Re: DECALS

Post by Colin »

The people I have seen doing ramp checks are not informed enough to know the difference between what Diamond delivered and what is sitting on the ramp. I would be really surprised if Arnaud had any difficult if he decides to fly to Oshkosh this summer.

The CBP has been authorized to do the equivalent of a mini-ramp check every time you enter the country, sometime after 9.11. For over a year I have (by mistake) been giving them my drone operator certificate rather than my pilot certificate. No one ever said a word. Do you think they are going to know the pattern and style of decals that Diamond puts on the planes? Or allows to be put on them?
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Re: DECALS

Post by CFIDave »

The biggest concern I would have with putting decals (or vinyl stripes) on a DA40 is solar heat gain.

White should be no problem, but Diamond has restrictions on the size and placement of these items to prevent overheating of the underlying composite structure, particularly anywhere on the top of the airframe. See the DA40 AMM for guidance on this.
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gyro3816
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Re: DECALS

Post by gyro3816 »

I just redid my stripes (purchased decals from Aerographics). We used a heat gun to remove and used buffer for shadow removal. I too had the same issue you describe (XLS was behind rear window on old graphic).
I had AeroGraphics make a chrome Diamond Star XLS. I placed the Diamond Star on the vertical stabilizer. My plan is to apply the XLS to the bottom edge of the cowl cover. There just wasn’t enough space to do diamond star xls on stabilizer without it looking busy.
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