41 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

Again being in Civil Aviation i have known engineers in the past who have self financed their Pilots licence and are now in Commercial Aviation.

 

Not easy i know but they have learnt a profession that will always stand well and also if you become a Licensed Engineer like myself you can earn good money.

 

Even getting your Pilots license does not automatically mean you will fly as there is a requirement to meet a minimum amount of hours flying time. Companies like Easyjet and Ryanair could take you on but Ryanair make YOU pay for the type courses to be able to fly their aircraft. Bloody cheapskates.

[Gilly112]

Okay I see, I'll have to look into it. I'd love to be an engineer too, but it'd have to be with cars and engines, and I'd like more of a salary than a general mechanic.

Cheeky buggers! Do you mind me asking what you do and for who? Perhaps pm me!

[sonikk4]

I am a B1 Licenced Certifying Engineer for Virgin Atlantic. I have the responsibility of signing of the technicians work that has been carried out on B747's A330's, A340-600's, A319 /A320's and others. If i work on the line (i normally work in the hangar) i sign off the complete aircraft however if i am shift leader on a maintenance input i sign off the aircraft there as well.

 

My son is in his last year as a Virgin Apprentice and actually starts on my shift tomorrow for his last year of OJT. (On the Job Training)

[Gilly112]

Crikey. That's fantastic! Are job opportunities/vacancies quite numerous with Virgin then?

[sonikk4]

Crikey. That's fantastic! Are job opportunities/vacancies quite numerous with Virgin then?

Not at the moment, however I think next year there will be another intake of apprentices. None this year due to money saving.

It's normally a three year apprenticeship. At the end of it you come out with NVQ level 3 and at least your A licence and most if not all of your B licence modules completed as well.

[Mighty made]

In response here to the Ecoat (electrocoat) question, What is it?

 

Here's a link: http://www.ppg.com/c...es/default.aspx

 

As with all of these things, the chemistry (epoxy), the coating thickness of the paint, and pre-treatment of the panels (cleaning and zinc phosphating)

all cost money.

 

I have a few Heritage panels, and I checked last evening

 

Coating thickness is 15-20 microns of electrocoat (E Coat) on the Heritage panels, doesn't come off with thinners even soaking - so I think it's the epoxy type, that's been baked on.

 

The original grey epoxy Ecoat on my Mini is 20-22 microns.

 

Longbridge introduced Ecoating for Minis in the early 90's, replacing the old Rotadip process

 

Even though E coat has great properties there are a few drawbacks (apart from cost)

 

1. Epoxy Ecoat  degrades under UV light- so needs a top coat to protect it, or keep it dark.

2. Edge coverage (where the sharp bits of the panels are!) isn't great, so some seam sealant to cover the edges keeps the rust away.

3. It doesn't conduct electricity well, once baked, so needs to be cleaned off for welding.

 

For me and the Heritage panels, its a quick scuff with Scotchbrite- (Improves adhesion) - wipe with thinners-> zinc/etch primer, primer, then topcoat

[Gilly112]

Okay, I'll have a look about nevertheless, thank you for the info!

 

So if I was to paint my mini tweed grey, how may coats of what materials would I need to get a nice 'deep', quality finish and decent lifespan?

[Mighty made]

Two main objectives here. Rust protection and shiney paint.


With all painting the preparation takes the longest time and makes the biggest difference.



Start with either ecoated panel, or etch primer then zinc primer then epoxy. You are looking for about 20-30 microns thick. Coat all of the joins and edges that you can't see with a brushables seam sealer. For those you can see, use a caulking tube of Sikaflex 629. For underneath panels, spray about 75 microns of stone guard coating, (2-3 wet coats). Next you need a good 2k primer, about 50 microns, and leave it for a week. The surface will be rough, and you'll need to sand it to improve the appearance. Wet sanding is best, say 400 grit paper. The car will look matt when you are done. Next a base coat,and you are aiming for about 15_20 microns here. Final coat will be a 2k clear coat. You can either apply this all at once,or a number of coats' with a week and a sanding between the coats.

Leave it for a week, then wet sand and polish



When you decide which paint to use, try to get the primer,base coat and clear coat of on the same place/manufacturer. I know it might be more expensive, but at least it's been tested and the paint layers will work well together.

Once the painting is all done, then Waxoyl/Dynax everywhere underneath.

[Gilly112]

Crikey, could you give me a roundabout cost of a full process like that?

[Daz1968]

I have been doing slightly different to above, after filling and flatting any dents with p80 paper I then etch primed any bare metal and applied 2 coats of 2k high build and a guide coat, flatted this with p320 abranet paper dry and used 3m red stopper on any imperfections then another coat of high build and guide coat and flatted this with p500 again dry. I have only left 24 hours before flatting. Next stage is 2 to 3 coats of 2k solid paint but any top coats must be applied within a specific time frame else panel will need flatting again to gain a key for the paint. And any base and clear must have the clear coat applied as soon as the base has flashed off then a light coat followed by a couple of heavier coats of clear coat, then after this has cured it can be flatted and polished. Cellulose would be similar apart from more coats needed I am no expert and only on my first full respray but have spent a lot of time gaining as much knowledge as I can but a guide coat makes flatting the primer a hell of a lot easier as any imperfections can be easily identified, also use the biggest sanding block you can for each area to help keep it flat. But I do find the abranet paper superb and well worth the extra outlay and the matching sanding blocks are of good quality, I also have an air da sander for larger areas. If the spraygun is set up for the thicker primer it should be reasonably smooth if not just add more thinners and apply more coats, I used a 2.0mm spraygun for the high build and normal 4:1 mix with 10% thinners. But don't use 2k without correct safety equipment.

Edited by Daz1968, 10 September 2013 - 08:50 PM.

[Gilly112]

This is all very well guys, but I'm on a tight budget! Any quotes for this kind of process? I'm looking at painting it a creamy grey/tweed grey, much like this: 

 

 http://img835.images...65082014527.jpg

 

If I went to my friend who runs the garage where I'd have it painted, how much would I be looking to spend, after the panels and ecoats? I'm having the shell shot blasted and primed before fitting panels, then off to paint. If I said about £1200 as my budget for paint, would you laugh at me?

[Daz1968]

Paintwork unfortunately is something you get what you pay for and the more you spend the better the result but I am sure if you do most the prep then you could get it done in budget as the prep is where a lot of the money goes, I found that a pro job in cellulose more expensive as the prep work has to be better where 2k is a thicker paint and gives a good out of the gun finish if applied correctly, I just want to do mine myself for satisfaction, but I am fortunate to have the space and time to experiment. Even when sanding filler a guide coat of a cheap aerosol helps a lot, the upol aerosol high 5 primer is quite good for home use and can be over coated with 2k at a body shop so you could use this over any filled areas and just flat original paint with p320 before asking for quotes. The interior and underside can be done with aerosols then at least the painter will only have exterior and door shuts to contend with, in fact the underside over the stone chip can be done with a small foam roller as I have done this before and the results where very good 2k is safe with a roller with just a gerson mask as no spray mist is present.

Edited by Daz1968, 10 September 2013 - 09:21 PM.