Hatz Biplane Association

Good Day Gents,

I am looking through the lists of paints available for my project and realize I have some learning to do.

Can anyone describe the plusses, minusses and differences between:

Polytone
Aerothane
Classic Aero
Enamel

Much appreciated.

Nick

I can speak for Poly tone and Aerothane, but haven't any experience with others. Poly tone is nice to work with. It also has the ability to be repaired/repainted with a good blend. And just a good respirator is needed to do the job. Aerothane makes a beautiful and durable finish. Touch up painting is a bit more tricky to get a good blend. But spraying Aerothane can kill you if you don't use a good remote air source respirator system (easy to make with an air pump off of a late 70'S or early 80's junk yard automobile pollution control system and an electric motor mounted on a 2X8 piece of board). Polytone gives a nice satin finish, Aerothane gives a very shiny finish. If you shoot Polytone on your fabric you'll need Aerothane for the sheet metal parts. There are theories of ways to make Polytone stick to metal but I haven't seen proof of it working. That means your Polytoned fabric will be satin finish (hopefully) and your Aerothaned metal parts shiny and a little different hue. Aerothane gets one good cross coat but Polytone gets up to four cross coats. Not a big deal once you get started painting. Clean up is easier and less toxic with Poly Tone.

I've used the Poly Fiber system for many projects and I like it. I know others have their own favorite systems but I only have experience with Stits ( I know, the Poly Fiber dealers will correct me every time, but it'll always be Stits to me. They also correct me when I refer to Poly Tone as DOPE...that's a no-no! It's VINYL!)

Hope this helps,

Mark T

This is very helpful. Thanks Mark.

Nick

Is there a clear gloss finish coat you can spray over Polytone to make it shiny? Do people use Aerothane on both metal and fabric?

I'd be interested in hearing which choices everyone has made and what the successes/failures were.

Nick

There are numerous discussions on other forums regarding the different painting systems... each with their own advocates and detractors. Sort of a Ford vs. Chevy vs. Xxxx thing.

The first thing you should really think about is just what sort of finish you want. High gloss "wet look"? Traditional matte? What about future repairs? Some systems are easier than others. Then you can consider the types of systems - Dope systems with lots of coats & sanding, solvent based polyurethanes (toxic and required a fresh air breathing system), Water borne (NOT water based) polyurethane (i.e. Stewarts System) which does not require a fresh air system, etc.

What do you want from your covering system? Finish? Repairability? Work involved in applying it?

Think about these things and then research/ask questions for the systems that will give you what you want.

As for successes & failures... from everything I've read they are all good systems and the ability to get good or "great" results rest with the person doing the work and how closely they adhere to the directions. Follow the directions and things will work... tweak the directions and you are on your own.

One thing I read made a lot of sense... no one seems to complain about how long it takes to learn to weld, but when it comes to painting, people seem to just pick up a paint gun and go to town and then complain when the results stink.

Pick a system, FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS, and practice with it before you paint the thing you just invested years of work in.

Good advice. Thanks Doug.

N

Hi Nick,
Polyfiber has an excellent manual and video which will make the whole covering and painting job easier.
John Hanson

Thanks John, I'll check it out.

N