Aircraft painting cost

Aircraft painting cost

No doubt the most important question when it comes to painting your airplane is, what is the cost going to be? Well, as you would assume, there are many factors to consider before coming to the final cost.

We will need to go over all of these steps:

• Plane size • Schema / Design process • Removal of controls, instruments and components • Existing paint – Stripping (how old is the resin) • What is the reveal after stripping (rust, corrosion, cracks and/or dents) • Body condition • New screws for cowling and wing tanks • Basic coat of non-metallic paint (primer) • Application of stripes or markings • Final coats and finish • Reassembly of controls, instruments and components • Storage

The plane size is an obvious factor. Wingspan and length will determine the time it takes for completion. How many engines also depends on the price because of the removal of such delicate machinery. Some airplane paint shops bill hourly versus quoting each category.

The schema and design process takes time when the client offers an idea and the painter shows their thoughts after collaboration. It takes a while for everyone to come to an agreement with the final design. The N# holds back a lot of designs due to regulations so take this into consideration when going back and forth with the painter. Make sure you are prepared.

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The removal of the controls, instruments and components takes serious precision and takes a long time. Every aircraft has a different schematic and the process needs to be recorded for rebuild. This procedure needs to be calculated accordingly based on size, and instruments along with the time it takes to take it all apart “correctly”.

Stripping of the existing paint will reveal what kind of resin is left over and how old the paint truly is. What usually is revealed is all kinds of scary imperfections from manufacturing, wear and tear to just simple age. Dents, corrosion/rust and cracks are natural and shouldn’t be feared because most can be fixed but this process will take a long time if the owner painted over imperfections just to gain profit.

When down to the naked body, what is revealed could be wood, metal or plastic. When the weight of the paint (paint adds pressure) is removed, the body may not be as aerodynamic as it was originally so there are many things that need to be done to restore the body to its original state.

It’s always wise to replace the screws with new ones. You can’t replace the body but you can replace what is holding it together. Replacing the screws around the cowling and wing tanks will give you more confidence of the strength of the aircraft after it is finished.

The basic coat of non-metallic paint (primer) will add an additional cost and adding any new markings (N#, stripes, logos) will add cost to the process. We paint over the safety hatch of Evolutions to where you cannot tell the lines which many of our clients absolutely love. That adds to the aircraft painting cost.

And finally, the last of the coats, gloss/finish and reassembly of the controls, instruments and components, the airplane will need storage until the owner can come and pick it up. If you have thoroughly read through this article, you would be smart in recognizing that we have not put a single price anywhere on this article because it’s almost impossible to add a price sheet given the specs and work involved. This isn’t a restaurant where the menu is simple. But, you can expect a price range of anywhere from $50,000 - $500,000 for just a single engine dual passenger aircraft depending on all the factors above.

What are the costs of painting an airplane? Well, if you do it yourself, thousands. If you have it professionally done, tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you have joined the wonderful and exciting world of aircraft enthusiasts, you will definitely start to understand it isn’t for the faint of heart. Airplane hobbyists have spent their life savings if not retirement on this adventure and you cannot afford to be cheap.

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