Citabria painted stars
- Thread starter jeff07w
- Start date
Hiperbiper
Well-known member
You might want to peruse the Restoration section...
Pittscub has pics of his Citabra there...
Also there are several people who have painted Decathlons using the Stars and Sunburst schemes...
Lots of ideas there.
Also, a company called AeroGraphics sells painting masks for the Citibrthon series of heavier than air vehicles...
Chris
Pittscub has pics of his Citabra there...
Also there are several people who have painted Decathlons using the Stars and Sunburst schemes...
Lots of ideas there.
Also, a company called AeroGraphics sells painting masks for the Citibrthon series of heavier than air vehicles...
Chris
Joe
Well-known member
Wish I had some better pics for you. Mine is a fabric rejuvenation, so I get to cheat and from time to time find an outline of where it supposed to be. The stars are pretty irregular but from left side to right side they are mirror images. I made a pattern on parchment paper with holes to mark the points. Laying out the tape intersecting at the points. Then re-lifting the two intersecting pieces of tape at each point and trimming the excess with scissors. Short of finding a commercially available masking kit, I would look for a Citabria that is close enough to go trace a pattern.
Attachments
Not a bad idea to find an airplane to copy. I wrote to AeroGraphics to see what they offer in the way of templates. I have stars on the wings but nothing on fuselage and tail so was concerned about how to lay that out. I will post what they tell me. I have a couple of years before I have to worry about it (hopefully).
Ron86654
www.advancedtailwheeltraining.com
Here is a picture that may help. When I recovered my wings I used this plus measurements from my old fabric for positioning the stars and stripes.
They are all straight lines and I drew out the 5 point stars through trial and error until I got them right, then made templates.
They are all straight lines and I drew out the 5 point stars through trial and error until I got them right, then made templates.
I've looked at the stars a million times trying to figure out if they're regular stars or if they're pulled back like they're being skewed by the slipstream.....i think they're just plain old stars from the factory. Individual planes being repainted might have something different but factory stars seem to all be the same.
They have a template made out of sheet metal. I saw it in the paint booth when I visited.
I believe all the stars are symmetrical, they just look skewed because of the angle and the rays blending into them.
Wing stars appear to be about twice the size of tail stars. My paint job is factory original; I'll try to remember to measure later this week when I am at the hangar.
I received the reply from AeroGraphics:
Yes, we have the star pattern for the Decathlon airframe. We usually just supply the star pattern and let the painter extend the lines across the surfaces. Otherwise, the material/cost starts to add up quickly. I have attached a copy of the design and a detail of the paint masks for your review. I did a quick google search to see if I could find a photo of the aircraft we created the paint masks for, but didn’t see anything. In case you have better references, the registration number was N36242. We did some stars for the bottom of the wing (3 per wing in a straight line), but I think it is usually just straight lines on the bottom of the wing.
The cost of the paint masks would be $315.00 and UPS Ground shipping would be $28.00. I would be able to ship the paint masks within 2 days of placing the order. When you are happy with the layout and ready to order, you can call (preferred for card security) or email with your shipping and payment info. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any question or changes to the design.
Yes, we have the star pattern for the Decathlon airframe. We usually just supply the star pattern and let the painter extend the lines across the surfaces. Otherwise, the material/cost starts to add up quickly. I have attached a copy of the design and a detail of the paint masks for your review. I did a quick google search to see if I could find a photo of the aircraft we created the paint masks for, but didn’t see anything. In case you have better references, the registration number was N36242. We did some stars for the bottom of the wing (3 per wing in a straight line), but I think it is usually just straight lines on the bottom of the wing.
The cost of the paint masks would be $315.00 and UPS Ground shipping would be $28.00. I would be able to ship the paint masks within 2 days of placing the order. When you are happy with the layout and ready to order, you can call (preferred for card security) or email with your shipping and payment info. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any question or changes to the design.
Having not done I can’t say from experience but I would use these templates to assist in getting the tape on correctly to mask and paint these on. I would not want large stickers or tape stripes on a fabric wing surface. Seems asking for trouble
Dunno what the aerographics product is made for. A vinyl decal will be a lot thicker and have stronger adhesive than a mask.
I took a close look at a new factory plane last year. It looked to me like the base and top colors were painted and the trim color was vinyl tape. I also believe the N numbers are vinyl. But I am not sure about that.
Plenty of people paint instead. I painted my N number last year using a vinyl mask from Spruce. I masked the outside and then painted the numbers, but you can do the reverse too.
I took a close look at a new factory plane last year. It looked to me like the base and top colors were painted and the trim color was vinyl tape. I also believe the N numbers are vinyl. But I am not sure about that.
Plenty of people paint instead. I painted my N number last year using a vinyl mask from Spruce. I masked the outside and then painted the numbers, but you can do the reverse too.
Joe
Well-known member
I did base color, masked and sprayed trim color, then masked again and sprayed outer color. Between making patterns and masking I spent around 20 hours on the tail. As a time-saver I'd say the vinyl stars are worth the money. Many will spray their surface with soapy water so they can slide the vinyl mask around to get it into the right spot, squeegee out the bubbles etc., then paint the next day. If the base color is inside the star, I think you will still be manually masking the trim color.
Bob Turner
Well-known member
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If you are paying shop rates the masks are a good idea. But remember, it will take an hour or so to get them into position. I can mask a star in 20 minutes or so, so six of them will take two hours.
If you are using 2" N-numbers, lots, lots quicker to use stick-on vinyl. I use Callie Graphics. She does superb work - even does the Cub bear, and for me she did a very colorful eagle in red and blue, to match my Dec.
If you are using 2" N-numbers, lots, lots quicker to use stick-on vinyl. I use Callie Graphics. She does superb work - even does the Cub bear, and for me she did a very colorful eagle in red and blue, to match my Dec.
One possible approach, using my color scheme as illustration, would be:
- Spray base color.
- Mask over inner area of stars and rays.
- Spray trim color.
- Mask over trim lines.
- Spray top color.
- Remove all masks.
- Spray base color.
- Mask inner area of stars and rays.
- Spray top color.
- Remove mask.
- Mask and paint trim lines, OR apply trim tape.
- Spray base and top colors.
- Mask outer area of stars and rays using template.
- Spray base color.
- Apply trim tape to boundary between base and top colors.
Hiperbiper
Well-known member
A factory template allows for repeatability without having to re-measure everything. After the (in this example) stars are positioned on the wing and marked the templates are removed and fine-line tape is used to seal the edges. Then you can either use a reusable mask with masking tape between the fine line and the mask -or- , if it's a one time thing, cover everything you don't want painted and shoot paint.
The masks from Aero Graphics are made from the same mil thickness tape as the 3m fine-line tape so after you locate them where you want them you rub the edges down, cover everything else and shoot paint...
In the case of the masks in the post above the stars would be positioned and the long straight lines that make up the starburst would be made with the aforementioned fine line tape. Then mask and shoot.
I've never personally seen a template used that left a clean, sharp paint edge. On old warbirds the painted-with-a-template fuzzy edge is accurate for some markings.
Vinyl decals have come a long way in the past decade or so, in 2008 we "wrapped" a car instead of painting it and it lasted maybe a year before it deteriorated badly. Today everything from skateboards to beer trucks are wrapped and they seem to last a long time.
Homemade template positioned on the wing.
After marking the outline with a pencil apply fine line tape to make a sharp edge. The 1" Green masking tape over the fine line tape makes attaching the masking to the outline easier...
Cover everything you don't want painted and shoot!
My painting templates were easy compared to positioning multiple stars on each panel so unless you're VERY talented * a pre made mask might make things easier in the long run.
* I myself am not that talented. My artistic endeavors ended at 4 years old when my big box of crayons melted in the sun...
Chris