Scratch removal advice?

Flyingj

Flyingj

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North Texas
Does anyone have experience with good results removing scratches on the paint on a fiberglass nose cowl? I have seen numerous "polishing compound" products advertised but most are targeted for gel coat marine finishes. Mine is the factory white paint on a 1999 7-GCAA. I realize it would depend on the severity of the "scuff" but am hoping to hear of anything worth trying.
 
Are you talking light scratches in the paint, or deep gouges in the glass?

Scratches and scuffs that do not go through the paint can generally be fixed by wet sanding with progressively finer grades of sandpaper down to 1000 grit, then buffing with rubbing and polishing compounds. Be careful not to cut thru the paint.
 
Thanks for the reply Big Ed. I’ll try to get a pic, some of the scuff actually made its way through the paint.
 
Flyingj said:
Thanks for the reply Big Ed. I’ll try to get a pic, some of the scuff actually made its way through the paint.
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In that case you would probably want to sand off the paint, fill in the gouges, and repaint. Or just fly it!
 
Just like grades of sandpaper, liquid rubbing/buffing/polishing compounds are chosen for the amount of material (paint) that needs to be removed.
Deep scratches might require a buffing compound that has lots of grit to get all the surrounding paint to the same basic level. Then a lighter grade of compound is used to get out the small scratches left by the first compound then a still lighter grade polishing compound/swirl remover to get rid of all remaining imperfections...
Like everything else in life, someone who knows paint can make a poor or damaged paint job beautiful by buffing the imperfections out and make it look easy...
And someone who doesn't know what they're doing can rub thru corners, peaks and the painted surfaces and further damage an already messed up paint job.
I've found most body shops have at least one fellow who will pick up side jobs after hours...and having someone show you how it's done is usually cheaper in the long run than learning by trial and error...

Chris
 
Sound advice Chris. It would definitely be considered trial and error if I attempted the repair on my own.


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I would treat that like a minor scuff on an older car. Lightly sand out imperfections with very fine sandpaper, mask a small area, and spray with rattle can paint (Bob is going to get on me for that). Alternatively, use rubbing and polishing compound by hand to remove scratches, then use touch up paint and nail polish brush to fill in spots where the scratches went thru the white and into the primer or fiberglass. Touch up paint from the local auto parts store probably has the best chance of color matching.

Not worth paying someone to do, IMO. That's a 25 year old airplane, not a brand new Cirrus or Porsche. Bottom cowls tend to get banged up anyways, or at least mine does. I have dropped it onto the hangar floor at least a half dozen times while doing oil changes, no matter how careful I am.
 
You need the box trick. I have one of those very short ladders, and on top of that I place the box from an Odyssey battery - empty, but stuffed with shipping shreds. I wedge that up under the cowl, take all the screws out, then gently ease the ladder and box out of there. Reverse for one-man re-assembly. Never drops.

On the spray cans - we just sent a wing scraper guy to the outfit that matches paint. Minimum charge to match, first, the Stearman wing, and then my Cub, was $230. For rattle cans! Worth it!
 
Let me add - if I could simply buy a matching quart of either Randolph or Stitts I would do so. Norm Douthitt is my supplier, and he has an "in" at the factory. Theu do not mix "custom" colors. I put the "custom" in quotes, because the Stearman yellow was standard A-N from Stitts. They no longer make that color.
The Cub is Ford commercial truck yellow. They still, apparently, make that color, but I cannot seem to buy a matching can.

But good news - colors like Bahama Blue do not seem to have changed, and Rustoleum has a rattle can for that color.

Watch out for whites - who could screw up white? and some reds. My Colorado Red is still available, but it is now transparent. At least the Stitts color is - Randolph was always chock full of solid pigment.
 
Big Ed said:
I would treat that like a minor scuff on an older car. Lightly sand out imperfections with very fine sandpaper, mask a small area, and spray with rattle can paint (Bob is going to get on me for that). Alternatively, use rubbing and polishing compound by hand to remove scratches, then use touch up paint and nail polish brush to fill in spots where the scratches went thru the white and into the primer or fiberglass. Touch up paint from the local auto parts store probably has the best chance of color matching.

Not worth paying someone to do, IMO. That's a 25 year old airplane, not a brand new Cirrus or Porsche. Bottom cowls tend to get banged up anyways, or at least mine does. I have dropped it onto the hangar floor at least a half dozen times while doing oil changes, no matter how careful I am.
Click to expand...

Unbelievably, although it is a 1999 model, it's the first scratch on an otherwise showroom condition nose cowl (the rest of the plane is in beautiful condition also). With anything new (to me), it's that first one that's hard to swallow. I'll either leave it alone, practice on something else first or find someone to take it to. I sure don't want to make it any worse. Thanks for the great tips!
 
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