The restorer wanted a more filling breakfast than we normally grab at home ahead of paint day. He had been talking about a breakfast bowl he recently had with a friend and suggested we stop at a family restaurant on our way to the restoration shop. The place made me smile. A new baby was being passed around by family members while others worked. It was a sweet reminder that making a living while having a life often depends on finding ways to support one another so that all the goals get met.
When we arrived at the shop, the restorer stepped straight into the paint booth to inspect Mama’s Chief for any imperfections before committing to paint.
For those new here, Mama’s Chief is a 1946 Aeronca 11AC. It is the airplane my mother brought home in pieces before she and my father were together. Mama rounded up family and friends in order to rebuild it to airworthy condition once before selling it. Decades later, we found it again and are bringing it back to flight.
Inside the booth, he muttered under his breath that the steel structure did not have any dust on it after the tack cloth wipe-down the night before. That was a good sign.
Why We Paint
The purpose of priming and painting the fuselage is simple but important. The goal is to protect the steel structure from rust. We recently had the airplane sandblasted after structural repairs. Bare steel can begin to oxidize quickly, so before rust has a chance to form, we seal everything with primer. In the areas that will eventually be visible, a finish coat will be applied as well.
Mixing and Waiting
Satisfied with the condition of the fuselage, the restorer walked me through the mixing process again. He marked ratios on a paint cup, measured out the base paint using a metal ladle, and handed the metal cup to me with instructions to clean it in laquer thinner. He added the catalyst to the marked cup until it reached the correct line, and stirred the mixture thoroughly.
The instructions for this paint system require waiting thirty minutes before adding thinner for spray gun use.
While the restorer prepared the paint station and gun, I followed the procedure carefully. Base, catalyst, stir, and wait. Meanwhile, he cleaned the face shield on his mask, attached the filters, slipped into a white Tyvek suit, and arranged a small table and piece of cardboard inside the booth to test the spray pattern.
After the wait time passed, thinner was added, and the restorer estimated that three or four batches of paint would be needed for full coverage.
Painting Begins
When he asked, I immediately began preparing a second batch. Another thirty-minute timer started as the first batch was nearly ready. I watched him zip himself into the booth, pour paint through a filter into the gun, and test the spray pattern on the cardboard before starting on Mama’s Chief.
Soon, the silver tubes began turning a deep, dark green again. The restorer explained that a round tube has more surfaces than people realize. Rotating it does not always mean every area receives coverage on the first pass. I found myself wondering how my mother and her friends handled this same task decades ago. Our Aeronca friend and the restorer both mentioned that the primer we are using looks similar to what Aeronca used on the assembly line.
The restorer worked in a steady rhythm. He sprayed an area, hung the gun to one side, rotated the fuselage, and continued spraying.
Before long he popped his head out to ask how long until the next batch would be ready. I told him it would not be long. He nodded and asked me to have another batch ready not long after that one.
“No problem,” I said.
Two Hours in the Booth
I handed him the second batch, then the third. When I asked whether he wanted me to start another, he thought for a moment and said we might be fine with what we had.
While he painted, I cleaned up the mixing tools with lacquer thinner and kept an eye on the timer. The restorer had warned me that he would use more paint than expected when spraying tubes. It is nearly impossible to know how much will be needed until the paint is actually being applied.
Not long after, he stepped out and said he was finished.
From start to finish, painting took about two hours.
He set the gun down, stepped out of the booth, and removed his face mask. Sweat ran down his face and showed the effort that painting demands in a hot, enclosed space.
After the Paint
Cleanup began immediately. A lid was placed on the leftover mixed paint. We cleaned the spray gun and the surrounding area. The restorer pointed out a few small spots that would need another pass. Nothing major. These areas would be easier to see with fresh eyes later.
It had been a long session. He was tired, and honestly, I was too.
So much has happened in such a compressed period of time. Some days I am not sure where one day ends and the next begins. I am not the one doing most of the heavy work. Right now, making sure there is food, rest, and time to recover feels like my main contribution.
We will breathe again soon. We have accomplished so much, and more work still lies ahead. Taking time to breathe along the way is necessary. A marathon is not completed in one step. It is completed one steady step after another.