Cowling Paint
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- Hans
- 3 Diamonds Member
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- Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:25 am
- First Name: Hans Wiederkehr
- Aircraft Type: DA40
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Cowling Paint
I recently re-finished the inside of my cowling with Contego paint from Aircraft spruce and then used a reflective heat shield from Aircraft spruce to protect it from the engine heat. I only placed the heat shield right above the cylinders and near the mufflers...it works great. No bubbling and the outside of my cowling only gets warm now...I have taken the cowling off multiple times to check on adhesive but it holds great....it works much better than the "old system"....of heat resistant paint that flakes off.
- Chris B
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Re: Cowling Paint
Hi Hans -Hans wrote:I recently re-finished the inside of my cowling with Contego paint from Aircraft spruce and then used a reflective heat shield from Aircraft spruce to protect it from the engine heat.
Any pics? I would love to see this.
Chris
- dwurfel
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Re: Cowling Paint
Hans, did you happen to takes pics. I am going the contego rpute but and interested in the heat shield you applied. Did you apply the heat shield over the the old heat shield coating or did you scrape the old heat shield coating off then apply. I am thinking I would go with the contego first as I only have a small patch that is flaking. Thanks
- Roxi5m9
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Re: Cowling Paint
Hey guys, looks like this has been quiet for a while but hoping it revive it. The ceramic coating on my DA40 is flaking off badly and I’m told it needs to be fixed. I understand the paint from diamond is quite expensive, although on a good note my mechanic wants to use an adhesive shiny heat shield on top of the ceramic paint for better protection and longevity once he redoes the ceramic and clear protective coating. That said, what are you guys all doing to remedy this issue? Some of you have spoken of contego? Also, I’m not a stickler but just wondering if this is preventive maintenance? Of course would prefer to do it myself.
N597RA 40.444
‘04 DA40-180
ATP, CFI
5M9, Marion, KY
‘04 DA40-180
ATP, CFI
5M9, Marion, KY
- dwurfel
- 3 Diamonds Member
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- First Name: DAVID
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Re: Cowling Paint
Hi, I have used adhesive flexible aluminum fabric heat shields on various areas on my cowlings. Seems mostly on the lower cowling. Paint had flaked in a few area. On shut down from a flight I would run my hand along the cowling and look for hot spots. That is where I would cut and install the heat shield fabric. It has not affected cowling cooling whatsoever. I had bought some paint from another vendor, but this has been a better solution for my DA-40. Think I got the fabric from an auto parts dealer.
- Roxi5m9
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Re: Cowling Paint
Thanks David, Ill look around and see what I can find. My mechanic recommended getting some of that aluminum heat shield installed to protect the cowling until we could do the full restoration of the paint.
N597RA 40.444
‘04 DA40-180
ATP, CFI
5M9, Marion, KY
‘04 DA40-180
ATP, CFI
5M9, Marion, KY
- RMarkSampson
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Re: Cowling Paint
My recommendation, don't wait too long to deal with it. Less than four years ago I went with the Diamond solution. It looked really good and I though I had solved this problem for an extended period of time. Nope. As we all know, it does not last. Besides looking ratty, it also does not protect the cowling as well as you would think. This time I removed all the paint from the lower cowling with a pressure washer. I determined that the lower cowling was being damaged by heat and decided a better solution was needed. Attached picture of my lower cowling with all paint removed shows heat stress (dark areas) and a few spots where the inner composite lining was damaged.