Priming Wheels & Parts

Business has finally slowed enough to get back to the landing gear. All the parts are cleaned and the first coat of epoxy primer sprayed.

I found a nice little airbrush at Michael's craft store for $25. It is set up to work with expensive little air cans. With a piece of 1/8" tubing and a couple fittings I modified it to work with the air compressor or my little portable air tank.

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I cut off the can fitting at the end of the thin tube on the brush. Then I opened one end of the 1/8" tube, with the tube fitting I used on the other end, so I could slip the small tube into it. A little super clue and some heat shrink tubing over the joint and it is tight past the 50 psi limit for the brush. With a quick disconnect fitting on the 1/8" tube I can hook it up to any air source. It works very well with 30 psi at the regulator and about 6 ft. of tubing. It atomizes the primer very fine so you get a nice smooth coat. I mix the primer in an 8 oz. jar so it pours easily into the small jar on the brush. I put any extra in the freezer until the next coat can be sprayed. I found it takes about 2 months in the freezer before you see it even start to thicken so a couple days in the freezer slows the epoxy's reaction enough to save wasting much primer.