To add to Fred=92s comment on the importance of interior finish prep.
Painting requires tedious prep for sure. Clean well and smooth as much
as you can while preparing yourself for some awkward sanding. For your
lungs sake, use a good respirator.
Let me emphasize that Zolotone or trunk paint is forgiving but will
scrape off with wear so a good polyurethane clear flat over the interior
adds wear resistance and is easier to clean. Heavy truck bed liner
paint wears well, but is heavier than fabric and some leathers.
As far as the doors go we paint the interior door the same color as the
exterior although it can be painted to match the interior.
Notes on interior weight.
Interior fabrics:
Pay attention to your seat cushions. I chose medium weight foam rather
than soft or memory foam. That=92s a personal choice. 2.5 pound medium
foam works for my 190 pounds.
I use 2 inch on the seat bottom and 1 inch for the seat back and a back
bolster of about another three inches total thickness on average at the
small of the back.
Cut the foam to size and sit in the seat for two hours minimum. I make
my upholsterer make the cushions to shape, add a small side bolster,
then I, or preferably the customer sits in the seat for a couple hours
(normally programming his instrument EFIS and Engine monitor) and get
feedback on what he needs before final sewing. Do not forget the back
cushion. The back cushion should include a proper sitting angle and
back lumbar support for the shape of your back. Both seat cushions
upholstered should not exceed 10 pounds.
Ready to install cushions are fine, however look at the weight. Oregon
Aero has very nice cushions but they are very heavy.
Leather is normally milled about 3/32 inch thick and a half a hide costs
$500. Half a hide will do the cushions and center console. Weight is
about 2.5 oz per square foot.
Upholstery fabric varies and is about the same weight if it has foam
bonded to it. I use tweed for the sides and tweed with leather accents
for the center and high wear areas.
I like a leather cushion as it is easier to slide in and out of the
aircraft.
Overhead fabric is a pain for anybody and adds the most time to the
project. Mine is a $90 a yard material and is very light. I got it for
a steal at $10 a yard. Most auto shops have a nice selection of vinyl
and or what is called =93Mouse Fur=94 fabric which is easy to work with
and fairly cheap at $3 a yard. Vinyl on the overhead tends to fall off
over time because the normal interior glues have trouble holding up the
weight. Mouse Fur is quite light and is easy to glue with proper
contact adhesives (3M 777 is pretty good).
Carpet is really heavy. I bought the lightest I could find. It weighs
about 1 pound per square yard. It is not high wear.
Total weight of my interior was about 20 pounds including the carpet,
seat bottom fabric coated and a complete baggage bay covering with
embroidery.
Both of my go to upholsterers have increased their prices to $90 per
hour and estimate about 200 hours to do the plane and actually take 250.
My last bid was $6000 for a leather and full custom upholstered
interior with embroidery (it used to cost $4000 max). (We do a seat
back embroidery if the customer wants it, but usually only do
EXPERIMENTAL across the D panel in the rear).
Make sure all your fabrics are cleanable. That is why I do not
embroider my seat back. Easier to clean and slide down.
Frankly the Europa-Aircraft tri gear interior kit price is pretty fair
at 1000 UK pounds or $1600 US for a sewn kit with embroidery on the
cushions. Then Zolatone the top and find someone to install it.
Shipping is a fairly high cost. Expect it to cost nearly $400 to pack
and ship.
An auto upholstery shop may bid the install cheap, because it looks
small, but they usually don=92t want to ever do one again. Spend time
with the upholsterer and visit often. You don=92t want to end up with a
screw or snap in your fuel tank. Its happened.
Just my thoughts,
Bud Yerly
From: Fred Klein
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: Europa-List: Interior finishing
On Dec 9, 2015, at 2:52 AM, Wladimir Kummer de Paula
<wladimirkummer@gmail.com> wrote:
I=B4m about to attach the top fuse but first considering do some
interior
finish work to the cockpit. In your opinion what would be the lightest
finish?
Wladimir=85I used a =93splatter paint=94 called Zolotone, sprayed on w/
an oversize needle in the gun. I found it to be a wonderful material
which blends easily. I also am happy to have sprayed the interior of the
top fuselage before bonding it to the lower fuselage, believing that
I=92ve saved myself a lot of awkward effort=85Good luck, Fred
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