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painting EDO Floats

Danielle

Registered User
Meadow Lakes / 29A
I was looking at a set of EDO 2000 floats to buy and noticed that they had been painted with silver paint. It looked very professional. They looked to be in excellent shape . No dings no dents all seams and rivits looked very tight . But I am worried why someone would have painted them?
Is it common? this will be my first set of floats so I am new at this. But I know someone who took the airplane on a three day trip and said they had no leaks . Any insight on why you would paint floats would be appreciated .
Danielle
 
They're all painted. You've never seen mill finish aluminum floats. The most common paint is silver float lacquer but some guys paint to match the airplane. Paint protects against corrosion and it makes the floats look good. There's nothing to fear. Appreciate that somebody did the work so you don't have to!
 
As long as it was done RIGHT. Look for blisters where water may have got trapped betwixt the paint & the 'luminum. Scratch any blisters & look for corrosion (white powder). I bought a set that had heavy black coating on the bottoms & had corrosion, had to strip & re-lacquer.
 
That sounds like good news, thanks for the response .

Tomorrow I ferry the airplane over to Wolf lake for the installation . Everyone thinks I am crazy putting floats on this late in the season, but I am itching to get over to my cabin for some R&R.
Danielle
 
so, what is it with still using lacquer paint on floats? seems there has to be more modern products that would have better adhesion and sealing properties.
 
To quote the man that get me into flying, a long time mechanic: Lacquer solves a myriad of imperfections!
 
Yep lacquer is still very good to fix scrach and better in water ,many polyurethane dont like water seen some pretty sad looking float that were peeled and corrosion under paint .
 
Lacquer is easy to apply and easy to touch up. Since the floats usually see wear from boots, docks, etc paint that's easy to touch up makes good sense. Float paint is a wear item.
 
I have seen original lacquer finish on floats, which were built in the 1930s, still in excellent condition.
 
Just a quick question , my floats do not have the regular float pump balls . I have a tube ( 3/4" or so ) that sticks up out of each compartment. What kind of float pump do I get to fit on that ??? any one have a picture of one?
Danielle
 
I have no idea what you're describing. When I bought my EDO 2000s they didn't have pump-outs. What a pain to have to remove compartment covers every flight. I added pump outs. Stoddard's stocks metal pump out cups and AIH has a very nice selection of precision hole saws. A very simple and fun project for a sunny afternoon. Avoid the plastic cups. They crack and let rain into the floats.
 
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Well my mechanic put her in the water this morning and told me she was good to go. So I called a local flight instructor just for comfort, and took her around the block so to speak . I made a half dozen take off and landings at local lakes and she performed excellent. I cant believe how fast it gets up on step compared to a cessna 180 . I think this airplane and me are going to get along.
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I think I need to fix the date on my camera, its just a little off. Danielle
 

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I'm looking for inspection guidelines for a pair of EDO 2000s. Extruded struts, balls in place for pump outs, but some peeling paint at interior bottoms and overall condition looks good. Publications out there somewhere? 1st exposure to floats for me.
 
My floats need repaint as well. What is the brand / type of lacquer most commonly used as well as (grey) anti-skid top deck paint (Baumann 2100's)?

Thank you,

Crash
 
One of the advantages of the Edo silver lacquer is that it is very thin and easy to spray. You can clean and touch up your floats each season without the build up that comes from using heavier paints. But it is not very resistant to rubs and scratches or gasoline spills. A lot of people feel that poly-urethane will not hold up in a water environment, but it is used on boats and motors and seems to be OK. Wipline used poly on my 2100s and I keep the plane docked a lot of the time. After two years the paint is still there.
 
One potential disadvantage of poly paints vs lacquer on floats is that the poly finishes are thick enough that some operators have seen corrosion that progressed UNDER the coating and was not easily detectable by visual inspection. I've actually seen this, but this was in a very corrosive environment.

Lacquer is a thin enough coating that the likelihood of corrosion being hidden by the paint is very low.

Frankly, I think if you're sticking to fresh water, and you do a REALLY good prep and get the poly stuck good, it'll be fine.

on the other hand, as others have noted, I've been around some lacquer covered floats where the paint lasted for a long time with little maintenance.

If I were painting EDO 2000s I'd probably use lacquer.

MTV
 
One potential disadvantage of poly paints vs lacquer on floats is that the poly finishes are thick enough that some operators have seen corrosion that progressed UNDER the coating and was not easily detectable by visual inspection. I've actually seen this, but this was in a very corrosive environment.

"Lacquer is a thin enough coating that the likelihood of corrosion being hidden by the paint is very low.

Frankly, I think if you're sticking to fresh water, and you do a REALLY good prep and get the poly stuck good, it'll be fine.

on the other hand, as others have noted, I've been around some lacquer covered floats where the paint lasted for a long time with little maintenance.

If I were painting EDO 2000s I'd probably use lacquer."

I agree. If I'd had a choice I would have gone with lacquer. Saw a new Husky on PK amphibs this summer and the floats appeared to be finished with alum. lacquer. Floats and finish looked very nice.
 
The answer to what type of paint is "it depends" on what environment the floats spend their time. I have seen brand new EDO floats, which have been moored in fresh water for their first season, have the paint lift off down to the bare aluminum along the water line. Above and below the water line there was no problem. They seemed to be better if they had a year or more of cure time.
 
Doesn't sound like the floats were properly cleaned and prepped. One thing about the poly that I do like is easier clean up of the scum line. Lacquer is 'softer' (less resistant). The poly is harder and glossier (more resistant), In either case I use a vegetable (soft bristle) brush on the chine rivits and it works pretty well. The amphibs give you a chance to clean the entire float any time you are out of the water. With straight floats, maintenance and clean up was usually done at the end of the season and by then removing algae, etc. could be a time consuming business. But don't wait until spring. The algae gets hard as a rock when it is out of the water and if you spray over it, the lacquer will pop off when the floats go back into the water. Also, watch out for some of the 'boat' soaps and boat cleaners. They can be very corrosive on aluminum.
 
My local former poly-fiber dealer who has a seaplane rental business told me float laquer as sold by p-f is nitrate dope with silver powder added. He conducted experiments with different paints and float laquer in the waters of Lake Champlain and found that most paints bubbled/lifted after a season in water and float laquer did not. PPG specifically does not recommend their urethanes for use under water. I suspect water chemistry would have a part in this so your experience may be different. Float laquer is easy to apply and repair and looks good. Why use anything else? Jim
 
Rob,
The floats, to which I refer, were new from EDO. And, It was not just one set, it was several sets over a period of several years. And to be fair, the same situation happened to other floats which had been repainted with Imron and other paints. There was apparently something which floated on the surface of the water which only attacked the paint at the water line. I suspect something to do with septic systems close to the shore in low ground. This was not as noticable to floats which had the paint cured for more than a year before sitting in the water for a season.
 
A likely cause and effect. As I used to kid one of the DuPonts, they had their motto backwards. It's not Chemistry in the Service of Mankind. More like mankind in the service of chemistry. I gave them one of my old bumper stickers that
said Give a Hoot And Don't Pollute. Never saw it again.
 
All Lund boats are painted with PPG concept... and mine sits in the water for about 5 months a year without it ever coming out (or moving at all as it was this year) and the paint is still as new. This has been 7 seasons in the water so far and I'd post a picture to show it if home and not sitting in a hospital nursing station.
 
For saltwater boats...

Really like the paint called Interlux Primocon for metal underwater priming. Very easy to coat aluminum and steel. Primocon is really low tech but, so is my 30 year old Kubota Diesel and would never change that.

Will be priming a 25,000 lbs steel boat at Keehi Marine center if anyone wants to help, let me know?

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For the majority of this past summer I was afforded the opportunity to have a PA-12 moored in front of my house. Getting used to the aircraft has been a joy and we are getting ready to do some winter maintenance on the Edo 2000’s, which will include paint. Last year while working at the Seaplane Base in Oshkosh I heard of a company called FloatSpeed that makes a silicone-epoxy paint. I understand they have applied their product on aluminum and fiberglass floats on aircraft such as PA-11,Citabria, Maule, C-206, and even on a Beech 18. Their website has piqued my interest, especially the application pdf’s which read like it is a very “user friendly” product. Has anyone had any experience with this product? It appears that their sister company ,Hullspeed, has been in the business of boat hull coatings for some time with excellent reviews, and I can only assume their success will spill over into the floatplane community. I’m a low time SES guy and you guys are experienced– what are your thoughts?
 
The guys at Island Bobs have been involved with FloatSpeed. We took the Citabria off floats 2 weeks ago and got talking about how it worked. Getting up on the step is same as before, but once on the step it accelerates quicker. It also lands a little longer settling into the water slower. Easier clean up getting the scum off.

Glenn
 
Sorry I have been out of the loop but it's now time to get moving on our floats. Cubdriver2 - where is Island Bob's located? What other aircraft/floats have they applied FloatSpeed to?
 
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