The viking.... wow, so i understand that if you have the older book for the polyfiber or ceconite covering systems you can shoot whichever PU top coat you want... it was less specific than now..
Anyway, I guess guys just didn't understand the long-term characteristics of imron when this plane was shot.... not a good match for a flexible substrate. Lots of cracking and lifting...
I bust the paint back to a reasonable anchor and stabilize the edges with super seam or p-tack, re-coat with plenty of dope or p-spray then I level it with flexible glazing putty. Some areas where there's damaged tape required oratex patches.
Lastly I prime it sand it and shoot, blending after I get full coverageover the patch. lots of fun..... not.
If you look closely you can see the halo on the soft edge transition, wet sanding through 3000 and a cut and but should bring it all together nicely.
These repairs aren't easily visible, from 5-10 feet... how long will they last ? Don't know, I've been doing it like this for close to 10 years and nothings come back.
The biggest issue here isn't the repair..... its the paint bond to the dacron substrate that won't last long, imron just keeps getting harder and the fabric just keeps flexing. The paint will inevitably fail in other places before it does on these repairs.
These kind of patches are like spinning plates on sticks, sooner or later you need to come to grips with the fact that your top coat bond is failing and you're going to have to recover the old gal. With labor alone on a full recover exceeding 30 amu, you may want to seriously consider selling after some touch up work if you don't love it enough to diy or pay someone to do it for you, pull the pin and pass it on.....lol
