NASA uses a lot of masking tape just like us!

[mjennings]

Ran across these pictures of the worm logo getting painted on SLS SRBs. Very familiar looking just at a much bigger scale!

 

[Huxter]

Looks like Froggy tape - good choice NASA!

 

[tsmith1315]

Hmm… So I really could work on rockets at NASA!!!

 

[Hobie1dog]

I would have never imagined putting paint on a rocket with a roller.

 

[OverTheTop]

I would have never imagined putting paint on a rocket with a roller.

You need to build bigger rockets .

 

[MClark]

I would have never imagined putting paint on a rocket with a roller.

In 80’s I worked at DyneAir Tech and we painted planes. New MD-80s and FedEx DC-10s after D checks.
Small areas such as N numbers were painted with a roller so the whole plane doesn’t need to be masked. It is special paint and rollers. Done right there are no streaks like a brush leaves. The paint would flow out smooth but not sag.
Painters said Air Canada was one of the first to paint the whole airplane, one reason is to reduce air pollution.

 

[OverTheTop]

Bigger rockets are also easier to wire up.

 

[Azamiryou]

Painters said Air Canada was one of the first to paint the whole airplane, one reason is to reduce air pollution.

How does painting an aircraft reduce pollution?

 

[cerving]

Bigger rockets are also easier to wire up.
View attachment 632076

LOL, that's what I tell people when they say that they want to make a 38mm rocket their first dual-deploy or two-stager...

 

[MClark]

How does painting an aircraft reduce pollution?

Solvents from paint and over spray in air.
Today there are better paints.

 

[cerving]

If they're using Frog Tape it's probably water-based paint. It's not like it has to last very long anyway...

 

[Azamiryou]

Solvents from paint and over spray in air.
Today there are better paints.

Sounds like painting the airplane should increase pollution then. It also increases pollution by adding weight, requiring more fuel.

I guess I misunderstood your post — it reads to me that they painted the whole thing to reduce pollution, and that doesn't make sense.

 

[MClark]

Sounds like painting the airplane should increase pollution then. It also increases pollution by adding weight, requiring more fuel.

I guess I misunderstood your post — it reads to me that they painted the whole thing to reduce pollution, and that doesn't make sense.

The plane was going to be painted by some method.
Using the paint formulated to be applied with a roller reduces the solvents required for spray painting.

 

[lakeroadster]

Sounds like painting the airplane should increase pollution then. It also increases pollution by adding weight, requiring more fuel.

I guess I misunderstood your post — it reads to me that they painted the whole thing to reduce pollution, and that doesn't make sense.

​

The paint reduces drag, the airplane uses less fuel (better mpg) thus pollution is reduced.​

​

EasyJet Coats Airplanes With Ultra Thin Paint To Reduce Fuel Consumption​

​

The plane was going to be painted by some method.

To save fuel, should planes fly unpainted? Here’s the surprising answer​

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​

 

[Zeus-cat]

The U.S. Army quit painting planes late in WWII for several reasons. One of them was to decrease weight. Painting a bomber adds weight that could be used for fuel or bombs. Also, a B-17 cruises at around 150 mph; painting it isn't going to get you much improvement in drag for the weight of the paint. And camouflage paint jobs really only help bombers when on the ground or at low level. And painting a B-17 takes a lot of time and paint.

We've all seen the movies where large bomber formations are seen at high altitudes. You see the contrails well before you see the planes. Also, military aircraft were painted with matte finishes which would not help you aerodynamically.

And late in the war they didn't need to hide planes. It was more of a we're here, come on up and play because we're going to win!

The P-51 above is highly polished to reduce drag; no need for paint. And it takes a long time to polish an airplane to that level. We polished our B-17 tail to get it like that for painting the squadron markings. We used three different grits polishing paste to get it to shine like that. What a pain.

And aircraft paint can be nasty stuff. They wouldn't let anyone in the building during painting or for a full day afterwards.

 

[rharshberger]

I would have never imagined putting paint on a rocket with a roller.

Its definitely more than a 10ft paint job.....

 

[modeltrains]

Also, military aircraft were painted with matte finishes which would not help you aerodynamically.

That brings to mind a 1970s article titled "Augsburg Eagle" in one of the aircraft magazines Dad got in the 1970s which mentioned the matte paint done to historical specs on a BF-109 someone, the Smithsonian?, was restoring. If anything touched the applied and cured paint it would leave a mark where the matte surface had been smoothed by the pressure of that touch.

 

[SolarYellow]

I once saw a car that had been custom painted flat/matte black in Germany. Visitors were admonished that touching it would leave fingerprints that could not be removed. Seemed kinda silly, but people who have the kind of money that owner had can do silly things.