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I picked up the plane from the painter this week. It took about 20 hours; 2 very long days to get the plane back together after painting. Tony Dias of Advanced Aircraft Painting did the job and although it was a good job it was not a great job. I would call it a utilitarian paint job that should hold up against the elements, but not a show finish to win awards. The paint job took them about 6 week’s altogether.

Here is what I liked:
- I really liked the special very fine calking around the canopy. It keeps the paint from peeling and looks very professional
- The paint and the colors where exactly how I envisioned them, really pretty in person, especially the deep metallic red and the gold
- Tony did a good job on the tail and captured my drawings and scale

What I didn't like:
- Too much paint in too many areas, the metallic needs clear coat and it add too much paint weight
- The paint job weighed too much, almost 25 pounds, I was hoping for less than 20
- The lines down the side were about 3" lower than on my drawing,

If I had to do it again, I think I would not use metallic’s, and look at the lines before they paint the trim.

The plane has performed really well and I am truly happy with the performance, Vans kit and my workmanship. I'm looking forward to many years of service and maybe building another plane to keep me out of trouble.

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