Date:	3-7-2006
Number of Hours:	0.00
Brief Description:	Testing of ceramic paint additive - Part 1
So one of my little things I am testing for use on this aircraft is a attive for paint that makes it insulate. Basically it is a product from a company called Hy-tech Solutions. While their website and packaging screams SCAM, their data is backed up by NASA. So what is it? In a nutshell it is millions of tiny hollow ceramic balls that are the consistancy of talc. You mix it into your paint and viola, you have insulating paint. I bought a package that will convert about 5 gallons of paint. Because I'm not mixing up 5 gallons of paint I weighed it and came up with about 1.5oz per pint. This amount has a volume of about 1 1/2 cups so it will thicken your paints. I'm not going to take this stuff on face value so I am setiing up a little test. I made a small box out of 1/4" plywood scrap I had. In the bottom of this box I have put a socket for a lightbulb and ran the cord out of the removeable top. About half of the surface I have painted with some left over latex paint I have laying around, the other half will be painted with the same paint but with the additive. I will then use a non-contact thermometer to see how much heat from the lightbulb penetrates the different sides. If the stuff works, I will use it on the firewall and some other areas that are prone to heat such as the bottom of the aircraft near the exhausts.