After seeing the previous Malibu we corrected and coated, the owner of this Malibu Meridian Turbo Prop, was interested in getting his aircraft corrected and coated in Opti Coat Pro Plus as well.
The paint appeared to be mostly original on this 2001 PA-46 and despite the excellent care it had received, over time, thousands of micro abrasions had left the paint dull. A light correction step boosted gloss, which was most noticeable on the dark metallic gray areas.
The underside of the elevator had some very persistent staining from the turbo prop emissions. Taking care not to strip the paint off the elevated rivets we carefully removed most of it.
Another 50/50 area, showing the huge difference removing the most minute amount of oxidized paint makes.
We never promise 100% perfection, to do so would require a greater amount of paint to be removed, subjecting the aluminum skin to unnecessary heat and pressure. When done properly, paint correction is perfectly safe. This safety margin means that sometimes, deeper scratches are left behind. As is visible on the belly.
However, the increase in gloss, far outweighs the small amount of deeper scratches left behind.
Lot of belly pictures – the dark metallic gray responded quite well to the correction.
One panel at a time.
Since the gloss is not immediately noticeable on white, we can use the gloss meter to help paint the picture:
Following paint, the spinner got a little attention as well:
After we were done making a mess with polishing, the whole plane got carefully wiped down with a special panel prep, ensuring all polishing oils were removed.
We started with a thick coat of Opti Coat Pro, here you can see the coating as it is flashing, binding to the paint and starting to cross link with itself. Any highspots are gently wiped down with a microfiber towel.
Between 30 and 60 minutes after Opti Coat Pro, Opti Coat Pro Plus is applied to further enhance the coating’s repellency, gloss, and slickness.
The ceramic exhaust stacks were also coated as an experiment. We are curious to see how Opti Coat holds up to the extreme temperatures these tips are exposed to.
After 30+ hours of paint correction, and nearly 6 hours of coating, this Meridian is done!
