Hello all. I’ve hit a bit of a mental block. I can’t remember what sort of finish I should put on my modern jets. I know WW2 is matt, post 'Nam is gloss, but what about after that? All replies appreciated.
Erm, I think you got that sideways…[oops] WW2 is gloss or matt, depending on who, when, and where. The P-39, for example, was always painted in gloss. Post 'Nam is flat, mostly…
To the best of my knowledge, they were flat, in most of there color schemes.
As far as post-Vietnam the USAF was still using flat colors up into the late 1980s, and then there were some schemes that called for a semi-gloss. The only full gloss paint jobs I can thing of, are those aircraft used by VIPs.
Of course, there were some gloss gray birds used by the ANG (ie. F-4s, F-106s), but most combat ready squadrons that were to be deployed world-wide, wore a flat paint job.
See! Told you I had a mental blank. Thanks for the replies. Specifically I want to finish off my F-15 & 16, & so needed to refresh my memory whether to spray a semi-gloss or not. The gloss finish I took from our RAN references. Our A-4’s were in gloss colours.
From memory, the Aussie A-4G’s were initially finished in the “standard” USN Light Gull Grey (FS 16440) over Insignia White (FS 17875) scheme (both gloss finishes) - Late in the life cycle, they wore a blue-grey/grey camouflage scheme (not sure about the colour numbers), which appeared to be a semi-gloss in many of the photos that I’ve seen.
Leon, you’ve just saved me some embarassment with that question! [oops] I went back to my references so that I could give you specific information—and I can’t find it anywhere! Yet I remember taking particular note of it, because—if true—it would be unusual. I was so certain of this that a nearly complete P-39 is sitting on by bench with a nice semigloss finish, satin on the fabric. Now I have to apply a coat of flat [banghead]. Since this model is almost the only one I’ve completed in the last fifteen years, you can guess my chagrin and frustration.