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My RV7 Evoke Paint job!

Very nice. The Evoke designers are great. They turned my nice idea into a professional and unique design. Can’t wait for Cascade Customs & Design to make it a reality.
 
What do such paint jobs cost these days? After painting three airplanes myself I’m looking at new options.

Carl

There are definitely cheaper paint shops out there, but I will say you get what you pay for! Evoke is the best!
 
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There are definitely cheaper paint shops out there, but I will say you get what you pay for! Evoke is the best!

Your airplane looks fabulous!

Judging (pun intended) by the number of awards received at SNF and OSH for airplanes designed and/or completed by Evoke, there isn't anyone close.

RV-10 Signature Series paint starts at $32,900. Worth every penny.
 
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SNIP
RV-10 Signature Series paint starts at $32,900. Worth every penny.

It looks like I’ll be cleaning out the hangar paint booth and doing one more plane myself. Even with high end PPG urethane base and clear coat the last plane (just at two years ago) material cost me ~$5K retail. $30K+ is just way too much for this poor working slob.

Carl
 
This just goes to show youall , experimental has been taken over by big money, just like rest of sports ! ( former big block injected modified racers builder )
 
Evoke design

I had Evoke create a design based on a simple example I gave them and it turned out great. They gave me a paint slot of 8/24. That said my plan is to have a local pro paint my airplane in parts using evoke stencils. Just another option to avoid the high cost of painting with evoke and the wait.

Dave
 
Well, what can I say. Prices have gone up on just about everything these days. Some people choose to spend $40k or more on their panel. Or take a shortcut with quick build. I did the slow build, modest panel, and chose to put that money towards a high quality paint job. The beauty of it is we all get to decide for ourselves.
 
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You won't regret it!

Well, what can I say. Prices have gone up on just about everything these days. Some people choose to spend $40k or more on their panel. Or take a shortcut with quick build. I did the slow build, modest panel, and chose to put that money towards a high quality paint job. The beauty of it is we all get to decide for ourselves.

Steve,

I am amazed at the self-appointed arbiters of what is an appropriate amount to spend on a paint job. When I checked a few minutes ago, there were 155+ airplanes on the Evoke Signature Series queue (mine included) - so clearly there is an incredible demand for Jonathan's product and level of quality.

He did my RV-7A 4 years ago and I still get a huge grin every time I walk by the plane. I expect you will do the same for many years. What I used to think might be disdain for those of us who don't do our own paint and go to someone like Jonathan is probably something else. Don't let them get to you.
 
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I just spent almost 3 months of prepping, sanding, priming, sanding again, and more sanding, and some painting before I finished the painting of all the major exterior surfaces of my RV8. The paint quality, at most, decent DIY but I didn't pay that much for paint, in the range of less than $2000. It took me more time to paint than to finish building the empenage.

I didn't realize that having more than one color will add a tremendous amount of time and work in the prep process. If you have the money in your retirement account, go the professional route because the first thing a buyer, or a Lindy judge will look at is the paint job. I am convince a RV cannot win a Lindy with a DIY paint job unless the DIY guy is also a professional painter and has a professional painting setup. I've seen a moderately priced RV8 that had excellent builder quality but it had a DIY paint job. I also saw a top priced professionally painted RV8 that had ok build quality like a mismatch front baggage door lines, and other stuff that only a RV8 builder can spot.
 
I have always admired Vlad’s choice, and bold plane usage.
Cal

$30K buys a lot of AV Gas. Bare bones may be the answer.

OPs paint job is really nice, even if way outside my budget.

At the same time, one of my favorite things about flying an unpainted airplane to flyins for the past 10 years is that it seems to attract builders or prospective builders who want to talk about the building process. I really enjoy that. Just wish I had the same skill set, and could fly as much, as Vlad!

Again, tho, nice paint job!
 
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Your airplane looks fabulous!

Judging (pun intended) by the number of awards received at SNF and OSH for airplanes designed and/or completed by Evoke, there isn't anyone close.

RV-10 Signature Series paint starts at $32,900. Worth every penny.

LOL! Maybe so if you have $32,900 sitting around.
 
No judgement zone

Well, what can I say. Prices have gone up on just about everything these days. Some people choose to spend $40k or more on their panel. Or take a shortcut with quick build. I did the slow build, modest panel, and chose to put that money towards a high quality paint job. The beauty of it is we all get to decide for ourselves.


Steve,

No judging here just pointing out another option for those that may not want to go that route. The beautiful part about building your own airplane is that you can modify or not at your pleasure, paint included. Your airplane is spectacular and if I am able to get mine even close to that would make my day. Enjoy your finished product and happy flying.

Cheers
Dave
 
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I am amazed at the self-appointed arbiters of what is an appropriate amount to spend on a paint job. When I checked a few minutes ago, there were 155+ airplanes on the Evoke Signature Series queue (mine included) - so clearly there is an incredible demand for Jonathan's product and level of quality.

What I used to think might be disdain for those of us who don't do our own paint and go to someone like Jonathan is probably something else. Don't let them get to you.
It’s not disdain and no one is arbiting an appropriate price for a paint job; it’s just pure sticker shock. While the quality may be fantastic and it’s great that he has dudes lined up to throw money at him, methinks the majority of builders can’t justify spending that kind of coin for paint. I certainly couldn’t or wouldn’t spend that much… I just don’t feel the need for 35000 bucks worth of paint on my simple RV-8.
 
Paint

Gorgeous. If someone has the budget, that's a beauty. Probably win a Lindy.
I just bought two full rolls of vinyl for mine. She will sport two colors for a while till I add some accents. Fiberglass is all black. Vinyl on aluminum. Total cost less then $2K and I can change colors later.
 
If I am spending $30-33k on a paint job, I certainly would expect more than what I saw in their booth at Oshkosh this year. Their pain job was certainly great but not matching the price tag.
For that much money, and perhaps even less, I would go with John Stahr for sure.
 
Well, this thread is surely reason enough for me forego a celebratory post here when I get my plane back from paint next summer. :rolleyes:

I priced my 4-color design at multiple shops and they all came back expensive, including some more costly than discussed here. DIY was considered (after a 5-year slowbuild, and 10 years flying unpainted making slow upgrades) but the facilities and time available to me mean having it done by a shop is the logical choice.

Steve, your bird looks great, enjoy it!
 
Ya'll cut it out. Steve has a beautiful airplane, and nobody is knocking his choice. It's just that it's kinda amazing to see how popular that particular choice has become.
 
Thank you all for the kind words and compliments! It turned out even better than I had hoped, and I have no regrets. See you next year at OSH!
 
Stunning paint job. Having painted one RV, a pedal plane and several custom bikes, I understand the cost. You need a very large compressor, downdraft paint booth, and proper gun setup. Once all of that is in place you’ll need to shoot about 100 square yards to perfect your technique. Another data point…a custom bicycle paint job is running $1200 these days. Crazy times.
 
Yes, what a beautiful paint job. A guy at my airport has an Evoke paint job, and it is stunning. A cool paint job sells airplanes - at least for a while. If you’re not planning on selling your bird, the paint scheme isn’t as important. You might want a quality paint job to protect the metal and fiberglass, but the actual paint scheme application becomes less important if your goal isn’t resale. I’ll keep this one simple after I finish phase 1.
 
I think the paint job looks great. I also think the criticism of it could be unwise.

Doesn't a new, spectacular paint job-at least to some degree- raise the value of his plane? I guess you could argue he didn't get a good value but I think that is his business.

If I was him I would get a lot of personal satisfaction and pride of ownership from the paint job.

Isn't everything we do to a plane either done to increase the value, make it safer, or increase our pride of ownership?

The beauty of experimental class is the freedom to do more of whatever we want to our planes.

I applaud the upgrade and in fact encourage upgrades of all types in that to some degree it also increases the value of the fleet.
 
Steve, such a beautiful paint job. And you will be looking at that awesome paint job and smiling for the next 20 plus years!
 
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Where HAVE all the builders gone?

Steve, your plane is beautiful!!! Congratulations and great job and getting it across the finish line. You did a super job!

Now for some venting......

I'm always amazed at some of the reactions to those of us that paid the price to have Jonathan paint our planes. I got the same type of reactions after winning Reserve Grand Champion at Sun N Fun in 2021. I was super proud of my plane, yet the response to my award on this forum was the accusation that I wasn't a "real builder" because I paid such big money to have someone else build my plane. As if painting the plane is the only test of whether or not you're a "real builder".

If paying a vendor to complete some portion of your plane makes you less of a builder, I'm curious, where is the line drawn? Do you need to stitch your own leather in the interior? Do you need to machine your own pistons and build your own engine from scratch? Does buying an interior accessory from Aerosport Products disqualify you? Heck, for that reason, does buying a Van's kit disqualify you? After all, can't you buy aircraft aluminum and cut and shape and drill your own holes for a lot less money? Wouldn't that make you a "real builder"?

We all choose different paths to complete our planes. But paying a quality vendor premium dollars to complete the paint does not disqualify anyone from the title of "builder".

Again, congratulations Steve!!! You're plane looks awesome and you deserve our admiration as a true "builder"!
 
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Steve, your plane is beautiful!!! Congratulations and great job and getting it across the finish line. You did a super job!

Now for some venting......

I'm always amazed at some of the reactions to those of us that paid the price to have Jonathan paint our planes. I got the same type of reactions after winning Reserve Grand Champion at Sun N Fun in 2021. I was super proud of my plane, yet the response to my award on this forum was the accusation that I wasn't a "real builder" because I paid such big money to have someone else build my plane. As if painting the plane is the only test of whether or not you're a "real builder".

If paying a vendor to complete some portion of your plane makes you less of a builder, I'm curious, where is the line drawn? Do you need to stitch your own leather in the interior? Do you need to machine your own pistons and build your own engine from scratch? Does buying an interior accessory from Aerosport Products disqualify you? Heck, for that reason, does buying a Van's kit disqualify you? After all, can't you buy aircraft aluminum and cut and shape and drill your own holes for a lot less money? Wouldn't that make you a "real builder"?

We all choose different paths to complete our planes. But paying a quality vendor premium dollars to complete the paint does not disqualify anyone from the title of "builder".

Again, congratulations Steve!!! You're plane looks awesome and you deserve our admiration as a true "builder"!


Agree. Lots of "sour grapes" speaking out here...
 
A middle ground...

Just one bubba's opinion here. My paint job has cost me 5.5k so far. Half of that to Stewart Systems and half to the A&P friend who loaned me his turbine gun and many, many hours of his labor and expertise. The cost continues to climb as I prop up the price of 3M stock during the endless cut and buff.

We were warned by Stewart that results with warm air turbines had not been up to par with standard guns. I made a tactical decision (I would now call it a blunder) to use what was at hand rather than popping for a new compressor, regulator, dryer, and high end gun. Is the result fixable? In most places, yes. Do I regret the decision to use the free turbine equipment? Hard "yes." But as a fellow who built his plane to fly, and facing the pensioner's life by next year, I do not regret limiting my painting expense to four figures. It's adequate - and it shows when you get within ten feet :D

I fully understand why many of us who are financially able decide to have a pro apply the "face" to their pride and joy. The returns are obvious on the flight line.

I knew when I decided not to forge my own crankshaft and lathe my own pistons that I would have to paint it myself or be chased out of the fraternity. So I have that going for me, which is nice.
 
We all choose different paths to complete our planes. But paying a quality vendor premium dollars to complete the paint does not disqualify anyone from the title of "builder".

An old debate.

In the not distant past, most homebuilders would have sided against any sort of pro-built participation in aircraft judging, the exception being warbirds. Twenty years ago I recall a phone conversation with senior authority regarding how we should handle the issue at regional fly-ins. At the time, the view was shifting, due to an avalanche of builder assistance. It's now accepted practice, and in truth, it has been very good for the community.

So no, in this new age, the purchase of services does not disqualify. But my friend, please remember, those who do everything themselves may quite rightly take considerable pride in their hard-earned results. It's not unreasonable to express that pride, so please don't take offense.
 

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Steve, your plane is beautiful!!! Congratulations and great job and getting it across the finish line. You did a super job!

Now for some venting......

I'm always amazed at some of the reactions to those of us that paid the price to have Jonathan paint our planes. I got the same type of reactions after winning Reserve Grand Champion at Sun N Fun in 2021. I was super proud of my plane, yet the response to my award on this forum was the accusation that I wasn't a "real builder" because I paid such big money to have someone else build my plane. As if painting the plane is the only test of whether or not you're a "real builder".

If paying a vendor to complete some portion of your plane makes you less of a builder, I'm curious, where is the line drawn? Do you need to stitch your own leather in the interior? Do you need to machine your own pistons and build your own engine from scratch? Does buying an interior accessory from Aerosport Products disqualify you? Heck, for that reason, does buying a Van's kit disqualify you? After all, can't you buy aircraft aluminum and cut and shape and drill your own holes for a lot less money? Wouldn't that make you a "real builder"?

We all choose different paths to complete our planes. But paying a quality vendor premium dollars to complete the paint does not disqualify anyone from the title of "builder".

Again, congratulations Steve!!! You're plane looks awesome and you deserve our admiration as a true "builder"!


Thank you Randy, and everyone for the compliments!

I respect everyone’s opinion and took no offense to the criticism. It’s all good. Someone mentioned personal pride and satisfaction, and that is exactly what it boils down to for me. I took a lot of personal pride in my workmanship and didn’t want that to get lost in a mediocre paint job. Not that I need to explain that to anyone. But it was an easy decision going with Jonathan and I couldn’t be happier. Perhaps even more importantly, my wife is happy too!:)
 
Judging

An old debate.

In the not distant past, most homebuilders would have sided against any sort of pro-built participation in aircraft judging, the exception being warbirds. Twenty years ago I recall a phone conversation with senior authority regarding how we should handle the issue at regional fly-ins. At the time, the view was shifting, due to an avalanche of builder assistance. It's now accepted practice, and in truth, it has been very good for the community.

So no, in this new age, the purchase of services does not disqualify. But my friend, please remember, those who do everything themselves may quite rightly take considerable pride in their hard-earned results. It's not unreasonable to express that pride, so please don't take offense.

I love to admire those airplanes and wish I had the bank account for a professional paint job that beautiful.

That said, Dan brought up a point I was curious about.

How do the judges evaluate amateur builder vs pro work?
What if a super well built airplane doesn't have a fancy pro paint job or any pro builder assist? Doesn't it deserve recognition. Isn't that what it's about?
I'm just wondering how they judge one against the other.

I've been told my Lucy is excellent workmanship, by several Technical Counselors, but I am not giving her a killer paint job nor can I afford to pay anyone else to do it.
I better think twice about having Lucy judged. Her feelings might be hurt. :D
 
Hey Larry

Dan H shows that mere mortals can do great paint work (though I think he has some professional background in the area). I would agree that they should give points for a home-built painter. Dan H might know the politics of it. With the price increases in kits, engines and avionics, it sure takes a lot of skimping to keep things affordable for most of us. 😊🛫. A 180,000$ kitplane is beyond most of us.
 
How do the judges evaluate amateur builder vs pro work?
What if a super well built airplane doesn't have a fancy pro paint job or any pro builder assist? Doesn't it deserve recognition. Isn't that what it's about?
I'm just wondering how they judge one against the other.

Why speculate? You can read the EAA judging manual for yourself:

https://www.eaa.org/airventure/eaa-...~/media/3af9f4ae6ae940949b7cfbfcbd953322.ashx

Truth is, once you read it, you might still wonder about how some of the standards are applied, because there is always room for interpretation.

I’d also suggest that a discussion on EAA judging standards belongs on the EAA boards (DR’s rules), and probably not on a thread started by a fellow who simply wanted to show a fabulous paint job….

Paul
 
Half dozen years ago my son and I were talking about me buying a new $50,000.00 high cube van for working out of.
I'm since retired.
I was balking at the cost and spending the money.
He goes::: Well either you buy the van and enjoy it or you're going to end up just giving it to me. (When I die of course)
Guess what??? I have a new van, and a new car and another new car, and another almost new Nissan 370Z for tooling around in.
My luck is better than yours. Maybe cause I worked harder. Who knows.

I say, WooHoo!!!! get the paint job you want. You only get to live once.
Oh ya I will be painting my next airplane cause I like painting
Art
 
How do the judges evaluate amateur builder vs pro work?
What if a super well built airplane doesn't have a fancy pro paint job or any pro builder assist? Doesn't it deserve recognition. Isn't that what it's about?
I'm just wondering how they judge one against the other.

:D

There is a recent EAA webinar about judging at Air Venture. The judges no longer ask because planes can be judged while you are not present at the airplane. If the builder present the proof of his/her/couple hard work, all is good. But the judges don't ask, and they don't want to be the arbiter to the level of construction. My opinion is pro-help is better for safety and I wish the FAA allows for it. From my memory of the recent EAA Lindy, the only notable truly builders are the Falco that was built from plans, the miniature B17, and the Breezy. All these builders didn't win any grand prize. Paint quality is an important judging criteria, along with leather interior, and impressive instrument panel.
 
Abwaldai comment observation

For us guys not working anymore or raising kids, it is not conspicuous consumption to spend your money. I have never seen a brinks truck in a funeral procession ! It has no value where you are going.
 
...please remember, those who do everything themselves may quite rightly take considerable pride in their hard-earned results. It's not unreasonable to express that pride, so please don't take offense.

I can't agree with you more. Dan, I am a huge admirer of you (and others) on this forum. Your knowledge, experience and intelligence FAR EXCEED mine and your insights have helped me immensely during the build as it does today owning and maintaining my RV. I am not offended when a builder with superior skills expresses pride in what they have done. I actually applaud and celebrate that fact right along with them!

My only request for those that are superior in skill and knowledge, is that they not take away another (less capable) builders pride in what they were able to accomplish with limited skills. After 4 years of riveting every rivet, sanding fiberglass for 100's of hours to get body lines just right, or spending numerous hours making sure the control surfaces line up exactly with flaps and wingtips across both sides when neutral, I (and others like me) also take great pride in calling ourselves a "builder". Some posts (not yours) suggest you're not "real builder" if you didn't paint it. Many of us are not "painters", but we are still very proud to call ourselves builders.
 
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