How do I repaint aircraft liveries for flight simulators?

To repaint an aircraft livery, use the paint kit for the exact simulator, aircraft and variant; edit the layered artwork without disturbing its UV map or material channels; export textures in the original format; package them as a separate livery; then test every mapped part in the simulator.

This answer applies to flight simulators generally, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, FSX, Prepar3D and X-Plane. The painting principles are shared, but texture formats, folder structures and registration methods are not. A repaint changes the aircraft’s appearance; it does not change its model, systems or flight dynamics.

What do you need for an aviation repaint?

An aviation repaint needs the correct paint kit, a layer-capable image editor, suitable export tools and permission to use the source material.

• The exact aircraft variant: confirm the simulator, developer, aircraft release, fuselage length, engine type, wing configuration and passenger or cargo model. A mistake we see constantly is painting textures belonging to a similar-looking variant.
• A layered paint kit: a good kit separates base colours, panel lines, rivets, labels, shading, dirt, masks and the UV wireframe.
• An image editor: it must preserve layers, transparency, channels and the original pixel dimensions. Our guide to choosing repaint editors and texture-conversion tools explains the practical options.
• A working reference livery: use one made for the same aircraft to understand its filenames, folders, material maps and configuration structure.
• Developer instructions and permissions: access to a paint kit or texture does not automatically grant the right to modify or redistribute it.

What if there is no paint kit?

You can sometimes work from an existing diffuse or albedo texture if its licence permits modification, but a flattened texture lacks the masks and editable detail layers supplied in a proper kit. Keep panel lines and shading intact, and expect more trial-and-error around seams.

Do not paint directly over normal maps or packed metallic, roughness and occlusion textures. Do not extract encrypted or protected aircraft files. If the model mirrors both sides onto one texture area, a conventional texture repaint may also be unable to display readable text on both sides.

Can I make a repaint with no sign-in?

No sign-in is required by the repaint process itself when the paint kit, editor and textures are stored locally. Some editing applications, paint-kit downloads and licensed simulators may require their own accounts, but an online repaint service is not technically necessary.

You will still need legitimate access to the aircraft and simulator to test the result. Console editions can impose additional file-access restrictions, so local livery creation and loose-package testing are generally PC tasks.

How do you repaint an aircraft livery step by step?

1. Identify the precise target. Record the simulator, aircraft developer, model variant and aircraft release. An update can change a UV map, material definition or package structure, so an old paint kit is not automatically suitable.
2. Make an untouched backup. Duplicate the paint kit and any permitted reference files. Never use your only layered source file as the exported simulator texture.
3. Inspect the UV layout. Locate the fuselage, tail, wings, engines, doors, control surfaces, landing-gear doors and small components. If the kit has no guide, a temporary numbered checker pattern can help identify texture islands during testing.
4. Build the colour scheme non-destructively. Place colours, stripes and larger markings on separate layers beneath panel lines, rivets, shading and labels unless the kit says otherwise. Use masks instead of erasing original detail.
5. Align artwork across seams. Stripes crossing the nose, belly, fuselage joins or tail nearly always need correction after an in-simulator inspection. Texture islands may be rotated, stretched or split in unexpected places.
6. Check both sides independently. The starboard side may use a separate, rotated island or a mirrored copy of the port side. Never assume that copying artwork across the canvas will produce a matching result.
7. Preserve the material channels. Depending on the aircraft, alpha and packed PBR channels can control transparency, reflectivity, roughness, metal response or another material property. Change only the channel you understand.
8. Export a separate copy. Match the source texture’s dimensions, filename, colour treatment, compression family, alpha handling and mipmap behaviour. Renaming a PNG to DDS, or merely changing a filename extension, does not convert it.
9. Package the livery separately. Create a new texture folder or add-on package with unique titles and identifiers. Overwriting the base aircraft makes updates destructive and prevents clean removal.
10. Test the entire model. Inspect both sides, the upper and lower surfaces, engines, winglets, control surfaces and gear doors in bright light, low light and reflective conditions. Move close and far away so lower-detail models and mipmaps are also exercised.

How do I add letters, registrations and logos?

Add lettering on editable text or vector layers, position it with the UV wireframe, then rasterise only the exported copy. This keeps registrations sharp and lets you correct spacing, size and alignment without repainting the background.

If your requirement is simply I want the letters changed, the same mapping rules still apply. Registrations and airline names must be created separately for each side unless the model provides a decal system. On a mirrored UV map, ordinary text will read backwards on one side and there is no texture-only fix.

• Check whether the right-side texture island is rotated before placing letters.
• Keep text away from UV seams until its position has been tested on the model.
• Use transparent backgrounds rather than a painted rectangle around a logo.
• Do not increase the whole texture resolution unless the aircraft supports it; this can waste memory without improving the mapped detail.
• Confirm that you have permission to reproduce fonts, airline branding, fictional artwork and third-party logos before sharing the repaint.

Which texture format and folder structure should you use?

Use the format, filenames and folder pattern already used by that exact aircraft; choosing solely by simulator name is not reliable.

FSX painters can follow our worked example of exporting textures and registering a new repaint. Once the artwork is complete, use our simulator-by-simulator packaging and installation guidance for MSFS, FSX, Prepar3D and X-Plane.

How do I make an MSFS 2024 repaint for an aircraft?

An MSFS 2024 repaint must target the exact MSFS 2024 aircraft model and be built as a compatible livery package rather than treated as a renamed MSFS 2020 repaint.

• Start with a 2024-compatible template. Do not assume that an MSFS 2020 paint kit, texture layout or package will work with the equivalent aircraft in MSFS 2024.
• Respect streamed and protected content. Some supplied or marketplace aircraft do not expose editable source textures. Use an authorised paint kit or developer-supported livery method instead of extracting protected files.
• Keep package metadata synchronised. A stale layout.json can prevent a changed or newly added texture from loading. Use the supported package-building process where one is provided.
• Use unique package names. Two repaints sharing package identities or internal livery identifiers can conflict, disappear from the selector or override one another.
• Account for platform restrictions. MSFS 2024 is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro, but PC-style Community-folder access is not exposed on consoles. Creating and manually installing an arbitrary loose repaint package therefore normally requires the PC edition.

Why is my repaint white, mirrored or missing?

White, invisible or distorted repaints usually come from incorrect paths, configuration, export settings or material channels rather than from the painted design itself.

Can you share or upload the finished repaint?

You may distribute a repaint only when the aircraft licence, paint-kit terms and third-party artwork permissions allow it.

• Include only the livery textures, configuration and package files that the aircraft licence permits you to redistribute.
• State the required simulator, aircraft developer, aircraft variant and compatible release clearly.
• Use unique livery titles and package identifiers so installation does not overwrite another repaint.
• Supply concise installation and removal instructions, including any required base aircraft.
• Credit required contributors, but remember that credit does not replace permission.
• Never bundle a complete payware aircraft, protected model, gauges, systems code or unrelated original textures with the repaint.