For repainting FS2k2 or 2k4 aircraft, you will need DXTBmp to convert the textures.

They consist of a regular texture (the colors you see in FS) and the alpha channel (the reflection that goes with the textures).

The alpha channel goes from 0,0,0 black (mirror reflection) to 255,255,255 white (no reflection) and anywhere in between.  DXTBmp combines the regular textures and the alpha textures into a single DXT3 image and that's what FS will use.

I tend to use 128,128,128 for bare metal textures.  192,192,192 for painted textures and 225,225,225 for non-reflective surfaces.

You must at least find DXTBmp, which is freeware.

I would also recommend a good image editor such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.  You can get these as free trial versions, or you can find other paint programs for free.  In a pinch you can use MS Paint, but I wouldn't recommend it . . .

sweeyt