Dec 16, 2021     Prep for paint - (3 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

  Jan 04, 2020     Side window painting - (1.7 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

Using sandpaper and the angle grinder with the steel brush attachment, I cleaned up the left side window area and primed it with a self etching primer followed by the white top coat.

  Jan 03, 2020     Tailpost paint - (2 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

  Nov 07, 2019     Cleaning up - (1.5 hours) Category: Paint / Decals

Today I finally took down the paint booth which felt great. I also deburred the holes in the wing straps drilled yesterday.

I made some measurements to begin designing a cargo pod. The forward part will be clamped to the cross tube that the gear struts attach to (34"" apart). The rear will bolt to the fuselage float fittings, 53"" aft of the front tube and also 34"" apart.

  Nov 06, 2019     Finish painting fuselage, drill wing strap fittings - (2 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

I finished spray painting the fuselage but expect to find touch-up areas down the road, which is the beauty of rattle can top coat.

I also contrived a drill bit extension that will work both for reamers and their slightly undersized bits. I tested it on the wing strap fittings and it works great so long as there are two hose clamps and they are tight. I will need to have extra clamps on wing fitting day just in case I strip one.

  Nov 05, 2019     Top coat fuselage - (2 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

I cleaned the fuselage frame with C-2210 and started spraying a top coat of rattle can paint. I decided on this produce because 1) I have used it elsewhere with very good results, 2) it's relatively cheap, and 3) it's very quick and easy to do touch ups with rattle can paint.

  Nov 04, 2019     Fuselage scuff and paint prep - (2 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

I completed scuffing the fuselage in preparation for painting. I also turned the fan around so it will blow filtered air into the paint booth (where the wings are) from outside. Hopefully this will pressurize the paint booth enough to keep the fuselage overspray from getting in there.

  Nov 03, 2019     Prep for fuselage paint - (1.5 hours) Category: Paint / Decals

Continued organizing shop and scuffing fuse for top coat. Today I realized the flap cable coming off the lever touches the gear strut fitting in the full up and full down position. I'll have to figure that one out.

  Nov 02, 2019     Prep for fuselage paint - (2 hours) Category: Paint / Decals

I cleaned up shop and moved things I side the paint booth. Now, the outside of the paint booth is the new paint booth and everything inside is going to be protected from overspray.

  Oct 31, 2019     Second color coat - (4 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

I decided to apply a second top coat to the wings for a couple of reasons. First, there were a couple flaws that I wanted to fix and paint over. Second, I could still see some discontinuity through the top coat from the uneven primer beneath. Yesterday's coats were not tacky, but they were very soft so based on my conversation with the rep the new coat should chemically bond to the old. After I mixed a new batch of paint, I went around with a tack cloth and wiped down some places were dust had settled into the first coat and another place where I bumped into it with my rear end yesterday. I was able to make everything very smooth so today's coat went down beautifully.

I really like Polyfiber Mark II. It can go down reasonably heavy without runs, and it becomes very smooth as it dries. Places where I saw the paint go down a bit rough yesterday were like glass today. I used a relatively cheap paint gun (Husky brand HVLP from Home Depot.

After I finished, my wife made me burn my clothes.

  Oct 30, 2019     Color coat on wings - (5 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

Used Polyfibers Mark II top coat over the primed wings. Color was matched to Oratex yellow. Very easy to apply. Also sprayed it on inspection hole covers, fuel tank covers, and aileron hinge covers.