Day 210

Today we got to do some painting. We painted the two hatch doors, the latch covers and the hinges for the doors. We also painted the 8 light bezel covers and two lenses back plates. Lastly we painted the top engine cowling cover. These were all the parts that would be solid red.

After everything is hung in the booth, everything gets cleaned and wiped down with a water based solvent. They are then tacked down with a cheese cloth to be sure there is as little dirt and dust as possible on the surfaces.

A coat of sealer is then sprayed on and allowed to cure for a minimum of an hour. This seal coat insures good adhesion to the various substrates.

After the sealer has had time to “flash” we then tacked everything off again and proceeded to spray two coats of our single stage red paint.

After it had had enough time to not leave any strings when touched, but still soft, we peeled the masking tape off. We did this while it was still soft so that it would leave a soft and clean edge. If you wait until it is fully dry, it tends to leave a harsher line, and can have a tendency to also want to peel back.

Inbetween waiting for flash times we worked today on getting the wings we previously primed, sanded. Using 320 grit sandpaper and a DA sander we worked the panels until they were properly sanded and perfectly smooth. We are very happy with how they have turned out. You almost cannot even pick out where the rivets were. The leading edges are exceptionally smooth.