It was good weather today so the aircraft was tipped on its nose once more to spray the underside with the white EkoPoly topcoat. The paint has gone on pretty well with no runs or other serious blemishes. However the edges of the finishing tapes are very obvious. Before I do any more painting I'm going to have to make sure these are really stuck down and lie as flat as possible. However, this sort of learning experience is one of the advantages of doing the bottom first. This is not a view that is going to be routinely seen!
While the paint was drying I made a start fibre-glassing the cowl and airbox with the vinyl-ester resin that arrived this morning. Pictures of this tomorrow. Once the paint was properly dry the brake master cylinders were installed on their pivot and the front lower skin was positioned and clecoed and screwed into place. The fitting to the rear left of the skin is the fuel tank breather inlet and there is a hole to the rear right which will take the transponder antenna. I'm not fitting this yet as they are very vunerable and there is a high likelyhood I would break it off before ever flying. In order to fit this later I've drilled a 1" access hole in the inner front floor which will be filled with a rubber bung but will allow the transponder antenna to be installed and also, if required, serviced or replaced once the aircraft is in service.
It was good weather today so the aircraft was tipped on its nose once more to spray the underside with the white EkoPoly topcoat. The paint has gone on pretty well with no runs or other serious blemishes. However the edges of the finishing tapes are very obvious. Before I do any more painting I'm going to have to make sure these are really stuck down and lie as flat as possible. However, this sort of learning experience is one of the advantages of doing the bottom first. This is not a view that is going to be routinely seen!
