Final Push before re-assembly

There was still a lot more than I thought to be done before I am ready to put the fuse back together. I will try to list it all and post some pics, but won't catch everything. I painted the bottom floor skin, installed bolts where the -7A models have landing gear, but the -7's just have bolts that fill the holes. Mounted the side ribs and installed the bolt at the base of the side rib where it holds the spacer for the rear wing spar, mounted teh firewall angles, and the forward gear web plates to the bulkheads.  Lots more probably, but will be ready to re-assemble next time I get to work on the project..   Merry Christmas Everyone !!  

Fuse Prep Continued . .

Still continuing on the interior prep..  Now I have one skin done and all the excess angles are complete.  Note on the skin I masked off all the areas that get covered up by other metal covers or seat ribs etc..   Next skin is going to be tomorrow.

I am not sure what my plans are for the center section at this point.   I can paint F-705 no problem, but F-704 will be quite a chore at this point to paint.   I will ask around and see what I should do.   I may just end up leaving it gold as I think that might fit well with my interior color anyway.  We'll see..

Continued Interior Prime and Paint

I am continuing to work the interior parts getting them primed and painted where necessary so that I can reassemble the fuse.  Its taking a bit longer than expected and I haven't been able to work on it every day due to work or weather or various other items.   I did get the firewall painted, and primed the skins and longerons.  Now just to continue the process until I can put it all back together.   The Center Section F704 and F705 will be somewhat of a challenge that I will get to in the next few days.

Interior Paint

I have been working through the normal priming routine on the interior of the fuse.. There is a big debate on whether to paint now, or to wait and paint once it is assembled. I figure I need to learn about spraying the final top coat, so why not get started now. Plus, it is easier and less masking that you need to worry about if you paint before assembly. The only drawbacks are the rivets won’t be painted.. In my case I think that will be OK, because I am excited about a bit of the industrial look inside the aircraft and as well, the gold rivets will go well with the color I chose. I am going with the Sherwin Williams Genesis and was able to shoot a couple test shots, wasn’t sure about the color or the fact that it is metallic and a semi-gloss, the other issue with the SW Genesis is that it takes about 24 hours to dry, especially in the current December temps around here. However after shooting some tests looking at the color I think I am really excited about it. My only concerns are it is a bit darker than I thought, but in the sun, the gold/yellow hues comes through and lightens it up. I think all up I am really excited about the color and my initial results.  In fact, the pictures don't show it well, it comes across as a very deep color and is a bit lighter and warmer than below.   Plus to top it off Bekah likes it, so I am happy..   ;-)

For the gun, I am using an HVLP gun from Harbor freight. Normally these guns are really pricy, but from harbor freight I got the cheapest one out there. I realized that Volume of Air is the biggest deal.. I was able to get enough air to fully atomize the paint by fine tuning the gun and compressor. Basically am pushing 100psi down the ¼ line to the gun. Then on the gun my regulator is set for 60psi. Now that is high pressure for a HVLP (high volume LOW PRESSURE) gun.. but because of the thin ¼ air line, after 1 second of trigger pull the pressure drops down to 40psi on the gun and stays there. My compressor can even keep it there for the duration, so basically I am compensating for a thinner line by using a bit higher pressure until the trigger is pulled, then the constant pressure is just about perfect. Atomizes the paint great, and the results look really good.

Continuing Fuse/Paint Prep

I have made tons of progress on the fuse over the last few days..  No entries or pictures because it is just metal work, dimpling, edging, deburring, countersinking etc..  Countersinking those longerons was brutal !!    Anyway, now I am moving to some of the more specific preparation pieces,  I was able to tape up the firewall for top coat paint and then primed the overlapping parts on the center and aft fuse.  Next steps are priming the forward fuse pieces and then trying my hand at final top coat.  This I am worried about since I have never done it before.

My plans for top-coating is to use Sherwin Williams Genesis, It is very similar to Jetflex from a properties perspective but is available locally.  The stuff is supposed to be rock hard and resistant to all solvents.  Its used commercially to cover industrial equipment so should be good enough for the interior of my aircraft.  Its a two part paint and I will be covering my two part PPG Primer with it.  My first step is to prime some of the parts I have been working on, along with some other scrap, so I can test shoot the Genesis product.  I went with a semi dark greyish color with some warm tones in it, but it is metallic and semi gloss.  At this point I am not even sure if metallic or if I should be using flat/satin/gloss etc.  We will try out a couple samples and show it to some local folks (and Rebekah) to see if I am on the right track.  Wish me luck..

Continued Disassembly Deburring/Dimpling/Countersinking

Wow I feel like I am going back in time, about 4 months back in time.  The fuse is now completely torn apart and I am slowly but surely deburring and dimpling or countersinking everything.   Next will be prepping and priming of the metal, as well as top-coating in some spots.   For now I am still taking it apart and working the metal.  Today alone I spent a few hours on one of the longerons countersinking every single hole less than an inch apart on the 21 foot longeron.  I will attack the other one tomorrow.

Fuse Comes Apart

I  have been taking each piece out one by one and deburring/dimpling etc as I go.  This hopefully will help me keep them in order and ensure I don't miss anything as I go.  Next steps after the fuse is torn apart is to determine amount of interior top coat I am going to put on now.  This is a big dilemma and would be an easier question if it weren't the middle of winter where top coating in my garage might not be the best option.  I will keep doing the research and we'll see what ends up happing.   For now though, it is continuing disassembly, and then onto the metal prep.