I haven’t previously mentioned it, but between each session, I’ve done some basic sanding and cleanup – and that continued today. All of the fiberglass is now applied, and its time to sand and apply rage gold body filler to create nice transitions. This will be my first real experience with Rage Gold – so fingers crossed.

Here is the skirt after some good sanding and cleanup.

My first Rage Gold application. It didn’t come out very well. The putty began to cure quickly, and I wound up with a very uneven surface when applied. This means more time sanding!

And more sanding. I need to buy some better sanding products.

Today saw more fiberglass reinforcement installation on the canopy skirt.

First I measured for the bottom of the stiffeners. NOTE. On one side you will have the hinge to contend with. Speaking with Bryan at showplanes, he told me to not apply fiberglass here. I decided to apply one layer of the really thin stuff I have. My hope is this will keep the fillet crack free.

I was also able to apply fiberglass at the front bulkhead.  Aug 6

With all of the fillets and edges now complete it’s time to turn my attention to using fiberglass for reinforcement.

The first area I decided to work on was the center cross member intersection. I read that using peel-ply reduces the amount of sanding required so I applied the peel ply over the two layers of fiberglass.

For the fiberglass, I used a layer of 2 inch followed by another layer of 3 inches to create good transitions. Here are some of the results.

Someone was selling a Sam James plenum online – for about half of what it costs new. They also included two rings and instructions. I will sell the rings as they are too big for my purposes and I already have a ring set I intend to use. When I recoup the money in the rings I’ll have grabbed a new plenum for a third of the price!

The next day I returned to remove the peel-ply. I wasn’t super impressed with the results of using it. Felt like more trouble that it is worth. Perhaps my technique leaves a lot to be desired, but I don’t think I will use the peep ply going forward.

Then I began applying fiberglass to the rear bulkhead.

My friend Craig happened to stop by, and I had him take some photographs of the actual process.

Step 1. Cut the strips of fiberglass to length.

Step 2. Mix  epoxy.

Step 3. Using a previously setup trash bag as an application surface, lay the fiberglass on the trash bag. Slowly pour a small amount of epoxy in a line down the center of the strip. Then using either a hotel key card, or a rubber squeegee work the epoxy along the length of the fiber. The fiberglass should be translucent – completely saturated. However you want the absolute minimum amount of epoxy required to make the fiberglass translucent. Remove any excess. You can see me here applying the epoxy to a strip of fiberglass.

Step 4. Carefully apply the strip to the intersection.

The hotel card, fingers, and a squeegee come in handy for difficult intersections. Try to avoid air bubbles! Particularly in the fillet / intersection region!

Here I am applying the second layer. Notice the larger size.

Due to the curve you may need to make a few small incisions to allow the fiberglass to lay flat.

July 31