Today was priming day. I finished all of the acetone prep and cleaning. The priming went perfectly. The gun setup was perfect, and I managed to mix the perfect amount. I’m very happy with how it all turned out.

No photos for today’s post. I added a new step to my priming prep process. I wiped all the parts off with water and a rag, and then rinsed each under the hose. I had noticed previously, especially on larger parts, that all the dust from the scotchbrite pades made cleaning with acetone longer than it should be. I dryer all the parts off and then used forced air to get any water out of holes and dimples. I allowed the parts to further dry for several hours and the in the afternoon I wiped them all down with acetone. The amount of grey dust was seriously reduced by the water wash. I think this will be an improvement on the primer adhesion as I’m more confident all oils and first have been removed.

Sunday, a day that should have seen at least 4 hours in the shop, just wan’t my day. The belt broke on the zero-turn mower we have, so it was off to Lowes to get a replacement. Getting the mowing deck off was easy, but getting the new belt on was a severe pain in the rear. As soon as I got it going, I had to make several other adjustments, and get some mowing done, so by the time I got to the plane I was tired.

I completed all the dimpling that required the c-frame on both skins. I did however discover that I had not done all of the stiffeners correctly. The three stiffeners labeled J, K, and L were slightly shorter than the D, E, and F they are made from. Using my digital calipers I made the corrections. In the process I realized that the guide notch used for the taper was supposed to be rounded off. Easy fix for the elevators, but what about the rudder?!?! I left them all that way on the rudder! I emailed the picture below to Van’s support and their response was short and sweet… leave it be.. it won’t be a problem. Thank heavens! I assumed the radius wasn’t sharp enough to be a problem, but when the directions tell you to do something, and you do not, its best to check with the experts.

I need to make a list of discrepancies and issues that may require attention before other steps are completed such as painting. 🙂