Next, PolySpray, an aluminum pigmented solution to block UV from weakening the fabric. It settles in as little as one month, so you can imagine how it looked after 10 years sitting in various hangars. Luckily, it doesn't deteriorate in unheated hangars like paint.
I had bought some 8500 reducer that was for use in temps above 85F, we were having a heat wave and it was a perfect time to use it all up. You have to reduce the PolySpray 4:1, and for some damn reason I could not find an empty gallon can in town, so I ended up using a couple quart cans. Sure hope I did the math right.
Testing, 1, 2, spray.
So far, the Sharpie is not bleeding through.
They say the silver coat will show every flaw, every imperfection in your work. They're right. I found some hangar rash after the first coat, and spent an afternoon sanding down stuff. At a certain point I had to call it Good enough, and accept that it will not be a flawless finish. Some pieces are pretty good, some are OK, I'm happy.
This was probably my biggest Oh shit moment. In the middle of the night Jim texted me that the solvents in the Spray would probably life up some of the tape edges, he was right. I went too slow with the iron, and even through a piece of butcher's paper I melted the coatings. Reducer, patience, a titch lower heat and quicker movements of the iron made it go away.
Don't run. Don't run. Don't run. Don't run. (It didn't.)
Despite all my best efforts, some of the tape edges still refused to lay down. Well, they're not really lifting up, they're just not smoothly flat.
You're supposed to put a 60W bulb inside the wing and check for the light to shine through, if it does you need more silver. (so THAT'S what that caged worklight on the wall is for!!) Can't get a bulb inside the control surfaces, so when I get home I'll have to settle for shining it from one side to the other. If it shines through 2 layers of fabric, 6 coats of PolyBrush, and 12 coats of PolySpray I really got problems.
I'm hoping to alternate painting and trips in September. Next week I'll come home, paint the control surfaces (major gulp), and prep the fuselage (fin, rudder, metal pieces). Go on a trip while the feathers are drying, come home, move the fuselage to the paint shop and bring stuff back to the nest, PolyBrush and Spray the fin/rudder, go on a trip and let them dry, come back and paint, go on a trip while it dries, swap the wings and fuselage, and you get the idea. In a perfect world and if everything goes right, she'll be all painted in September.
But you know the saying: Man plans, God laughs.
I had bought some 8500 reducer that was for use in temps above 85F, we were having a heat wave and it was a perfect time to use it all up. You have to reduce the PolySpray 4:1, and for some damn reason I could not find an empty gallon can in town, so I ended up using a couple quart cans. Sure hope I did the math right.
Testing, 1, 2, spray.
So far, the Sharpie is not bleeding through.
They say the silver coat will show every flaw, every imperfection in your work. They're right. I found some hangar rash after the first coat, and spent an afternoon sanding down stuff. At a certain point I had to call it Good enough, and accept that it will not be a flawless finish. Some pieces are pretty good, some are OK, I'm happy.
This was probably my biggest Oh shit moment. In the middle of the night Jim texted me that the solvents in the Spray would probably life up some of the tape edges, he was right. I went too slow with the iron, and even through a piece of butcher's paper I melted the coatings. Reducer, patience, a titch lower heat and quicker movements of the iron made it go away.
Don't run. Don't run. Don't run. Don't run. (It didn't.)
Despite all my best efforts, some of the tape edges still refused to lay down. Well, they're not really lifting up, they're just not smoothly flat.
You're supposed to put a 60W bulb inside the wing and check for the light to shine through, if it does you need more silver. (so THAT'S what that caged worklight on the wall is for!!) Can't get a bulb inside the control surfaces, so when I get home I'll have to settle for shining it from one side to the other. If it shines through 2 layers of fabric, 6 coats of PolyBrush, and 12 coats of PolySpray I really got problems.
I'm hoping to alternate painting and trips in September. Next week I'll come home, paint the control surfaces (major gulp), and prep the fuselage (fin, rudder, metal pieces). Go on a trip while the feathers are drying, come home, move the fuselage to the paint shop and bring stuff back to the nest, PolyBrush and Spray the fin/rudder, go on a trip and let them dry, come back and paint, go on a trip while it dries, swap the wings and fuselage, and you get the idea. In a perfect world and if everything goes right, she'll be all painted in September.
But you know the saying: Man plans, God laughs.
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