Today I contour sanded the epoxy wipe on the landing brake. I started with 220, and it took quite some time. I probably could have started with 80 or 120, and then switched to 220. I have received differing advice on what grit to use before applying the UV Smooth Prime. The manufacturer recommended between 220 and 280, and others have recommended 80 or 120. So I decided to sand the epoxy wipe with 220, then prime. We will see how it works out. Pictured below is before starting the sanding.
I then cleaned the part thoroughly with soapy water, rinsed with clean water, and allowed it to dry. This took off any last bits of dust that was there as well as any oils from handling. I am rolling on the first set of coats (5 or so) of UV Smooth Prime. After all, if I am going to sand it, why does it matter if it has an eggshell texture?
After applying the first coat, I found that I had little chunks in the finish. I quickly realized that I forget to filter the primer. I should have poured the primer from the can into the paint tray through a paint filter to catch any chunks that were suspended. After consulting with James, he said, just scrape them off after each coat flashes. So I took a clean mixing stick on edge and rubbed the chunks off the surface. It worked well.
As you recall, I am going to be flying in primer, and I have not decided if the ‘finish’ coats of primer are going to be sprayed on or rolled on. The texture of the rolled on primer is certainly not glassy smooth, but is not offensive either.
In between coats of primer, I also did the epoxy wipe on the cowl. I did start with a bit more micro light filler as the first step, and let this partially cure and continued with the epoxy wipe. There are a lot of complex curves on the cowl, and a tight outside radius on the trailing edge. As such, it was somewhat of a pain doing the epoxy wipe, but I managed to get 4 coats on.
Tomorrow I will sand out the cowl. Hopefully I have enough epoxy film to finish the contour. I will wait until later next week to prime to allow any remaining solvents in the epoxy to fully cure and evaporate. I also hope to get to a few little details on the fuselage that need to be done before the epoxy wipe on the fuselage.
the Garaggio 