September 6, 2008 - Finish Painting Feathers
 Bruce sprayed the color coat on the remaining pieces.  We hit a nearby Subway for lunch, then Bruce sprayed on the clear coat.  All pieces are done with the exception of the rudder. 
 
The pieces will dry overnight.  Tomorrow I'll take off the masking tape and plastic, and take them out to the airport. 
 
The empennage fairing came out very nice.  I've read about the time-consuming horror of filling pinholes, but using the Loehle WonderFil made the fairing a piece of cake.  We'll see how the paint job holds up over time.   
 
The clear coat dramatically enhances the glossy look.  It also makes little imperfections like dust spects disappear.  Good stuff.
 
Look how glossy that horizontal stab is!
 
At home, it was back to the canopy fairing.  I hadn't worked on this in a couple of days.  I sanded off the Rage Gold that I had applied a couple of days ago. 
 
I discovered a number of "soft" areas that I scooped out with an Exacto-knife.  Must have been caused by air pockets in the fiberglass or the epoxy coating I put on top. 
 
Another round of filling with Rage Gold.  I discovered -- the hard way -- that one must "scrape" the filler off the top before it dries.  Makes sanding much, much easier.  Even if you scrape too much, it is easier to apply coat, scrap and sand, than it is to sand down a huge mound of filler. 
 
The basement is really looking spacious and empty with the wings and feathers gone.  The canopy is really the only major thing left. 
 
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