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After blocking out the first coat of primer some high spots are revealed. I cleaned the entire lower surface with acetone prior to rolling on the next coats. This time I used a smooth texture roller and rolled on two heavy coats. After it had dried tacky to the touch, I rolled on one last coat with a smooth foam roller. This roller helped smooth out the texture from the big roller and fill in the texture it created. There is still some texture, but not as bad. It all just means less sanding.
I am finding that a rotary sander with 150# works best to get the texture tops off and allowing me to block sand easier. I always start off blocking now with 150#. 80 # and 100# are just too course. Without a good respirator and goggles this job of blocking would be absolutely unbearable. But really, it's not so bad. Once I get near to finished with the blocking, I wipe down the area with acetone. It gets an almost semi-polished finish and works well enough to show how good the body work looks. So far, I feel I have taken a lot of extra time and pride in getting everything straight, but I don't intend to paint this plane myself. I want the final 10-20% of body work to go to a great painter like Steve Green. I feel that they can see things guys like myself just can't, and they will make it show-quality. So that's the plan.
A note on body work that I learned from speaking to Mark Mahnke and Steve Green. They prefer to get as close as they can with micro, using as little as needed, then build up the primer thick for the final shaping. Steve said as much as four coats, block and then begin spraying on the last coat or two. At that point a guide coat can be helpful for the final straightening and blocking.
I'm getting close to that point with the belly. The next coat will be sprayed on and my gear doors will be bolted in for the final shaping. From there I plan to flip the plane over and install the engine mount and nose gear.
A postscript on bodywork: I spoke with a couple of painters and my supplier of the primer. Acetone and all solvents are BAD, BAD, BAD. I didn't want pass along any misinformation. Primer goes on, is sanded and new primer applied and sanded. NO SOLVENTS. It will cause cracking and problems with the paint later on. In fact, I was told that unless it's ready for its first coat of color, not to use de-greaser. I am sorry if I missled anyone. This whole process is new to me and I have been getting so many opinions. I think the most valuable ones are those from the ones who do this everyday.
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