ORIGINAL: Jim Clausen
David,
All of these fillets are a buildup of microballoons (brown in color ) and 30 minute epoxy. I have no Bondo involved. I am going about this very slowly. The area that is giving me fits is where the vertical fin joins the fuselage and those contours. I'll get there, I just do not know when.
Jim,
cool. I wasn't sure what you were using but I know that brown MB and sanded Bondo have a very similar appearance. The brown MB supposedly sand much better than the white ones - different stuff (phenolic vs ?).
I'm surprised you're having problems in that area since the design basically contours the fin right into the fuse since it is an extension of it. Is it in the area where the LE blocks meet fuse top sheet? A little spackling filler should take care of that area since it is just a slight fill if any. The stab/fuse fillets will pose a different story I believe when you advance on the primer/filler/sanding/primer/filler... where was I...?
In a nutshell, I'd recommend you get them as close to perfect before you even touch the fuse with primer - particularly the ones on the bottom. It's been a while since I've done this kind of stuff and it proved to be a pain in the as.. In any case, you will in all likelihood need some body filler when you are priming. There is some green stuff whose name I forget which is supposed to be much better than Bondo. I've been using the latter and it is ok but you really have to watch the thickness of it - it cracks on sight. I was quite happy with my stab fillets prior to attacking the primer but sure enough, I've gone through 5 layers of primer/filler/sander before applying the final coat before paint. It didn't help that I rested the chin on a wet cloth (forgot to swap it after wet sanding...
) before the primer had fully flashed. I've been pretty lazy and didn't build myself a fuse FW holder in order to be able to suspend the fuse. That will change prior to paint which doesn't forgive.
I probably mentioned it above but I've been using a very cool automotive Dupli-Color polyester resin based primer. It flows on like butter and wet sands like a dream - leaves behind a light paste residue which can easily wash off. Then again, if you have a compressor you have the luxury of all kinds of paint.
Below are some shots of where I'm at with the fuse - for inspiration. Tomorrow I will sand lightly to 400 grit (and remove the little fly caught in my primer... [:@]) and then it will epoxy white time! The wing center section is done - rest will be MK. Killed a little grass in my back yard. [:-]
Wish me luck!
David.