Bobby,

What I did when using the water based poly is to apply two coats of the poly over the fiber glass cloth. I then used an automotive filler primer paint like what you can get from Duplicolor. Spray on a heavy coat and try to avoid runs. Sand this down. Be careful not to sand through the fiberglass cloth. Then apply a second coat of primer. Wet sand this down and check the weave. If you sand through and rough up the fiberglass just apply some poly over it again and repeat the primer. You can then use some auto body spot putty to fill any areas you might want to smooth out.

After I did the two coats of primer I applied my panel line tape and used a soldering iron with a brass tube to lightly burn in rivets. This part seemed like it took forever. Spray the primer over the entire plane. When the primer is dry lightly wet sand until you can see the just see the back of the tape. Carefully remove the tape. Lightly wet sand any rough edges. This gives it a nice scale appearance if this is what you want to accomplish.

If you don't need panel lines, etc, you can paint after the first steps when you get the smooth finish you want.

I need to do the weathering now to complete the R4D-1.

Thanks...rotoman