The real inspiration comes when you see Patrick's work in the flesh. Patrick, the quality of your work and attention to detail is nothing short of astounding....

That said, on behalf of all of the "lurkers," thanks for your continuing generosity in sharing your finishing techniques. And judging by the number of views of your eight day old thread, I don't think I'm close to being alone in appreciating your efforts...

Going back a few steps, despite many distractions and diversions, I'm precisely at the point in my Evolaris build of being ready to prep the stabs and wings. I cut and capped the stabs but haven't yet cut out and finished the ailerons.

Weight is a significant concern on this build, especially since I'm planning on using a V3 Contra. I'm also concerned about any finishing techniques that increase the possibility of introducing warps into the structure. Your workarounds, described above, seem well conceived, but you know how light and fragile the wings on this bipe are. The out of box weight of my top one piece wing is an impressive 10.5oz ! It occurred to me that perhaps I should get the wings to the "final sanding before priming stage, " and then cut out and cap the control surfaces. Besides having to blend the leading and trailing edges of the control surfaces do you see a downside to this idea ?

If left to my own devices, I would have prepared the wing using West Systems slow cure Epoxy thinned 50% over .6oz glass. While the resin is still wet, I apply a filler such as the West 410 microlight fairing filler to the surface of the wing. I'm then ready to sand-->apply spot putty--> sand--> and prime. I too am a big fan of the Klass Kote primer.

But I think I'm ready for a switch. The stunning quality of the work you're producing gives me the confidence to try the methods you've described.

On the subject of plotters, let me recommend the Roland / Stika line of vinyl cutters. They're a bit pricey, but quite durable, and have produced excellent results cutting text as small as 24pt. The interface software also works quite well with designs apps such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. With Corel, designing and cutting logos with outlines and drop shadows is greatly simplified.