I did both the panel lines and the rivets in the primer stage, once the surface has been glassed and weave is filled. Panel lines are done during the application of primer, and rivets are added after the application of primer.
Panel lines are made by creating raised areas and grooves in the primer using tape. For butt joints, you will need to find 1/64" chart tape, which is becoming harder to find. Here's a source:
http://www.dealtime.com/xDN-Office_S...k~r-1~CLT-INTR
For lap joints, you will need masking tape and masking paper.
Butt Joint panel lines.
I work on one side at a time (top wing, bottom wing, top fuse, bottom fuse, ect)
Working from a set of drawings, mark out all the panel lines on the surface. Now comes the fun part. Apply the 1/64" tape on the panel lines and cut them to length. The tape will tend to flip its' adhiesive side up because of it coming on a roll. It can get frustrating at times, but hang with it. Once all the chart tape is down and the lines are to your liking, it's time for primer. I use Duplicolor High Build Sandable primer. You want to spray the primer over all the panel lines, being careful to not get runs and to feather the edges of the primer away from the panel joints. Allow to dry and add another 1 - 2 coats. Once this is dry, use the tip of a knife blade to lift the end of the tape up, then pull the tape off. Sometimes the adhiesive of the tape stays in the groove. If the primer is very well dried, you may be able to scrub it out with a toothbrush and solvent. I didn't use this method because I didn't want to spend the time to find a solvent that would disolve the adhiesive and not attack the primer. I took a small allen wrench and ground the end into a slight hook and used it to carefully pull scrape the adhiesive out. Once the grooves are cleaned, lightly sand the primer with 320 to get rid of any rough edges left from lifting the tape. You now have butt joint panel lines.
Lap joint panel lines.
These are easier to make. Draw the panel lines on the model (use something that won't bleed). Now, lay the masking tape up to the edge of the joint and on the side which will be the lower panel. Add some masking tape/paper on the lower side to prevent overspray. Spray the primer over the joint, feathering the spray towards the center of the raised panel. Apply 2 -3 coats. Once dry, remove the masing tape and lightly sand with 320 grit to get rid of any rough edges.
If you have a section where butt joints meet or cross a lap joint, such as where a fuse panel line meets a wing fillet, you will have to build up the joints in the proper order. Do the butt joint on the lower panel before the lap joint. Do the butt joint on a higher panel at the same time as the lap joint. This will keep your joints crisp.
Flush Rivets.
Once you have a primer coat and panel lines, it's time for rivets. You will need a soldering iron with a removable soldering tip and ideally, one with a temprature contol. I actually ended up using my trim iron. You will also need brass tubing. On the 1/7 scale Spit, I ended up doing 1/16" rivets. You may need to slightly grind the inside of the tube to make it a thinner wall. Cut the tube to about 2 or so inchesNext, you will need to mount this 1/16" tube into your soldering iron. I did mine by building up with 1" long, ever increasing diameter brass tubing until it fit my iron. Each time I added a tube, I punched a dimple into the tubing to lock it into the smaller tubing. I suppose you could also use a high temp silver solder. Regular solder will not work. Once the tip is fitted into the soldering iron, I found it easier to work with the tip bent to almost 90 degrees.
Mark out all your rivet lines. Next, try and get an even spacing of rivets and try and make all your intersecting lines of rivets to intersect at a rivet. This can be somewhat time consuming. I found the Top Flite rivet guide to be helpful here. Most my rivets ended up being between 6 to 8 rivets per inch. I put a tic mark where every rivet would go. This way, I could make any corrections in pencil before burning in the rivets. Once all the rivets are marked out, it's time to burn.
Well, burn isn't quite the word. It's more like melt. Once the tip is heated, press the tip into the primer for a moment and lift. It should leave a 1/16" ring melted into the primer. If it doesn't, the iron is probably too cold. If it smokes or slips around, the iron is too hot. This takes a little time to get the hang of it. You might want to practice on some scrap first. Once you have it down, just go to town. Once done, again, lightly sand with 320 grit to get rid of any rough edges.
Raised rivets
I don't have as much experience with raised rivets and am not fully satisfied with my results. Tom Pierce, on his website has a description of his method. If I recall correctly, he uses a slightly watered down mix of TiteBond. It may be my mixing, or something else, but personally, I found it to be too thin. I use one of those small sqeeze bottles with the stainless steel needle tips. Just get a small drop formed at the tip and dip it to the surface where you want the rivet. Nice thing is, if you don't like the results, wipe it off with a damp rag and do it again.
Hope this helps
Scott