One thing that I do need to mention at the early finishing stages is the fiberglass parts.

I always prewash all the composite parts in hot soapy water and when dry, vigorously wipe down with acetone to remove any mold release agents. Then with a hard rubber sanding block sand the surface smooth, usually starting with 220 and finishing up with 320. Before your ready to prime these parts use a prep solvent to clean any remaining wax or finger grease and use a pin hole filler made by BVM. It's like a glazing compound that you rub on and wipe off. It's has a light color base so when you filling pin-holes in the canopy, you might have to go back with a small brush and a tiny dab of black base coat to color that area black.


So when your prepping these parts your steps could be:

1. wash is a bucket of hot soapy water
2. wipe down with acetone
3. install on airframe
4. surface prep with 220 - 320 grit paper
5. clean with prep solvent (5-Star - $20/gallon)
6. fill pin holes with BVM filler
7. spray on k-36 primer