An update on weights: this plane was at 31.6 oz before basarite, the coat of balsarite added .4 oz to the plane it is now at 32 oz before the first stage of fiberglass. I am going to record weights thru every stage of the finishing process. If possible I would like to paint the wings and stabs, but I will first focus on just he fuse and rudder to make sure I'll be hitting that magic 10.5 lb mark - shouldn't be a problem - the infamous red plane that I glassed and painted finished out to be 10.5 lbs.

one of the nice things about the balsarite is it hardens the surface and makes it a bit easier to see the surface leveling and defects. I noticed I can do a little more sanding to the top of the fin and rudder cap - I'm only talking about 1/64" here but a little extra work will get things a little more flush. Figuring the time invested to this point - an extra 15 mins here or there is not a lot. And I might be able to shave off .1 oz of balsa getting my weight back down a bit.

the thing to keep in mind here is it's always better to keep a critical eye on the project, always look back on previous steps as you move forward. It's easy to overlook something small at any of the finish stages that can come back and cause a major redo during the next step.