I’ve missed a couple of updates to work done on the plane over the past week or so. I got the second coat of varnish on the wing, including the aileron. I got all of the bushings in place, and started to attach the various attaching brackets… oops! No torque wrench. And, I can only find one CAW9 bracket. I think I ran out of 3/16″ x 1″ 2024 flat bar stock before I got them all made; I need to go hunting and gathering again. Once that’s done I can finish off the aileron (the lower leading edge needs a pass through the router for its radius) and move on to varnishing the other wing.
Second coat
Yesterday and today I put a second coat of varnish on the wing, and got the aileron varnished. It’s tedious work, even with the 4” foam rollers I bought for the job.
Still more…
Spar urethane… it’s not just for spars. It’s for ribs, and geodetic bracing, and plywood, and everywhere. I’ve got to find a quicker and more efficient way to put this stuff on; I’ve spent about six hours so far applying par varnish to this wing and I’m still on the first coat. It’s brutal.
More varnish
Man this stuff stinks. I got the wing about 2/3 done, I think. I brushed varnish on everything that I won’t be able to reach after I turn it right side up. Once that’s dry I’ll install the root brackets and flip the wing to finish it up.
A little varnish
Picked up a gallon can of Varathane Ultimate Spar Urethane this afternoon. A gallon can is about the same price as two one-quart cans, and I figure between the wings, fuselage, and tail I’ll probably use most of it. I gave the holes for the bushings and the wood where they will go a coat this afternoon before heading home — it was a busy day cleaning out the garage and ferrying grandkids around. Tomorrow I’ll pick up some primer and hopefully get a start on varnishing the rest of the wing. I’d like to have it assembled and ready to rack by the weekend, if I can. Then I’ll need to pull down the left wing and finish it up – bushings, varnish, brackets.