Wing prep and flap gap seal

We are moving on to the the wing and are prepping it for the primer. The wing was lowered from it's perch in the shed rafters, and moved into the paint booth. We did some clean-up work, including a little ironing on some of the pinked edges, and some acetone to remove a few unwanted glue blobs. We noticed that some of the inspection plate cover areas were a little wavy, so we hit those with the iron too to smooth it all out.

Retrieving a wing from the shed

Right wing moved into the paint booth

We decided to fit and drill for the aluminum flap-gap seal prior to priming.  The rivet holes are a little under 3" apart.  They are (almost) all equally spaced along the length, but the spacing was adjusted a little to ensure none of the rivets fell on a rib.  Once drilled, we removed the flap gap seal and will prime/paint that piece later when we do some of the other metal parts.

Hours: 6

Fitting the flap-gap seal to the right wing

Primed the Elevators

More steady progress in our paint booth, as we have completed priming the elevators.  The second coat went on nicely, probably because we are gaining some experience.  Hours: 9

Elevators before priming

Elevators after priming and a little sanding

Rudder and Horizontal Stabilizers Primed

 We finished priming the rudder and horizontal stabilizers.  We are trying to apply enough primer to fill the weave and smooth things out a bit, but not too much primer because that adds extra unwanted weight to the airplane.  Priming takes a bit of time with all the prep and sanding required, but we are making steady progress.  I forgot to take a picture while the parts were hanging in the paint booth, but I took a snapshot of the three parts after they were primed.  Hours: 12

  

Rudder & Horiz Stabilizers Primed

Primed the Ailerons and Trim Tab

 We primed the ailerons and trim tab using the same method as the flaps.  This work included using irons to help glue down any pinked edges that had popped up, cleaning excess glue with acetone, cleaning the parts with alcohol, priming (we are using a Devilbiss Finishline 4 paint gun) , and wet sanding (with 400 grit) between coats.  Did a little better this time around with just a few runs that needed sanding out, but we are still learning.  Hours 10

Ailerons and trim tab after a 2nd coat of primer

Sanding the ailerons between coats