I cleaned up the Z-Brackets primarily with the use of the scotchbrite wheel - making sure all the edges were smoothed out, corners rounded where necessary etc.
I read Van's instructions over and overand so too did a fair bit of research on the net (specifically the VAF forums) and the general consensus seems to be that the "Dan Checkoway Method" provides a better result, albeit slightly more cumbersome with skins on/off/on etc. Needless to say, this is the way I'll be going.
As per Van's. you need to find the lengthwise center of each Z-Bracket. The first difference though is that for each group of 7 brackets (per wing), 1 bracket (inboard most) has its widthwise centerline offset away from the bracket's web whilst the remaining 6 have it offset towards the bracket's web. (Whilst it initially has no bearing on the instructions above, note that the orientation of the inboard and outboard most brackets are different to the other 5.)
I marked the various center positions as per the instructions and then drilled the center hole of each flange using the drill press. I was initially concerned after drilling that the holes may actiallu be too close the the web of the bracket for the nutplates to fit properly but it doesn;t seem to be too much of an issue after all - time however will tell!
With the center holes drilled, I clecoed the bracket to the spar and made sure that they were exactly square - double checking this by checking for the center lines through the holes from underneath the spar.
Z brackets cleaned up and marked to prevent later confusion
Note the difference on offset for the inboard most brackets (closest two in this pic)
Holes drilled and brackets bing squared off on the spar
