I got a lot done today...I etched and primed all the parts discussed yesterday. It took me longer as I was also learning the process. It also took longer because I had so many parts to do. As I typically do - I was too focused on the taks at hand to remember to take pictures.
So I will explain the process...
I set up station number 1 as the etch station on the glass table. There I worked the parts over with the 1 part etch and 2 parts distilled water solution. I settled into a process where I would spray the parts, and then start working one side and then the other - before moving on to another part. Then I would come back and re-work each side of each part a second time. That seemed to work pretty good. If the parts were small I would etch 3-4 at a time before moving to the wash station. If the parts were bigger, I would work each one seperately.
Next was the wash station where I blasted the parts with high pressure water to get the etch off. Then to the dry station where I used high pressure shop air to dry the parts...then to the drying rack where they sat and waited for paint. If a part needed to be re-marked after etch, I would work it by itself and I kept a list at the drying rack - and I would copy the part number to the list, then when I came back around to the drying rack, I would write the part number back on the part. It worked well, but in the end - the primer covered the part number either way.
Once all the parts where etched, washed and dried - I loaded up the paint gun and sprayed them. They came out really good...now I will let them cure for a few days before riveting. Some of the total time today was the paint gun clean up - which was not fun...
