I spoke to Richard, my paint man, a couple of days ago. His booth will be available at the end of this month, so he is going to start painting the fuselage. I masked the rear of the fuselage and will continue masking over the next couple of days. Once the fuselage has been painted I can start on installing engine, wiring looms and instrument panel. It is a quandary, do you paint first, or complete aircraft and fly it to the paint shop? ( no right or wrong answer, personal situation, what is easiest for you ) I've decided to paint first, once the wings are on I do not want to remove them and only one weight and balance requirement.