Brief Description: Cut and Buff - The Closing Scene.
Tonight I spent the evening sanding and polishing the second test panel I had painted.
Essentially, I learned that I don't want to cut and buff this airplane....
I was getting good results, although you could see defects in both of my test panels that could be easily fixed with more time using the sand paper and polisher. The problem I was having though was the time just to get to this far.
I made a couple of phone calls to some of my mentors to see if I could learn how to make it a faster process. I didn't learn the magic secret, but I did learn that a wing should "take all day", which I gathered would mean 8 hours for someone who knows what they are doing, - Maybe 10-12 hours for me....
Running a few estimate calculations, I determined that at the rate I was going I would need about 75 hours, or TEN DAYS per wing -- I want to fly this thing at some point.....
My original plan for cutting and buffing was to have a final step to hide my mistakes. The results I got after applying the clear coat to my test panels was acceptable, and I feel it was well on par with others that I have seen, so I decided not to spend the time sanding and polishing in the interest of getting the plane flying sometime this next summer.
I have to leave something to learn for the next project..... : ) -- Might as well be learning how to finish a cut and buff job within a decade....
No pictures today - Cuz nobody wants to see pictures of me sweating profusely over a polishing wheel.....
