jferraro17
Opulence, I has it...
Okay, I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and need some help.
I've attached the tips to the rudder top, VS and Elevators. The aluminum had some residual pillowing from the initial construction (the lead weight wrap-around parts, and the open ended tip ribs), so I need to do some filling.
I'm using West Systems, including their micro/filler. My plan was a couple of layers of filler (sanded in between), then a layer of glass over the seam, then a layer of Super Fil or Rage Gold.
The problem I'm having is, when I sand, in an attempt to keep the shape formed properly, I sand away nearly all the filler. Or in the case of the glass layer, some of the cloth. I would describe the look as "scalloped" with a combination of gelcoat, aluminum and filler all following the shape of the pillowing. The VS turned out the best, as there seemed to be a pretty good alum-plastic transition to start with. The others, not so much. I don't understand how to get the finished shape I'm after...a nice smooth transition that when primed/painted won't show the line between the two materials.
I'm using a foam sanding block of various grit & and a square palm sander, should I use a more solid block? How about an orbital?
I'll try to get some pics posted in the mean time, but if my description sounds familiar, please help.
Very frustrating, so any tips appreciated!
Joe
I've attached the tips to the rudder top, VS and Elevators. The aluminum had some residual pillowing from the initial construction (the lead weight wrap-around parts, and the open ended tip ribs), so I need to do some filling.
I'm using West Systems, including their micro/filler. My plan was a couple of layers of filler (sanded in between), then a layer of glass over the seam, then a layer of Super Fil or Rage Gold.
The problem I'm having is, when I sand, in an attempt to keep the shape formed properly, I sand away nearly all the filler. Or in the case of the glass layer, some of the cloth. I would describe the look as "scalloped" with a combination of gelcoat, aluminum and filler all following the shape of the pillowing. The VS turned out the best, as there seemed to be a pretty good alum-plastic transition to start with. The others, not so much. I don't understand how to get the finished shape I'm after...a nice smooth transition that when primed/painted won't show the line between the two materials.
I'm using a foam sanding block of various grit & and a square palm sander, should I use a more solid block? How about an orbital?
I'll try to get some pics posted in the mean time, but if my description sounds familiar, please help.
Very frustrating, so any tips appreciated!
Joe