Priming

Today we were finally able to get some priming done. We were skeptical at first though, since the weather wasn't exactly perfect but we proceeded to prepare the parts (i.e. Alumiprep, scrub, and rinse) and get them ready. Temperature was about 64 degrees, but there was a very high overcast. We figured we would be OK with the few patches of sunlight that occassionaly broke through. It was our first time using this new primer, which is an epoxy-based primer that is mixed with a hardener, it was also the first time we used our HVLP spray gun. Needless to say, our day was interesting and involved experimenting.

Preparing the main ribs and leading edge ribs (leaving out the fuel tank ribs) took us about two hours. Once we had everything prepared and set up we decided to plunge into the

priming. The new primer is completely different from the self-etching stuff that we're used to. It was almost like peanut butter until you got it completely stirred and mixed. We started off by mixing 5 oz. of the primer and an equal part of hardener and we thought this would finish most of the job. Not the case. After about 35 oz of mix we only got the top of the ribs done. We definitely have to experiment with the gun a bit, because it was just putting too much liquid out. Plus the weather wasn't perfectly ideal, so we decided to just leave it to the top of the ribs for today and call it a day. We took the three racks of ribs (not baby back) to one of the rooms of the hangar that we heated up with a space heater to help with the curing process.

Our next day off is Thursday so we'll see what we can get done then. Hopefully the weather is more suited for priming.