343 hours on the hobbs. Priming RIght Elevator parts

Or more appropriately, TRYING to prime them. I used my two part etching primer for the spars and ribs of the right elevator. I have a real problem doing this inside the garage. The sun glare from the outside provides enough light to see the parts fairly clearly, but the sides that are facing the inside of the garage bcome very shadowy and hard to see details without additional light added.

I decided to get lazy this time and did not rig any additional lights, and the results were predictable. Decent coverage on one side and really crappy coverage on the other. Lots of runs this time from applying too much primer without moving the gun enough over the surface. I also had problems on the root rib with the bend line of the flange on one side not accepting the primer for some reason. I had scuffed and cleaned this area the same as all the others, but for some reason the primer is separating along a small line that follows the inside bend line of the flange. Another possible contributor is the fact that I am finally at the bottom of my first quart can of the expensive stuff. It has been sitting in the hot and cold garage for some time, so I am also questioning its integrity at this point.

I have a new can ready to go, so I will use that for second coat. Will also spend more time on the next batch getting the flow and pattern from the spray gun setup correctly. You could tell I had not sprayed anything for a while. As a footnote, when I start working on the wings, I may switch to Ron's method which is alumiprep and nobel ekzo epoxy primer, but we'll see. No real reason other than I like the way it looks, and the epoxy primer is suppsed to be a bit stronger and more accepting of polyurethane paint. I also need to mask off parts of the rudder to re-prime some scuffed areas along the bottom. and the top.

My neighbor Kevin came over to help me finish setting the last 4 dimples in the elevator skin using the close quarter dimpling tool. Worked like a charm as always. It helps to have someone hold the skin while you set the dimples. Thanks Kevin!

I still need to remove a bunch of lead from the counterweight per the plans, and I have been communicating with Steve Riffe about the process of creating the riblets for the left elevator and trim tab. I will be departing slightly from the plans by adding the riblets instead of bending the tabs that are provided on the skins. Lots of folks have troubles with the trim tab, and I intend on getting this done correctly the first time. I want to finish the tail and move on to the wings as soon as possible.

Have not done much the past couple of days as the college kid came home from school with a car problem that has now progressed into a completely blown engine. That, combined with the first really cold weather of the season, has prevented me from getting all the priming done. Seems like every time I get close to wrapping up another sub assembly, crap like this always happens.