N2PZ in the Paint Shop - Page 148.

July 20, 2005:  The canopy is uncovered now that the clear coat is dry.

This view of the 12-inch high registration markings shows all the letters and the number "2" standing tall and true.

The wheel pants, empennage fairing, and the spinner all have gold paint on them.  The spinner will remain solid gold and get a clear coat.  The empennage fairing and the wheel pants will get blue stripes and white following the theme of the main fuselage colors before getting the final layer of clear coat.

The wing tips, ailerons, and flaps are all stashed in a store room until they are ready for the next step in the process.  You can see some other airplane parts that have been discarded here when they were replaced on other jobs.

Bill has just started to tape up the cowl for the matching blue and white stripes that continue along the fuselage sides.  All three colors have to be completed before the clear coat can be applied.  This photo shows the difference in the paint when the clear coat goes on!  The bottom of the cowl will be the Pearl White base color when completed, matching along the lines of the fuselage.  After he has finished taping, the cowl will come off to be painted in a separate work area away from the fuselage and wings.

This closeup shot should give you an idea of his taping techniques as the process begins.  There is a lot of standing back and looking as well as making precise measurements from the various "rivet and seam" landmarks in the fuselage and cowling.  Jeff really did a first-class job on filling all the pin holes in the cowl fiberglass sections!  I complimented Bill on how well the stripes held straight lines when passing "through" the air scoop.  His reply was "sometimes you get LUCKY!"

I went back by the hangar while on another errand and found this scene as the guys get ready to shoot the clear coat on the wings and wing tips.

The wing tip is installed with a few screws to hold it when the clear coat finish is applied to the entire wing.

And the last shot of the day shows the tail now that Bill is satisfied with the emblem on this side.  The rudder is hanging from wires out of camera range and has also been corrected.  The wheel pants now have the top gold sections covered with tape and paper with the blue coat dry.  Bill was just starting to tape them before applying the Pearl White.  The fiberglass empennage fairing is visible just below the"center" wheel fairing.  It is getting the same treatment at the wheel fairings.  Look just to the RIGHT of the step ladder and LEFT of the vertical stabilizer and you can see the upper and lower cowl parts hanging from wires.  They have been taped and covered with the blue side stripe added to them also.  The white color comes next in this process before the clear coat.  Bill was not happy with clear coat on the upper skins of the aft fuselage.  He had done some light sanding to smooth out the areas that got his attention and will shoot another layer of clear coat over it after doing one more cleaning of the area.

Bill has set his goal for today:  Finish the paint colors, then get ready to do the final clear coat on all the fiberglass.  He says I should be able to come into the shop tomorrow to start putting in my interior and help with putting all the control surfaces back on the airplane.  I went by Wendell Folks hangar to get the tools and parts I will need to work on the airplane tomorrow.  My car is starting to feel like a pickup truck again - stuffed with the interior pieces and the pilot seat w/cushions in the back seat of the car.  If all goes as planned, I should be flying the airplane out of here on Friday, back to Wendell's grass strip to finish up my interior work and get ready for the flight to Oshkosh on Sunday.  The early weather forecast is for a sunny day on Sunday!   Just what I need for a great flight to Wisconsin!