Glassing the Fuselage

Glassing the Fuselage

Basically, the same steps were repeated on the fuselage as were done to glass the wing, so I won't go into great detail here. The main difference was that I totally abandonded the "3M Adhesive technique" on the fuse, and did it in many more sections than on the wing.

One important thing to note here... When glassing (or building for that matter) a structure with as many diverse shapes and compound curves & joints as the fuselage of the Dauntless, it pays to take a few minutes and get together some good sanding and filing tools. For example, I used a paper towl roll cut into short sections with different grits of sandpaper wrapped around them. This is great for sanding valleys, wing fairings, etc..

I also made a variety of sanding sticks, and other odd convex and concave balsa blocks with sandpaper on them. This way, you always have a sanding tool that's right for the situation. And, don't forget a good assortment of files too... good for tight spots.

With a few good coats of Lacqueer Sanding Sealer cured and lightly sanded, I proceeded to apply the 3/4 ounce glass cloth and waterbased polycrylic. I found it easier to glass the fuse by rolling it over on it's side and cutting a few large sections to cover the majority of the fuse from end to end.
Starting in the center of each section of glass, I brushed the poly on, working out to the edges. I set this up to overlap all sections of glass by about one inch. Areas like the fairings, topdecks, etc. were done in smaller sections after the sides were done.

Once I had my 6 coats of poly on (sanding between coats), I gave it a final sanding before primer. The primer revealed more low/flat/high spots than I had hoped for... the stringers were creating the most problem. So, out came the Acryl Green Spot Putty and I went to work on these areas.

Once dry, I sanded the fuse as smooth as I could, and primered it yet again. This way I could check for any areas missed or still presenting a problem. Lastly I gave it one more sanding to get the majority of the primer back off.