I installed a nutplate to hold the center console side panel:
Nutplate to hold center console side panel
We used the windshield (even without trimming) to mark a line of the inside of the top forward skin so we want to apply primer/paint on it (and later do a first cut of the glareshield material to it):
Windshield in place to mark glareshield area
Forward fuselage top skin with glareshield area cleared of vinyl for primer
Forward fuselage top skin being protected with tape in non-primed/painted areas
Painting the visible parts of the forward fuselage top skin
Primed and painted forward fuselage top skin
Forward fuselage structure assembled together
Forward fuselage structure riveted together
Cooling/defrost fan doublers riveted in place
Panel attachment flanges and nutplates riveted in place
With this, section 31 is complete, except for the bracket that holds engine cables which I'm not yet sure I'll need. Actually attaching the panel to the fuselage is part of the later section 41, which I'll do after the firewall layout is complete.
The last remaining part of section 28 (Forward fuselage ribs, bulkheads and bottom skin) was to rivet the front seat floors, even though they don't get attached until much later (in the Finish kit), so I deburred, primed and painted those, then riveted them:
Primed, painted and riveted seat floors
Time lapse:
Total forward fuselage ribs, bulkheads and bottom skin rivets: 954 Total forward fuselage ribs, bulkheads and bottom skin time: 136.3h
After the primer batch, I decided to paint the primed interior parts that would be visible:
Painted baggage door, baggage area and rear seat parts
Painted baggage door and tailcone attachment parts
Painted floors and rear seat backs
Painted cover plates
There are aparts already attached to the fuselage that may also need painting, plus most section 35 parts are not finished/ready for paint yet, but I'll do those later.
Overall, painting with the spray can was just sooo much easier than the HVLP, and I was pretty happy with the results.
Time lapse:
Total paint time: 1.5h
(but I'll count the total time in each section for the parts, proportionally)
Even if I go with one of the many interior cover options, there are several parts that are still exposed in the fuselage's interior, which will need to be painted. I wanted a matte gray tone, and wanted something that I'm likely to be able to buy more of later (e.g. for touch-ups or future mods), so I picked up a few spray cans at Home Depot to test them out (and it's surprisingly hard to find spray paint without primer). I applied them on the bottom part of the baggage floor so it's not visible later:
Various paint types tested on the bottom of the baggage floor. Left to right: Rust-oleum chalked country gray, Rust-oleum chalked aged gray, Rust-oleum pro dark machine gray, Behr Chalk classic noir
I liked the 3rd color (dark machine gray) best, but it's unfortunately quite glossy (notice the reflection of the can on the paint), so I'll likely go with the first one (country gray) instead. The other two were matte but too dark or too light.
