Despite the sprinkles we did manage to primer the remaining markings as well as a decent portion of the forward underside of the F-4. In addition, Mike B and family did a great job on making the landing great look nice and new.
My long extension roller pole worked so well I didn't need a ladder to reach that high on the tail. But Mike K's ladder did help us get up on the wing.
The gray finish coat paint test went well...the paint goes on thin with a brush but that's OK as its meant to be sprayed using a compressor.
Given the surface condition and the desire to try to have one finish coat applied to the underside gray and topside camo, Terry and I made a command decision to primer the entire aircraft. Using a roller I was surprised how much surface area we covered with with just one gallon of gray latex primer. My daughter took a few pics so I'll try and forward those straightaway.
One item not found in the project plan that needs addressed is our friendly local bird bomber group managed to poop bomb our nice powerwashing job on the vertical stabilizer. Mike B had a few good ideas that included bristiles and even a fake owl on top of the stab to keep our feathered friends at a reasonable viewing distance. Thanks to fellow WIX'ers who provided helpful steer on ideas to keep starlings from generating more battle damage than from Mig-17/19/21 birds.
Session #3 will be a complete roller/brush activity for the remainder of the un-primered portion of the aircraft. With enough hands on rollers and brushes it should go very quickly. Mike K and I are at Andrews AFB next week (
www.jsoh.org) but perhaps we can try for the following weekend. Im also here this week Monday-Wednesday so if weather permits I might have a go at more primer work.
Every time we do work on the F-4 it seems to smile at us as we leave. Session #4 will be grey and tan camo painting which should really start to make this bird come alive...
