I got an e-mail message from the wife of a local multiple RV builder about a week ago. She had been to me web site, and noted that I was using red Bondo glazing putty. She told me that they had used that stuff on their first RV. It looked great at first, but the paint started to bubble after a year. I was quite depressed, needless to say.

I posted questions on the RV-List and the Yahoo RV8 group. I got quite a few responses, both on and off the lists. The general consensus was that it was OK to use the red glazing putty, if a few precautions were taken. There was a risk of problems if it was not given enough time to cure before painting over it, in which case it would release solvents under the paint. But, there seemed to be a good history of no problems if only thin layers were used, and if it was allowed to cure for several days before painting it.

I've been making slow progress on the fibreglas parts. I riveted all the tail section tips, except one elevator (I have to dimple four holes) and the rudder bottom. I had a minor crisis when I riveted the left elevator tip on - I heard something moving around inside the elevator. I was afraid I would have to do some surgery to open the elevator up. I pulled the elevator off the aircraft so I could figure out what was going on. I eventually discovered that there were four washers loose inside the elevator. There was just enough open space in the trim tab area that I could get the washers out without drilling out any rivets.

The rudder bottom and empennage fairing are mostly pin hole free, but they need at least one or two more cycles of prime, sand, fill before they are done. The bottom 90% of the canopy skirt is looking great, but the lip that attaches to the canopy has too many wavy parts. I decided tonight that I needed to start over in that area. I sanded off the primer and glazing putty, and I'll put on a layer of West Systems epoxy and filler, then sand that down to get rid of the waves.

The cowling bottom has glazing putty curing in the pin holes - I'll sand it this weekend and prime it. The cowling top has a layer of primer, but I haven't had time to put any filler in the pin holes yet.