Lots of little parts this time. You will note the blue painter’s tape used as labels on some parts… lesson learned. Without these little helpers, it can be frustrating putting everything back together as there are slight variations in parts that APPEAR to be exactly the same.
In the cover photo, you can see all of the parts to be primed after being scuffed with a maroon scotchbrite pad. Attaching the scotchbrite pad to an orbital sander was a game changer!! Saves A LOT of time and effort. Not shown, the first Acetone wipe down removes any oils and the ever present blue sharpie marks before scuffing. There are quite a few differing opinions (HUUUGE understatement) on how to prepare the aluminum for priming but this has been working well for me.
After this step, I wiped the parts down for a second time with Acetone to remove any remaining oils (note the gloves I am wearing) and dust.
One goof I already noticed is that I must have gotten a little too excited using my new paint gun (BlackWidow from HF) because I primed a couple of the exterior skin pieces (R021 and both R022). At the moment, I am planning to hire a professional to paint the exterior of the Rocket so I hope he isn’t too upset at this error.
Doug's F1 Rocket Build 