Topcoat & Windows

As the weather is getting colder and the shed is holding a lot more moisture it is getting a touch more difficult to plan the painting projects. Peter had to set up a second roof inside the shed to prevent any drips on his painting and jeopardize the outcome of the gloss. Once again there has been heaps of sanding, spot filling and more sanding! First up Peter sprayed the 'Pearl Grey' topcoat and after a few days of curing time, some areas of the hard top changed to 'Graphite Grey' to try and achieve a modern 'wrap around' look once the tinted window panels go in. Here are a few pictures of the finished topcoat on the dodger/hard top:

With the painting finished we had to wait for a few days for the paint to cure before moving on to the next phase of the project - fitting the window panels. While the lower part of the hard dodger is relatively flat, the top section of windows has a bit more of a curve which meant Peter had to slowly bend the panels into place before he could actually glue them in. 

And by now all the panels/windows are glued in and we both think it looks awesome! There is an expansion gap between each panel/window which is only really visible as you can see the temporary fasteners which keep the panels in place until the glue/sealant has fully cured. Those will be removed and a caulking seam will be all that's left to finish it off. In the meantime Peter is working on finishing the aft entrance & hatch and prepping the next areas of the aft cockpit for painting. Here are a few pics with all the panels installed and the protective plastic off but with the temporary fasteners still in place: