Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 Rebuild Diary

December 2009

No work on the Great Lakes this month as Jo and I head off for a long break in Australia.

November 2009

I am skipping around the jobs now due to the weather - very cold and wet. So i cannot do any fabric work. I have a problem with the last wing, and need to repaint the underside. but with this cold damp weather - the reason for the problems I cannot continue. So I have moved onto other jobs. One big job is to modify the front cowl, to split the cowl so the prop' does not need to be removed to remove the cowl. This is an available MOD in the US, however I am doing it 'my way' as I don't have to stick exaclty to the US MOD system.

September 2009

Lots of problems! The paint on the last wing - last side - has problems. After some advise I have a solution to fix the problem but have missed my weather window so no more fabric spraying this year now.

August 2009

I have bene very busy and not much time to update site daily. So a whole month in one go! Rebuilding the cowl - the front fiberglass section I have overhauld and replaced all the metalwork. The only original part staying is the top skin. Lots of paint stripping - and repainting.

July 2009

Lots of paint stripping. Most of it again on the cowl, however I had to give up on the manual method as It appears I have badly damaged my shoulder. So I purchase an air sander, which I should have done it at the start as it made very quick work of taking all the paint off. Then I purchased another sander to polish up the surface.

June 2009

Lots of paint stripping. There are lots of layers of very old paint so stripping off has taken lots of effort and lots and lots of stripper. Cleaning the welds around the interplane struts has been time consuming as you cannot use abrasive materials.

09-Apr-09

The upper wings are now painted white. White is in part of the design and it gives a good base for the darker colours on top.

04 to 06-April-09

I have now progressed to the coloured dope on the upper wings. Two layers of white and a third layer mixed with Y9910 Universal Retarder - this is to slow the drying process as it gives a shinnier finish.

March to 03-April-09

April has just arrived and I have now progressed to top coat. Not sure how many pictures I will post at this time as I would like to keep the finished design and colour a suprise for when my Lakes is more complete.

March-2009

The weather here in the UK has killed off any progress with the covering of my Great Lakes since December - it's now March and I have been able to get back into the workshop and start work again on the fabric work. As it's mainly spraying silver, more silver and some silver I am not planning to post lots of similar pictures!


Home Page 2007 Restoration Diary 2008 Restoration Diary 2010 Restoration Diary AutoCAD Services Aircraft Weight & Balance	My Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 Rebuild Diary 2009. I purchased my Great Lakes restoration project on 12th June 2007 in Phoenix, Arizona USA. This is my restoration project diary for 2008I will update it almost daily to show the project status. I have the STC#SA2368CE and the El Dorado Zepplin Drawings for the center section mod and plan to fit it after approval from my inspector and LAA. I am also looking at the Split Cowl STC#SA00123BO.
	December 2009 No work on the Great Lakes this month as Jo and I head off for a long break in Australia. November 2009 I am skipping around the jobs now due to the weather - very cold and wet. So i cannot do any fabric work. I have a problem with the last wing, and need to repaint the underside. but with this cold damp weather - the reason for the problems I cannot continue. So I have moved onto other jobs. One big job is to modify the front cowl, to split the cowl so the prop' does not need to be removed to remove the cowl. This is an available MOD in the US, however I am doing it 'my way' as I don't have to stick exaclty to the US MOD system. September 2009 Lots of problems! The paint on the last wing - last side - has problems. After some advise I have a solution to fix the problem but have missed my weather window so no more fabric spraying this year now. August 2009 I have bene very busy and not much time to update site daily. So a whole month in one go! Rebuilding the cowl - the front fiberglass section I have overhauld and replaced all the metalwork. The only original part staying is the top skin. Lots of paint stripping - and repainting. July 2009 Lots of paint stripping. Most of it again on the cowl, however I had to give up on the manual method as It appears I have badly damaged my shoulder. So I purchase an air sander, which I should have done it at the start as it made very quick work of taking all the paint off. Then I purchased another sander to polish up the surface. June 2009 Lots of paint stripping. There are lots of layers of very old paint so stripping off has taken lots of effort and lots and lots of stripper. Cleaning the welds around the interplane struts has been time consuming as you cannot use abrasive materials. 09-Apr-09 The upper wings are now painted white. White is in part of the design and it gives a good base for the darker colours on top. 04 to 06-April-09 I have now progressed to the coloured dope on the upper wings. Two layers of white and a third layer mixed with Y9910 Universal Retarder - this is to slow the drying process as it gives a shinnier finish. March to 03-April-09 April has just arrived and I have now progressed to top coat. Not sure how many pictures I will post at this time as I would like to keep the finished design and colour a suprise for when my Lakes is more complete. March-2009 The weather here in the UK has killed off any progress with the covering of my Great Lakes since December - it's now March and I have been able to get back into the workshop and start work again on the fabric work. As it's mainly spraying silver, more silver and some silver I am not planning to post lots of similar pictures!
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