Quickie Q2 Lite Construction Manual - page 69
THE FINISHING PROCESS
.....
Finishing the composite airplane is a five-step operation.
Repairs or rework of structure must be completed first, before the
obscuring finish is applied, and final structural inspections must be
complete. Second, coarse contour filling is done with
microspheres/mixed with epoxy (dry micro) as required in areas
requiring .03 inch to .20 inch of fill. Any exceptionally gross
filling (over .20 in) is also accomplished at this stage using a foam
filler. The initial contour sanding begins with the cured microsphere
filler, and exceptional caution must be exercised to avoid damaging
the structural skins while sanding. Third, featherfi1l is applied to
fill medium sized surface defects up to .03 inch, and as a general
fill of the glass surface weave. The fourth step is the application
of an ultra violet barrier primer. Fifth, the final finish paint is
applied.
.....
The following sketches are descriptive of the finishing process
and its potential pit falls. The sketches use an exaggerated scale to
show details more clearly.
STEP ONE: INSPECTION/REPAIRS
.....
Before you begin finishing, the entire structure must be
airworthy. You can hide poor workmanship from your own eyes and from
the inspector who will finally approve your first flight, but you
can't fool mother nature! All structure must be sound before finish
materials are applied. The following sketches are a review and
clarification of the quality control criteria found in Chapter 3 .
Each airplane must have a thorough inspection and required repairs
completed as the first step in finishing. The best way to inspect the
structure for bumps or dips is to place a 12" ruler on the wing or
canard span-wise, as shown. Gaps under it approaching 1/16" height
must be repaired.