Fuselage Part Two

Welcome to Fuselage part two, this is a continuation of the fuselage part of the build. Fuselage Part One was getting quite large and the page was loading slowly so I added this page to help speed things up....

I am deburring parts listed in Section 42: Miscellanea which are basically access panels that are located in the center of the fuselage cabin interior.
I started with (F-01406F) baggage bulkhead corrugation.

This is the "door" that separates the baggage compartment from the aft section of the fuselage.
I am deburring the edges using a file and have deburred all of the holes.

After the (F-01406F) baggage bulkhead corrugation is painted, a placard to warn passengers as to the experimental nature of this aircraft, will be placed on it to comply with FAA regulations 45.23.

This is the FAA Regulation:
§ 45.23 Display of marks; general.

(a) Each operator of an aircraft must display on that aircraft marks consisting of the Roman capital letter “N” (denoting United States registration) followed by the registration number of the aircraft. Each suffix letter used in the marks displayed must also be a Roman capital letter.

(b) When marks include only the Roman capital letter “N” and the registration number is displayed on limited, restricted or light-sport category aircraft or experimental or provisionally certificated aircraft, the operator must also display on that aircraft near each entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station, in letters not less than 2 inches nor more than 6 inches high, the words “limited,” “restricted,” “light-sport,” “experimental,” or “provisional,” as applicable.

There are additional placards required, and some have stated that "Experimental" needs to be placed closer to where the front seats are so make sure to check.

I like to use a hand file to debur the edges of parts first and follow up with sanding or polishing the edges with fine grit sand paper. It also helps to have the part clamped to the bench!

The debur process is done and now I have scuffed the front side with maroon Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for painting.

This is the aft side of the (F-01406F) baggage bulkhead corrugation. I am only going to paint the edges and the remainder will be the natural aluminum finish.

The next parts to be debuured are the (F-01447A) step access covers, there are two of them. These cover the baggage floor section where the aircraft steps are installed.

*I am basically working on the parts from the aft to front direction...

All of the edges of the (F-01447A) step access covers have been deburred and all of the holes have been deburred.

I scuffed the (F-01447A) step access floor covers with maroon Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for painting.

*I am only painting the outer surfaces of these access covers and leaving the inner surfaces in the natural aluminum finish.

The (F-01446) baggage floor cover is next for deburring.

The edges of the (F-01446) baggage floor cover have been deburred and all of the holes have been deburred.

The outer surface of the (F-01446) baggage floor cover has been scuffed with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad in preparation for painting.

The (F-01445B-L and F-01445B-R) left and right flap motor cover sides are next to be deburred.

There are three pieces that make up the flap motor cover, these are the two sides, and the front is the (F-01445A) flap motor cover front.
They will all eventually be riveted together to form a single unit.

I started deburring the edges of the (F-01445B-R) right flap motor cover. The edges have been deburred here as well as all of the screw holes.

I scuffed the outer surface of the (F-01445B-R) flap motor cover with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad in preparation for painting.

I deburred the edges of the (F-01445B-L) flap motor cover and deburred all of the screw holes.

The outer surfaces of the (F-01445B-L and F-01445B-R) left and right flap motor covers with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad in preparation for painting.

The (F-01445A) front flap motor cover is next to be deburred.

The (F-01445A) front flap motor cover edges have been deburred and all of the screw holes have been deburred.

I scuffed the outer surface of the (F-01445A) flap motor cover with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad in preparation for painting.

The flap motor cover assembly consists of three pieces, the (F-01445B-L and F-01445B-R) left and right flap motor cover sides, and the (F-01445A) flap motor cover front.
They will all be riveted together to form a single unit.

I clecoed the (F-01445B-L and F-01445B-R) left and right flap motor cover sides to the (F-01445A) flap motor cover front.

I am placing blue masking tape along the overlapping edges of the flap motor assembly so that when I disassemble the unit I can prime them.

I have disassembled the flap cover assembly and will prime the edges with SPI 6610-4 epoxy primer.

*I am doing this so that when assembled I'll know that the inner, overlapping edges, will have a coat of primer and the outer surfaces and rivets will be easier painted with the spray gun.
I am going to leave the inner surfaces of the flap motor cover assembly in the natural aluminum finish.

I just painted the edges with a coat of SPI 6610-4 epoxy primer using a brush, nothing fancy here; it will never be seen!

As per step three, on page 42-03, referencing figure three, the (F-01445B-R, F-01445B-L, and F-01445A) flap motor covers were clecoed together and riveted using AN470AD3-3 rivets set with a rivet gun and tungsten bucking bar.

View of the inside of the flap motor cover assembly.

The (F-01439) seat ramp cover is next to be deburred.
This cover "sits" between the two (F-01440-L and F-01440-R) left and right seat ramps. It will receive two K1000-08D nutplates later.

The (F-01439) seat ramp cover edges have been deburred as were all of the screw holes.

The outer surface of the (F-01439) seat ramp cover was scuffed with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad in preparation for painting.

As per step two, on page 42-02, referencing figure one, four nutplate rivet holes in the (F-01439) seat ramp cover were dimpled to receive AN426AD3-3 rivets.

I used our DRDT2 dimple machine to dimple the holes with 3/32" dimple dies.

(K1000-08D) nutplates will be installed here. They are pre-dimpled in order to receive the (AN426AD3-3) rivets.

As per step two, on page 42-02, the (K1000-08D) nutplates were installed using our hand squeezer.

Just a closer view.

View from the back side of the (F-01439) seat ramp cover nutplate installation.

There are two seat ramps, (F-01440-L and F-01440-R). They are the at base of the front seats.

I started on the (F-01440-L) left seat ramp and got the edges and all of the screw holes deburred.
The slot in the larger portion of the panel is where the crotch strap of a five point seat harness will pass through. It is offset towards the outboard sides of each seat ramp, (this helps keep one orientated when working on the part).

Since the crotch strap is passed through this slot, I made sure that the edges of the slot were rounded over so as to not have a point where abrasion could occur.

*Seat harness belts are not included in the kit so they will have to be purchased separately.

I haven't made a final selection yet, but I am probably going to purchase 5 point seat safety harnesses from Crow Safety Gear with Kam Lock connectors.
They are in our town so I can go to the store and "check the restraints out" in person.

I scuffed the outer surface of the (F-01440-L) left seat ramp with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad in preparation for painting.

As per step one, on page 42-02, referencing figure one, the nutplate rivet holes in the (F-01440-L) left seat ramp were dimpled to accept AN426AD3-3 rivets.

I dimpled the holes using our DRDT2 dimple machine using 3/32" dimple dies.

The K1000-08D nutplate was riveted to the (F-01440-L) left seat ramp with AN426AD3-3 rivets set with our hand squeezer.

Top view of nutplate rivets set on the (F-01440-L) left seat ramp.

View of nutplate on the back side of the (F-01440-L) left seat ramp.

Next, on to the deburring process of the (F-01440-R) right seat ramp. Just like the left seat ramp, this panel is at the base of the seat on the right side of the aircraft.

The edges of the (F-01440-R) right seat ramp and all of the screw holes were deburred.

The edges were polished on this (F-01440-R) right seat ramp, (as they are on all of my deburring operations), using fine grit sandpaper.
I began the process of scuffing the outer surface with a maroon Scotch-Brite™ pad.

I scuffed the outer surface of the (F-01440-R) right seat ramp with maroon and gray Scotch-Brite™ pads and washed all surfaces with acetone in preparation for painting.

As per step one, on page 42-02, referencing figure one, I dimpled the nutplate holes in the (F-01440-R) right seat ramp in order to receive AN426AD3-3 rivets using 3/32" dimple dies set with our DRDT2 dimple machine.

As per step one, on page 42-02, referencing figure one, I riveted the K1000-08D nutplates to the (F-01440-R) right seat ramp with AN426AD3-3 rivets using our hand squeezer.

Here is the view of the riveted K1000-08D nutplate on the back side of the (F-01440-R) right seat ramp.

These are the (F-01436-L and F-01436-R) left and right control column covers. They are next for deburring.
The openings are where the control sticks pass through. There are some holes that will need to be dimpled (and later riveted) and they are in tight spaces so just a "heads up" for now....

I am starting on the (F-01436-L) left control column cover.

I deburred the edges and all of the holes in the (F-01436-L) control column cover using a file.

After the file work is done I like to polish the edges of the pieces with fine grit sandpaper. I usually start with 220 grit sandpaper and finish with 600 grit.
I polished the edges of the (F-01436-L) left control column cover.

Nice!

I scuffed the outer surface of the (F-01436-L) left control column cover with maroon and gray Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for painting.

This is the part where I am a little embarassed about....there are four holes that need to be dimpled in order to install nutplates. The "throw" on our hand squeezer is 3 inches and it will not reach the two holes located at the back of the (F-01436-L) left control column cover because of the bend (almost 90°) in the piece and I can't get it into the opening to get at the holes.....what am I going to do?

I have an Avery 3/32" pop rivet dimpler that I got from Aircraft Spruce, that's what I will use to get to these tough holes to dimple, it works well.

*The embarassing part is that I later found my 1.5" yoke for the squeezer which made the job of dimpling the (F-01436-R) right control column cover a "snap" but I'll continue with the story...

*By the way, the holes are set too far back to dimple them with our DRDT2 because of the bend in the metal.

The Avery pop rivet dimpler has a male and female 3/32" dimple die set and uses a hardware nail (4D I think) as the mandrel that an ordinary pop rivet gun will use to make the dimple.

You just slip the female die and mandrel through the bottom of the metal that needs to be dimpled and the male dimple die will be placed over the mandrel on the opposite side.

You can see that corner bend on the left side of the photograph that I was describing earlier; it's what makes this dimple "tricky".

Make sure everything is snug.

Now on the other side the male dimple die gets placed onto the nail mandrel.

As you can see, the dimples turn out nice.

As per step five, on page 42-02, referencing figure three, I dimpled the four rivet holes on the (F-01436-L) left control column cover that will receive AN426AD3-3 rivets using the Avery 3/32" pop rivet gun dimple tool.

Now the next hurdle....how do I dimple the #8 screw holes? I don't have a #8 pop rivet gun dimple tool, (I still haven't figured it out that I have a 1.5" yoke for the hand squeezer) that will easily do the job.
I was able to at least dimple the front hole with our DRDT2 dimple machine for a #8 screw, but what about the back hole the arrow is pointing to?

Got to think of something to get the job done...

This is the apparatus that I constructed in order to dimple the #8 screw holes that are in the hard to reach areas of the (F-01436-L) left control column cover.

It consists of:
(1) 2" "C" Clamp
(2) Wood Dimple Die Holders
(2)#8 Screw Dimple Die Sets

There are two wood die set holders; one is circular and the other is half circular so they don't interfere with the metal surfaces they will be close to when dimpling the holes. They are 1 3/16" in diameter and 7/16" thick (just about 1/16" longer than the dimple die shank is), and the center hole, (which needs to be drilled with a drill press so that a perfect 90° angle to the die set holder surface exists), is 11/64" in diameter. (The 11/64" diameter hole holds the die set firmly so it will not drop out of the wood holder.)

As per step five, on page 42-02, referencing figure three, I dimpled the remaining #8 screw hole on the (F-01436-L) left control coulmn cover with the "C" Clamp device.

*It's best to use a vise to hold the (F-01436-L) left control column cover vertically because the placement of the whole "contraption" is kind of tricky.

Here is what it looks like when viewing from above, you can also see why I made the one wood dimple die holder semi-circular because the edge does get a little close to the bend in the metal of the (F-01436-L) left control coulmn cover.

The "C" Clamp device did a nice job, the arrow points to the hole dimpled by the device and the hole at the bottom was done with our DRDT2 dimple machine. They are virtually the same in appearance!

Here is what the "C" Clamp dimple looks like on the other side.

The #8 screws sit in the dimples nicely!

Now it's time to debur the edges on the (F-01436-R) right control column cover.

This time the work is going to be a little easier because by now I have found the 1.5" yoke for our hand squeezer and dimpling holes will proceed much quicker!

Back to the edge deburring....
As stated before, I used a small fine toothed file to debur the edges and then used a hole deburring tool to debur all of the holes.

After the file work is done I like to polish the edges of the pieces with fine grit sandpaper. I usually start with 220 grit sandpaper and finish with 600 grit.
I polished the edges of the (F-01436-R) right control column cover.

Nice!

This is the 1.5" yoke for our hand held squeezer, I've had it for a long time but never needed to use it very much.

I purchased it from Aircraft Tool Supply.

To change the yokes all you have to do is use a hammer and punch to remove the three roll pins and switch the yokes out.

*The roll pins are 7/32" in diameter and 23/32" long.

The hand squeezer now has a 1.5" yoke installed!

As per step five, on page 42-02, referencing figure three, I dimpled the nutplate holes in the (F-01436-R) right control column cover using our hand rivet squeezer equipped with a 1.5" yoke.

The dimpling process went a lot faster on this (F-01436-R) right control column cover because I changed over to the 1.5" yoke. There is plenty of room to get the yoke into the space through the rectangular opening.

As per step five, on page 42-02, referencing figure three, I dimpled the #8 screw holes in the (F-01436-R) right control column cover using the hand rivet squeezer equipped with #8 screw dimple dies.

These four K1000-06 nutplates need to be dimpled. I will need to use a small diameter female 3/32" dimple die here because a regular sized one might be block by the center screw receiver post.

As per step five, on page 42-02, referencing figure three, the four K1000-06 nutplates were dimpled using our DRDT2 dimple machine equipped with one 3/32" male substructure dimple die set and one 3/32" small diameter female dimple die set.

*The small female dimple die set is at the top of the photograph. The bottom of the photograph shows the MS35206-228 screw that will secure the control stick boot in place later in the construction process.

As per step six, on page 42-02, referencing figure three, the K1000-06 nutplates were riveted to the (F-01436-L and F-01436-R) left and right control column covers with AN426AD3-3 rivets using our hand rivet squeezer.

I scuffed the (F-01436-R) right control column cover with maroon and gray Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for painting.

Here is a better picture of the scuffed (F-01436-R) right control column cover. Usually I do a quick wash of acetone to clean up the fine dust particles after the scuffing process. Later, just before painting, the piece will get a soap and water washing and degreased.

Both of the (F-01436-L and F-01436-R) left and right control column covers have been scuffed.

The (F-01452) aft tunnel cover is next in line for deburring.

I deburred the edges and all of the holes of the (F-01452) aft tunnel cover.

The edges of the (F-01452) aft tunnel cover were sanded and polished with various grits of sandpaper, starting with 220 grit and ending with 600 grit....I know, lots of extra work...

I scuffed the (F-01452) aft tunnel cover with maroon and gray Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for painting.

There are three small pieces that will be riveted in place on the different panels, the two (F-14114) control stick doublers, and the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover doubler.

I will start deburring the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover doubler.

This is the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover doubler.

I deburred the edges and all of the holes of the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover doubler and scuffed all of the surfaces with maroon and gray Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for painting.

I just wanted to recap that I am in Section 42 called Miscellanea which is basically all of the access covers in the interior of the aircraft cabin plus the outside steps.

Here are the parts listed in this section:
(F-14187) 2-Shoulder harness cables

(F-01406F) Baggage bulkhead corrugation

(F-01446) Baggage floor cover

(F-01447A) 2- Tri-gear step access covers

(F-00017-L and F-00017-R) 2-Left and right steps

(F-01445A-1, F-01445B-L-1, and F-01445B-R-1) Flap motor cover assembly

(F-01439) Seat ramp cover

(F-01440-L and F-01440-R) Left and right seat ramps

(F-14114) 2-Control stick boot doublers

(F-01436-L and F-01436-R) Left and right control column covers

(F-01452) Aft tunnel cover

(F-14105) Forward tunnel cover

This is the (F-14105) forward tunnel cover. I start out with a file and debur the edges.

After I debur the edges I like to "polish" them with fine grit sandpaper.

All of the holes are deburred in the (F-14105) forward tunnel cover.

I scuffed the outer surface of the (F-14105) foward tunnel cover with maroon Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for priming.

These are the two (F-14114) control stick boot doublers.

The deburring process begins again starting with deburring the edges with a small file and all of the holes were deburred.

After deburring the edges and deburring all of the holes of the (F-14114) control stick boot doublers I polished the edges with fine grit sandpaper.

The surfaces of the two (F-14114) control stick boot doublers were scuffed with maroon Scotch-Brite™ pads in preparation for priming.

As per step one, on page 42-07, and referencing figure one, the instructions mention that the holes in the (F-14114) control stick boot doublers need to be dimpled on the bottom sides so that the stick boots (not included in the kit) can be attached with AACQ 4-3 rivets (also not included in the kit). The question is, which holes need to be dimpled? I set up the (F-01436-L and F-01436-R) left and right control column covers onto the bench and then placed the two (F-14114) control stick boot doublers into position to figure this out.

Remember that in step six, on page 42-02, and referencing figure three, nutplates were installed onto the (F-01436-L and F-01436-R) left and right control column covers so these holes had to remain open. Knowing that the (F-14114) control stick boot doublers were held in place by three MS35206-228 screws and these three holes had to remain open, placing the control stick boot doublers in the proper orientation is important.
I placed pieces of masking tape over those holes that do not get dimpled. *The front hole does not get dimpled either so don't forget to put a piece of tape over it too.

This is the right control column cover.

This is the left control column cover.

As per step one, on page 42-07, referencing figure one, the two (F-14114) control stick boot doublers were dimpled in the appropriate holes, and from the bottom side, in order to receive (AACQ 4-3) rivets.

I primed the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover doubler and the two (F-14114) control stick boot doublers with SPI (Southern Polyurethanes, Inc) 6610-4 gray epoxy primer.

I ordered stick covers from Classic Aero Designs, located in Albany, Oregon and ironically if I had known that their stick covers came with the (F-14114) control stick boot doublers already attached, I would not have had to do all of the previous work on the stick boot doublers that came with the kit from Van's Aircraft.

At least I now have an extra set of finished control stick boot doublers if I ever need them in the future!

These stick covers are really nice and they are made of FAA approved leather. These are Orion/Raven colored, but you can order different colors from them.

The part number for these is: (RV-09013).

Here is their website: Classic Aero Designs

You can see the AACQ 4-3 rivets that hold the leather to the (F-14114) control stick boot doublers.

The MS35206-228 screws are included with the stick covers.

I painted the two (F-14114) control stick boot doublers and the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover with Krylon Cover Maxx gloss black paint.

As per step one, on page 42-03 of the builder's manual and referencing figure one, I riveted the (F-01452A) aft tunnel cover doubler to the (F-01452) aft tunnel cover setting AN470AD3-3 rivets with our hand held squeezer.

When I clean the bare metal parts in preparation for priming, I usually clean them with soap and water first and then use this SPI (Southern Polyurethanes, Inc.) waterborne wax and grease remover.
It does a good job but you have to let the parts dry for at least 30 minutes before applying any paints.

I cleaned and degreased the (F-01406F) baggage bulkhead corrugation with the SPI waterborne wax and grease remover in preparation for priming.

This is the aft side of the bulkhead, I am only going to prime the edges so I will mask it later, after it drys, before painting.

I cleaned and degreased the (F-01446) baggage floor cover with the SPI waterborne wax and grease remover in preparation for priming.

This is the aft side of the floor cover, I am only going to prime the edges so I will mask it later before painting.

I masked the centers of the (F-01446) baggage floor cover and also the (F-01406F) baggage bulkhead corrugation, in order to expose the edges, in preparation for priming.

This is my large paint booth that I use in the garage to paint some of the medium sized parts.
It is a Harbor Freight CoverPro 10 ft. x 10 ft. Slant Leg Pop-Up Canopy, part number: 62899.

*Currently the canopy lists for $59.99 at Harbor Freight.

I clamp 6 mil plastic sheeting, that I bought from Home Depot, to cover the sides and bottoms in order to contain the overspray of paint.

When I am done using the paint booth, I fold it up and it is stored in the wheeled storage bag that was included in the pop-up canopy kit.

To exhaust the booth when I am painting, I use a Vevor 12 inch explosion proof fan.
It is equipped with a high-performance 550W AC motor, this explosion proof axial fan really ventilates the booth. They claim that it can achieve an airflow volume of 2500 CFM which, I don't doubt....it does the job!

I bought this fan at Amazon, they have it listed at $188, so it is a little pricey, but being that it is explosion proof no need to worry about accidental fires when painting!
I constructed a four foot long box equipped with four furnace filters to capture the overspray, the exhaust fan vents directly into the box from a 12 inch duct that I run from the booth into the back of the exhaust fan.

This is the 12 inch x 25 foot Vevor PVC flexible duct hosing that I am using to vent between the paint booth and the exhaust fan.

I bought this flexible duct from Amazon it currently lists for $43.59.

Here you can see the exhaust set up...

Here is the booth in use, I use a light unit from Harbor Freight to light the booth.

The set up works pretty well!

I primed the following parts with SPI (Southern Polyurethanes, Inc.) 6610-4 gray epoxy primer:
(F-01406F) aft side of the baggage bulkhead corrugation
(F-01446) aft side of the baggage floor cover
(F-01447A) two- step access covers
(F-01452) aft tunnel cover
(F-14105) forward tunnel cover

(F-01406F) front side of baggage bulkhead corrugation
(F-01440-L) left seat ramp
(F-01440-R) right seat ramp
(F-01436-L) left control column cover
(F-01436-R) right control column cover

All of the parts were sanded and scuffed before painting with Stewart Systems Ekocrylic waterborne E5301 smoke gray.
The following parts were painted:
(F-01406F) baggage bulkhead corrugation
(F-01446) baggage floor cover
(F-01447A) two- step access covers
Flap motor cover assembly
(F-01440-R) right seat ramp
(F-01439) seat ramp cover
(F-01440-L) left seat ramp
(F-01436-R) right control column cover
(F-01452) aft tunnel cover
(F-01436-L) left control column cover
(F-14105) forward tunnel cover

The seat back brace assemblies and the seatback assemblies were painted with Stewart Systems waterborne Ekocrylic E5301 smoke gray paint.

The (F-00017-L and F-00017-R) left and right steps are made of 4130 chromium molybdenum alloy steel. They are very hard and strong but the texture is grainy and rough. I want to sand and smooth them out in preparation for painting. I am using silicon carbide sandpaper so that I do not get dissimilar metal contamination. I am starting out with 150 grit sandpaper.

I sanded the (F-00017-L) left step first, starting out with 150 grit silicon carbide sandpaper and working up through the grits to at least 400 grit so that when I apply the primer and topcoat paints I'll get a super smooth finish....the idea is not to have to use any heavy fillers as well. I also fashioned a heavy copper wire rod to hold the step and manuever it as I paint it in the paint booth.

Now to sand the (F-00017-R) right step.

If you look closely, you can see the textured surface of the step, I still need to get this one a little smoother for painting.

I finished sanding the (F-00017-R) right step. Now it is time to clean the steps with soap and water and then wax and degrease them with the degreaser.

I washed and degreased the two steps with SPI (Southern Polyurethanes, Inc.) 700-1 waterborne wax and grease remover.

I am priming the (F-00017-L and F-00017-R) left and right steps with SPI (Southern Polyurethanes, Inc.) 6610-4 gray epoxy primer.

I am using my small Homeright Spray Shelter to paint in today, it isn't as big as my other spray booth and takes very little time to set up; it's a pop-up spray booth and I still ventilate it with the Vevor exhaust fan system decribed earlier.

This spray booth folds up into a small carrying bag when not in use.

I painted the (F-00017-L and F-00017-R) left and right steps with UTECH 500 gloss black paint.
UTECH 500 is a two-component, urethane single-stage topcoat paint.

I am painting the steps with a gloss black in preparation for my next step which is to apply Alclad ALC 107 chrome to simulate a chrome finish on the steps.

Even though the gloss black finish looked really good, I am going to sand the steps with 1000 grit sandpaper in order to get an "uber smooth" finish and then recoat the steps with another wet-coat of gloss black because in order to get the chrome effect of the Alclad chrome paint, the painted surface has to be glass smooth....I know, it's a lot of work but let's see what happens!

I painted the (F-00017-L and F-00017-R) left and right steps with Alclad ALC 107 chrome.

Alclad ALC 107 chrome is a lacquer paint mostly used in the model world and is applied with an airbrush with at least a .38 mm nozzle at no more than 20psi. It is applied in thin coats with usually around 3 thin coats to simulate chrome.

I used a 4 ounce detail spray gun with a .6 mm nozzle to paint the steps and used 5 ounces of paint in order to cover them with 3 coats. I think they turned out pretty nice!

In order to protect the finish I painted the (F-00017-L and F-00017-R) left and right steps with three coats of Alclad ALC 310 clear lacquer at 22 psi.
The chrome finish is slightly duller but not really that bad, all I have to do next is paint some wing walk material on the treads and the steps will be finished...