79 Decathlon restoration

Cindy

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Jun 20, 2020
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Eastern Shore of Maryland
Really appreciate the photos Cindy, looks like you're doing really nice work, they'll be there for the next person which is why we're here. :)

I heard back from the factory, they'll sell the sheet fabric with the sewn seam. Chad in parts would be the person to call for whomever wants to go that route.
Any idea what they charge for it? Just curious. Because if you've done any sewing before, it's not hard to do it yourself. I was stressing about it, but it went very smoothly.
 

Cindy

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Joined
Jun 20, 2020
Messages
26
Location
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Really appreciate the photos Cindy, looks like you're doing really nice work, they'll be there for the next person which is why we're here. :)

I heard back from the factory, they'll sell the sheet fabric with the sewn seam. Chad in parts would be the person to call for whomever wants to go that route.
PS: I feel like I talk to Chad or Dale once a week at this point...
 

Bruce

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Dec 22, 2018
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Knoxville TN
Not to be a annoying but where the trim cables go through the bulkhead there needs to be a plastic guide to keep the cables from wearing into the wood or wearing the cables that’s what the other pictures I showed you were just trying to make sure you have no problems later have a great day and the pictures lookIng good
 

Cindy

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Jun 20, 2020
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Location
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Not to be a annoying but where the trim cables go through the bulkhead there needs to be a plastic guide to keep the cables from wearing into the wood or wearing the cables that’s what the other pictures I showed you were just trying to make sure you have no problems later have a great day and the pictures lookIng good
Got it, we've done it. Thanks!
 

Bartman

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@Cindy have you been taking a lot of photos as you've been working on your project? I'm in the early stages of an 8KCAB restoration and any photos you can share would be appreciated. N777DW came to me as a pile of parts so I don't have much reference as to how it goes back together other than the parts manual, factory drawings, and my 7ECA rebuild experience. Thanks!
 

Cindy

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Jun 20, 2020
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Location
Eastern Shore of Maryland
@Cindy have you been taking a lot of photos as you've been working on your project? I'm in the early stages of an 8KCAB restoration and any photos you can share would be appreciated. N777DW came to me as a pile of parts so I don't have much reference as to how it goes back together other than the parts manual, factory drawings, and my 7ECA rebuild experience. Thanks!
I do have a lot of pictures, and I am happy to share them with you as you need them. I'm not much of a techie, that's my husband's part of this restoration, so he will probably be able to give you better advice. I'm the dope and fabric expert of the partnership, but tools (wrenches, screwdrivers and the like) aren't my strong suit. But yes, we have a lot of pictures we took while disassembling the Decath.
 

Cindy

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Jun 20, 2020
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Location
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Quarantine update: Today I put on the first coat of silver, and it went on great. I have done a LOT of sanding (I have no fingerprints to speak of right now) and I recommend doing as much sanding as you can stand to get a nice smooth finish. More sanding after the next coat of silver. I was worried about pinholes, but retarder and cooler temps here seem to have kept them at bay. My spray booth temp was 65 degrees and 68% humidity. Second coat tomorrow!IMG_6191.jpgIMG_6192.jpg
 

Hiperbiper

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May 30, 2020
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680
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Shreveport Louisiana DTN
Cindy;
I noticed you completely installed your headliner prior to covering/taping/painting...
My biggest mental quandary at the moment involves the taping and masking required to get an "air tight seal" of the cockpit to avoid paint/overspray on my new headliner!
Did you put additional masking inside the cockpit? Any tips or tricks you might share?
Chris
 

Cindy

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Jun 20, 2020
Messages
26
Location
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Cindy;
I noticed you completely installed your headliner prior to covering/taping/painting...
My biggest mental quandary at the moment involves the taping and masking required to get an "air tight seal" of the cockpit to avoid paint/overspray on my new headliner!
Did you put additional masking inside the cockpit? Any tips or tricks you might share?
Chris
Hi Chris. Yes, we had to mask the door, window, windshield and panel. Here is a pic of the finished paint and I think you can see some of the masking. You will also need to install the greenhouse and mask that off as well E90E7EF8-F437-49B3-8565-A72344A31998.jpeg55CE3501-92BB-4D7B-A7A0-91FEB97A55D3.jpeg55CE3501-92BB-4D7B-A7A0-91FEB97A55D3.jpeg
 

Cindy

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Eastern Shore of Maryland
Hi Chris. Yes, we had to mask the door, window, windshield and panel. Here is a pic of the finished paint and I think you can see some of the masking. You will also need to install the greenhouse and mask that off as well View attachment 2807View attachment 2808View attachment 2808
Also, here is my recommendation on the best tapes to use. 3M 471 blue vinyl tape to get your sharp edges, 3M 06652 yellow automotive tape for maximum stickiness. I use the blue tape for the edge and then tape the masking paper to it with the yellow tape. The shit you buy at the hardware store, no matter the color, WILL NOT WORK. It either bleeds or doesn’t stick enough or the adhesive gets eaten up by the solvents in the paint. Do not skimp on your tape. I learned the hard way. Also, use good green masking paper. And make sure you have really pushed the tape down on the surface with your fingernails. I am the QUEEN of taping at this point.
 

Hiperbiper

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May 30, 2020
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Shreveport Louisiana DTN
All Hail the Queen! 😊
Beautiful work and a really nice paint scheme. What paint are you using?

I understand about the good masking materials. I'm probably over thinking the masking. If it weren't for that darn headliner being inside the airplane during painting I wouldn't even think about it.
I might use a piece of plastic inside covering both the skylight and the headliner before I tape up the outside...just in case...😉

Chris (a firm believer that Murphy was an optimist)
 

Cindy

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Jun 20, 2020
Messages
26
Location
Eastern Shore of Maryland
All Hail the Queen! 😊
Beautiful work and a really nice paint scheme. What paint are you using?

I understand about the good masking materials. I'm probably over thinking the masking. If it weren't for that darn headliner being inside the airplane during painting I wouldn't even think about it.
I might use a piece of plastic inside covering both the skylight and the headliner before I tape up the outside...just in case...😉

Chris (a firm believer that Murphy was an optimist)
That’s definitely not a bad idea. More masking is never bad. We used dope up thru silver and Ranthane for the color coats. I don’t necessarily recommend dope over the Polyfiber products, but we did not recover the wings (they’d been done previously) and they were already dope, so we wanted the whole plane to be the same. Also, our previous experience was with dope (on cotton...definitely don’t recommend) so we wanted to go with what we knew. The advantage of Polyfiber would be a lot less coats, possibly saving you time. Dope is very forgiving, the Ranthane much less so. It’s fussy, dangerous and expensive. But it’s shiny and works on fabric, fiberglass and metal so you get everything to match. You need a vented paint booth and positive pressure air supply to protect your lungs. Also, get yourself a large supply of 400 grit sandpaper.