After re-aligning the doors, there were some areas that didn’t have enough clearance. So those edges of the door opening got sanded down and in some places we went through the glass into foam. So those had to be filled and glassed.

Once that was done, then we had to make the space between the door and the fuselage a uniform width (and straight). This can be tricky and tedious. Since the doors are opening and closes all the time, a wider gap has to be created (unlike the wing-to-strake joint). And it’s not a straight line; it curves. So Malcolm obtained some conveyor belt material that was flexible and just the right thickness. We cut templates out of cardboard and then transferred those to the “spacer” material.

Here are some of the pieces ready to go.

The areas of the fuselage that are low have to be marked so we know where to add filler.

The following are pictures of the door with the spacer material inserted and the doors and fuselage marked.

Release wax is applied to the spacer material prior to being inserted into the gap between the door and fuselage. Then a thick cabo and Resin Research mixture is forced between the fuselage and spacer material. Since this will be an exposed edge, using just micro balloon would be too fragile. The cabo will provide a very hard edge that won’t crack when hit getting in and out of the plane.

Then regular micro balloon filler is used away from the edge to take care of the low spots on the fuselage.

And then it was sand, sand, sand.

Since the conveyer belt material was only smooth on one side, it was only possible to do one side at a time. So the procedure was repeated for the door side of the gap.

And then it’s sand, sand, sand.

I wish there was some way to illustrate the finished product. The lines are just awesome. When you run your hand over the surface from fuselage to door to fuselage, it feels perfectly smooth. But there’s no way to get a picture of that. So once we shoot it in white, shiny primer, you’ll see.