Priming itself is fun to a certain degree, but the prep work to get to that stage sure isn't. It looked like I had a rare day in the 60's today, so I figured I'd better jump on it while I could. The problem was it was extremely windy. I set up relatively close to the garage to try to get out of the wind at least a little. I spent a few hours acid etching and scuffing parts, rinsing, and drying. This portion of primer prep gets boring really quickly. I may have to figure out a new process going forward, otherwise I'll start to dread priming days. I know of some guys who scuff up parts immediately after match drilling and before dimpling (scuffing after dimpling is really rough on fingers and scotch brite pads), mostly to break up the monotony of the task. If you go that route, you still have to do a quick scuff on priming day to get rid of the oxide that has formed, but it should be a lot easier since the physical scuffing part is already done. I may give that a shot on the next elevator.
So the parts got scuffed and dried just as the wind doubled down and the clouds started looking a little more threatening. The kicker with scuffing and priming is that once you start, you really need to finish. It's too much to set up and get ready only to have to tear it down, clean, and set it all up another day. Needless to say, these parts are not the prettiest looking spray job! Falling leaves, bugs, and an occasional rain drop made for an interesting surface finish. It's fine for interior parts though.
I was down to having just the skin left to prime when the rain came. Not heavy at least, but enough that I had to move things even closer to the garage under the eaves. I was determined to finish. Because the skin is a clamshell, I had to wire it open in order to spray it. That worked fine. Everything is done and ready for assembly now. At least this elevator. It won't be long until I have to do another priming day for the left elevator. I have a feeling my options for spraying outside are probably very limited at this point though. I' guessing I'll have to set up inside the garage next time.
