Well after spending yesterday (Valentine's day) with Kerin, I got some work done on the plane today. First was to rivet the left half of the dog platform together.

Next was to prime some of these parts. I had been dreading doing this priming since it's a real bummer to deal with the primer especially in the wintertime. I left the the propane heater on full blast for over an hour to get the garage as hot as possible. It was probably 85 degrees in there. When it came time to mix the primer, it didn't want to mix well. The stuff in the can was the consistency of that stuff called slime we used to play with as kids. As I scooped a ladel full out of the can, the stuff that was dripping was actually pulling the fluid in the ladel back into the can. After mixing with the catalyst reducer, it thinned out enough to pour into the gun.

Once the first coat was on, it became apparent that it wasn't going to dry fast enough, so I broke out the electric heater (having previously shut down the propane heater) and used it to warm the parts. It's probably not the safest way to go, but without an infrared heater, this was the next best thing. Maybe I'll check eBay or Craig's list to see if I can find a cheap used infrared heater.

After the parts dried, I riveted together the latch mechanism. Looks good!