L3 Certification Build: 8" Upscale Frenzy

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Masked for spraying the silver on the fins.
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After spraying silver on the fins . . .
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After removing the masking . . .
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Done with the color coats! Next step: clear coat . . .
 
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Don't forget about followed by two weeks of wet sanding, polishing and waxing.

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I included that part in the two month estimate. I started painting one month ago and I'm almost done (actually most of that time was spent waiting for good spray painting weather). I've never wet sanded and polished a rocket this big but I expect it to take me several weeks. Mostly sanding. I can polish with the machine but I have to do all the sanding by hand.
 
After spraying 5 coats of clear lacquer. I put the coupler in the booster section so you can now see how the switch band makes the upper black stripe.

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Next step: Wait a couple of days and then start wet sanding . . .
 
Nice work as usual. The wet sanding is my most dreaded, and I don't go half as long as you. I just did a Madcow Little John. Didn't fill spirals, didn't fill wood grains and I painted it OD green. Talk about a nice break from the wet sanding! Not the prettiest thing but should look good on the pad.
 
Here it is how it looks assembled . . .
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And now on to the wet sanding.
 
Thanks. I won't be at MWP, this season I plan to fly it at BattlePark and MDRA.
 
Wow I may have to make a trip to MDRA to see that fly. Great work! Let us know ahead of time when you will be flying at MDRA.
 
Beautiful work. Makes mine look like Quasimodo . . .

Yeah but your Patriot is a way more complex build. Compared to your L3 mine is like an oversized Estes Alpha. If mine is a lot smoother it's mostly due to the difference between hand laid fiberglass vs filament wound.
 
That image alone probably just cost a few Texas A&M alums their monitors.
Sadly, second half meltdowns are nothing new to Aggies. :facepalm: The Bruins are not the source of our dismay. They just happened to but the opponent du jour when the wheels came off.
 
I have finished wet sanding the booster section and the nose cone. I go most of the way with 1000 grit then switch to 2000 grit to finish. It normally wouldn't have taken me 3 weeks to do that much wet sanding but I've been busy with a lot of other stuff lately and have been squeezing in rocketry work when I can. I still have to wet sand the payload section and also the switch band on the av bay. Then on to polishing.

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I just completed the last of the wet sanding. Glad that's finished. That was a rediculous amount of sanding.

I might start polishing tomorrow evening.
 
FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been 7 months since I started building this rocket and it is now done. The paint job alone took me 10 weeks.

I did all the polishing by machine using a Porter Cable 7424 polisher. First I polished with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound using a Lake Country white CCS pad. Then I polished again with Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish using a black (softer) CCS pad. The last step was a wax job using Chemical Guys 5050 paste wax.


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And now some final glamour shots . . .

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Unfreakinbelievable...
I was jealous before
but this is just ridiculous...
Couldn't you at least mess up the garage some ??

Teddy
 
Nice, love the moon landing article.

Thanks, I always try to use something interesting to show reflections. Then I remembered that I have a bunch of old NY Times and Washington Post from the Apollo missions.

I'll probably be bringing the rocket with me to the Sod Farm this Sunday for display only.

Beautiful work. Mine's more like it looks OK from 50 feet. :p

Will you be flying at MWP?

Nope, too much driving for me. First flight will be the L3 cert flight at MDRA once they get back to Higgs Farm, maybe November or December. I'll also be flying it once this season at Battlepark then probably again at Red Glare in the spring.

Unfreakinbelievable...
I was jealous before
but this is just ridiculous...
Couldn't you at least mess up the garage some ??

Teddy

Ha, thanks Teddy. I did sweep the floor and straighten up some junk in the garage before taking pictures.
 
Just amazing Nathan, this one might be the best one yet!
I don't see any burn marks that you polished a little too much like the edge of fins or screw holes. Just shaking my head man, makes my best work look like a 5 year old painted in comparison


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So,
I got a 8" x 10' 6" rocket that's still nekid after 2 flights... What would it take to bribe you to paint it?
No, never mind... With a paint job that beautiful, I'd be too afraid to take it out of the house.
Seriously, that looks friggen awesome! Well done.
 
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