Builder Assistance - Oregon - Door & Cabin Top Fiberglass

I'm interested in finding some builder assistance for a couple 3-day weekends to try to make some more meaningful progress on my doors and the cabin top. I've been messing around for well over a month and don't feel a whole lot closer to moving forward than I did when I started.

My plan is to use the McMaster Carr seal and the Plane-around 3rd door latch.

If you've successfully implemented both of the above, are experienced in fiberglass and, of course, are interested in helping, please PM me.

I'm located near Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge.

Thank you!

Eric, I you were in Socal... I'd be glad to help... And even though in #misswhiskeydelta I can get there pretty quick, it's still a long haul.
The good thing about fiberglass is, everything is fixable/re-doable....
For the doors, one thing I should have done, is just cover the whole darn thing with superfill (or equivalent) and sand away. I tried to do little at a time... no no no.... cover it all and sand away... Same for the exposed areas of the cabin top.

Hi John,

"Fiberglass is easy to fix" is exactly what's been taking so long! I made the mistake of misunderstanding how people were cutting the cabin top gutters back for the McMaster-Carr seals and I cut back too much. A good bit of the last month to month and a half has been fixing that screw-up, building the lip back up.

I know I can eventually get the doors and cabin top in the shape I want them. The builder assistance is more about having someone next to me that can help me bypass some of the baby-steps I'm taking and focus in on what's actually important.

For instance - The cabin top to door exterior surface alignment is a bit off in places. I've shimmed the door but there are still places where from one surface to another is off by 1/16" to 1/8" - Is that just a fill surface with micro and sand smooth to make the contour smooth and appealing?

Another is that I'm planning to round off the door edges instead of the angle that Vans shows. I'm going to fill the edge of the canopy top with micro and leave a ~2 credit card gap between then two edges for paint. But I'm cautious about how much of the door edge I sand away and where I sand it away (especially after hacking/ sanding off too much of the cabin top gutter.) Not sure if I do the same thing where the door meets the aluminum fuselage and how much to sand if I do...

Just insecurities like those that are keeping mired in analysis paralysis!

Do you mind paying for the assistance?

If you are not opposed to hiring someone to assist you, one of the best builder assist shops is down in Eugene, OR. I know they have sent their folks out to remote locations in the past and you are not too far away.

They are pretty busy much of the time, but they do have some experts in RV-10 fiberglass and door fitting.

I would suggest you call them - http://synergyair.com/contact-us/

Good point! I'll give Vaden a call. I thought of him first but I know how busy they are and I'd like to get this done ASAP. But I should at least ask!

And I'm perfectly willing to pay for the support