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With the right side rivet layer complete, I jumped on Amazon and ordered some 4 mil plastic to use on the left side instead of the thinner cling wrap. I was really happy with the results—the thicker plastic made squeegeeing the resin much easier. Once the resin was wetted out, I cut the plastic to fit, removed a layer of plastic, and applied the glass to the canopy skirt. I dabbed it with a paintbrush until the air bubbles were gone, applied the peel ply, and waited for the resin to cure.

I noticed that dang 3M Scotch electrical tape is pulling away again at the transitions. Wanting to find out from a "pro" if I was doing something wrong, I reached out to Bob’s friend Rick, whom I’ve met a few times at Oshkosh. Rick is what you’d call a "repeat offender"—he’s built several airplanes, won multiple awards on his builds, and is a heck of a nice guy.

Rick recently worked on the canopy fairing for Bob’s RV-8 as well as his own RV-8 (though, as he pointed out, that was 27 years ago!). He reassured me that 3M Scotch electrical tape naturally pulls, so the key is to apply it right before you start laying down the epoxy resin. He also used circular cutouts and shared plenty of helpful tips and product recommendations with me.

With Rick’s great advice and the other input I’ve gathered on windscreen fairings, I feel good about getting that process started in the next few days.

Well, look at that—I just officially ticked over 3,700 hours on the project!

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