So I first took a few minutes sanding down the filler using 36 grit when it hit me that this was a major "fuel between filler and skin" issue. I took a chisel and a hammer and just broke off large sections of the delaminated filler and found that the fuel was leaking between the Bid Tape and Sump. This means the sump DID have a leak but because my BID Tape job was too thin and dry, it just blew right past it. I also found the leak was on the forward portion of the sump as I could see it was slightly wetter on the surface. I cleaned it all up, sanded it good and acetoned it. I then took 2 plies BID strips and laid them over a real wet micro transition and pure epoxy. I made sure it was a REALLY wet layup as I had great success sealing my fuel tanks this way. Tomorrow I will go back and add another layer of PURE epoxy and peel ply to take care of any stray pinholes. Extra insurance. By Thursday the layup should be post cured enough "Heat Lamp" to be ready for fuel. I will add fuel to the tank and check for any new leaks overnight before adding micro and finishing it up. Fairly confident here that the job is done. Boy, that's the saddest smiley face I've ever seen!
Word to you builders... THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T PAINT YOUR AIRPLANE BEFORE IT FLIES!
