More Doors

Lots of tedious jobs fitting all the molding around the doors.  Multiple coats of undercoat outside and varnish inside.  Still have to mount the hinges.

Doors

I've cut out the doors and the openings for the windows.  This shot shows the fiberglass in place on the outside of the doors.

The inside of the door with the framing and 3/4" insulation in place.  The thin panel of plywood in the background will be glued over this surface.

This is the aluminum "Tee" molding that will go around the outer perimeter of the doors.  You can't bend it like this without first annealing it.  I had a local welder anneal it with a torch and it bent beautifully around my plywood mold, with only a minimum of tapping with a plastic mallet.

Door Trim

I managed to install the 3/4" x 1/2" aluminum angle trim around the door opening.  I was uneasy about shaping the aluminum angle around the curve without distorting it.  I made a mock-up of the door curve and screwed it to the workbench where I could gradually beat it into submission with a plastic mallet.  I'm more concerned about the T-molding that goes around the perimeter of the door itself because it is wider and will take more convincing.  I may have to anneal it if it doesn't go well.

Hatch On

The second coat of primer is on and I'll leave it that way until the doors and trim are finished.  The big hatch is on and fits okay after two tries.

I made my gas-less struts from an old adjustable windsurfing boom.  It's industrial strength material and has a simple spring loaded button to release it.  When the hatch is opened, both strut buttons pop into their holes automatically, and lock the hatch open securely.
Doors and trim next.

First Undercoat

At last the first undercoat has been applied.  I was getting tired of the way it looked before.  I laminated the curved "eyebrows" that go over the doors from some thin wood strips.  The undercoat is a two part epoxy paint.  The small hole in the side is for the electrical plug.