Prepped Skin Panels for Gluing

Tonight I sanded and cleaned the framed skin panels. The panels on the front side of the droid will be attached with silicone, those on the back door will be bonded with JB Weld, just like droid #1. The silicone helps eliminate rattle, and makes for a quieter droid when it is rolling around.

First, I used 400 grit sandpaper to scuff up the areas of the skins that will be bonded together. You can see the difference in shininess where the aluminum was sanded.



Six pairs of frames and panels for the back skins, and four pairs of frames and panels for the front skins.



Next, it was time to break out the mask, gloves, and acetone, and clean up the dust from the sanding.



Cleaned-up panels, ready for bonding. Hopefully I'll get to that soon, but I'm not sure.



I'm brainstorming with Mike and Matthew on the droid lift. Ideas include a type of sliding drawer mechanism, and the possibility of mounting the tripod for the crane onto the inside of tailgate itself. For a look at Mike's droid lift, see this photo set.