Prepped Dome and Dome Panels

The hour draws near to attach the dome panels to the dome. In fact, it probably passed a year ago.

I'm going to be using the same Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (er, 3M) Very High Bond tape that I used for droid #1. (Assuming that the roll is still good, that is.)

Adhesives like rough surfaces, so I decided to rough-up the backs of each dome panel in groups, with 100 grit sand paper.



After sanding, I cleaned up the mess with acetone, which makes for shiny parts. I left the "window frame" piece right-side up for the picture, but trust me, it got sanded and cleaned on the back.



Of course, acetone and paint don't make good partners, and I did manage to slightly mar the surface of the panel that goes above the window frame panel, although it's a little hard to see in the picture. I haven't decided whether to repaint it or leave it alone, but I will probably repaint it when I'm painting the blue on the remaining pair of ankle cylinders.



After sanding and cleaning all the panels, I decided to clean up the visible portions of the inner dome with acetone as well. I didn't sand it, since the inner dome is plenty rough and bumpy due to the spin lines.



The pencil marks also got cleaned up.



I hope to get started with attaching the panels soon.