Monday, the black paint went on the S-IC/S-II unit. After it dries and cures (and I’m able!), the next step will be to mask and unmask and otherwise prepare to paint the silver on the S-IC fin fairings. After that: Unmask the S-IC/S-II Touch up the S-IC/S-II and the Interstage/S-IVB-IU units. Mask the SM radiators […]

In my previous post, I mentioned that I thought I’d make a small mistake by masking the Interstage/S-IVB/IU segment first. Now that I’m nearly done masking the S-IC/S-II unit, I’m not sure it really matters. Although there are many more small things to mask on the S-IVB and IU (numerous antennae), and although the Interstage […]

I thought that starting with the Interstage/S-IVB/IU would be easier than starting with the S-IC/S-II: the S-IVB unit is much smaller than the S-IC unit, and it made at least some sense that it would be quicker, easier, and a good place to check out masking technique. I was wrong. I was very wrong. The […]

Finally, I think I’ve found and masked all the little things that need masking on the Interstage/S-IVB/IU structure. The ullage rockets, the retro-rockets, the reflectors, the antennae, the roll pattern. I thought I was done yesterday, and then realized that there were myriad (well, not literally, but it almost seemed that way) small things on […]

It’s easy to mask off a cylinder, whether the dividing line goes around or lengthwise or even diagonally along the cylinder (assuming it’s a straight line to be masked). Masking a conical transition, though, is a different story: though the line around might look straight and parallel to the ends, it’s not: it’s really curved, […]

Time to mask the roll pattern and other details. First step is laying out the roll pattern: determining where on the S-IC and on the S-II the different things are black (and silver), and what portions of the S-IVB are black. Apogee supplies a template for masking the the S-II/S-IVB transition: it has cut-outs that […]