I removed the protective plastic and tapes last night. The epoxy set very nicely. I then rubbed off all loose metal flake (more like extremely thin metal shavings) and OMG! did I ever get a sweet final look. Today I will begin sanding off the remaining real maple leaves and seal the exposed wood to prep for the next step. Linda and I talked rather extensively about what would be the next step. She has convinced me that if I can obtain the same final look, I should create a new set of vine-ing maple leaves similar to how I set the real leaves except these ones would be covered in the metal flakes as well. I whined that it would take FOREVER to do this and then I remembered how I stenciled on the name for the VJ Guardian Spirit. I relaxed and agreed to do the work because my methodology would cut the graphic design time significantly. Looks like this project will not be completed until some time in November instead of within two weeks. To wit, I start my new job up north this Thursday and from then on, I have to fly in and fly out to work. This means I get 7-days off to play twice per month and with Linda working during the day, my time is MINE. You can just guess where I plan to spend my time. The image below shows the final maple leaf graphic which appears just in front of the cockpit. I won't paint the blue aspect of the graphic until the deck is cleared of the old real maple leaves and the new ones with embedded metal flake are applied and sealed with clear coat. I am excited to see the final appearance of this baby.

Robert N Pruden