Once I finished fabricating the door opening. I measured it and it was about 4.25" wide at the base. Just too wide for the 4" finish tape I had on hand. I put out feelers for a piece of 6" tape but no luck. Then I started asking if anyone had some scraps of Silver Oratex 600 fabric (thinner stuff). No response. So, I contacted Lars at Better Aircraft Fabric and asked if he had any scraps or if not, could he cut me a 6" wide piece off a new roll? He came through and sent me a scrap piece which worked exactly as planned.
I glued the surfaces yesterday and let them sit over night. I trimmed up the piece of fabric to fit pretty close. Then I attached it beginning in the middle and working toward the front, then the back. I trimmed the upper corners and sides and tacked it all down. It came out really nice.
Next up was to install the light switches. I had to cut the fabric from the holes and fish the wires out. I numbered the plugs, 3 per switch, so I would get them installed in the correct order. Once connected, I popped them into their respective holes and snapped them in place. Ready to go. I also trimmed out the slot for the locking mechanism on the opposite side.
The last step was to rivet the door on. Pretty straight forward, I used some sealant under the hinge to water proof it and the rivets going into the framework.
It closes up nice and tight, and I haven't added any weather strip to the door yet.
