My opinions(which may be completely wrong)
I really wanted to use Oratex for the possible weight savings. However, I just wasn't willing to spend the $3500 to $5K I saw for the material estimate given I already had most of the "capital equipment" items and facility available. I already had a decent compressor and air system and I was comfortable setting up my garage as a paint booth. I did need to buy a good quality spray gun(a DevilBiss FL4 for about $200) and spent a bit of time learning to set it up.
Note even if you don't need the tools/space for the covering because you used Oratex you will still likely need them to paint the wings and boot cowl forward.
As mentioned, my only "training" was the Stewart and Stits seminars at Oshkosh last year. I came home undecided but leaning toward Stewarts as they have a very good set of online videos that "spoke well" of their commitment and support. I was nervous about some of the "bad experiences" I had read about but they all seemed to stem from a lack of attention to detail when using the process(contamination of the air supply or surface, not thinning precisely, not adhering to drying time restrictions between coats, poor spray gun set up, etc.).
I primed my sandblasted fuselage with the Stits Epoxy primer as I was confident it would work with any of the covering systems which allowed me to delay my decision even further.
But then I was given some fabric, PolyTack, and the Stits covering book(absolutely invaluable and a must have) and away I went. In the end. I think I have about $2K in the covering.
Even at the end of it I am certainly not a master painter but I found the Stits coatings pretty run tolerant and not subject to the issues I had with orange peel in the urethane used on the wings. Even with my inexperience over the 10 or so coats(2 sprayed Poly Brush, 3 cross coats(6 coats) of Poly Spray and 2 coats of Poly tone) of various chemicals needed I only had one very small run.
I posted a "Covering notes" entry on the forum that gives a bit more information including chemical quantities and some other notes.
Regarding the wire ends, I made them and feel that if they are made correctly(hot forged and hot bent, annealed at the end of the process, inspected for cracks in the bend before sandblast and paint) with attention paid to get the bends correct and the attach bolts tightened correctly so there isn't any misalignment with the flying wire my opinion is they should be fine. That said, I expect there are plenty of ways to make/install them wrong(adjust the bend cold a few times, let them twist slightly wen tightening the attach bolt, etc.)
But I'll see in a few hundred hours.
I covered the seats with fabric and it seems to be working fine. I am just now adding some tempur foam cushions and a seat cover.
I am fine with the trim on the ceiling and don't feel moving it would be an improvement. It is pretty easy to adjust blind.
If using pre-welded gear legs, you will want to jig them in alignment to the fuselage before welding on the attach brackets.
And yes, "Which way is precisely down?" is one of the best engineering standards available.
I left you my phone number in a PM if you want to call and talk.
