After doing a bit of shopping, I bought a cowl kit from SkyBolt and tools from Aircraft Spruce. The tools: Camloc pliers and a Camloc retaining-spring tool. I also opted for stainless studs and grommets, and for Phillips heads.

I went with SkyBolt because Mil-Spec Products was flailing a bit (and SkyBolt was just the opposite). Delivered, the kit cost $298; paid sales tax. Aircraft Spruce and others also sell similar kits.

The four doors have a total of 40 Camlocs, but the kit contains a total of 56 studs in 5 different lengths. You'll see why in a moment. The kit also includes the necessary grommets and retaining-rings, also with spares for each.

Installing them is straightforward. Take the door of the aircraft, lay it on a non-scratchy surface, and use the pliers to remove the old studs. It's easier if you lay the door butter-side-up on the table. Although you're then removing the studs from "underneath" the door, each one will be easier to grasp with the pliers.

Keep the old studs in order as you remove them, so you know which went in which hole. Then remove the retaining springs from each grommet. This was the only PITA of the job. The springs are like miniature piston rings, and removing them requires digging them out of their grooves with an awl or similar. I lightly cleaned up the holes with some medium Scotchbrite. Then install new grommets. They slip right in the holes. Installing the retaining rings to keep them in place is easy with the purpose-built tool.

Installing the studs comes next. It makes sense to install a new stud that is the same length as the old. Although each Camloc is stamped with its size (2, 3, 4, etc.), those numbers weren't legible on the old studs.

So I simply stood the old stud on a steel plate, stood a new one next to it and compared them. If they looked the same length, I installed the new one. If not, I tried a different size. The special pliers made installation pretty easy. The door then went back on the aircraft for a fit check.

I have no idea how tight a Camloc should be. I wanted these to be tight enough to be secure, but loose enough to be easily operated with one hand, on the ramp, in the rain. I decided a stud of the proper length was installed if, when closed, its head was about flush with the top of the grommet. Those that had that appearance usually operated the way I wanted them to. The fit check showed that some met this standard but some didn't. So I did some swapping until they did. (I put squares of masking tape next to the ones I wanted to replace. This helped minimize the number of times I had to completely latch and unlatch the doors.)

This is why SkyBolt's kit -- and I assume the kits of others -- include more studs than you'll need.

I'll monitor the new Camlocs to see if any pop up unexpectedly. If that happens, I'll have spares to try a shorter (tighter) stud.

The entire effort took a bit less than five hours -- about two hours for the first door and an hour each for the remaining three. No paint scratched, blood drawn, etc., for a change.

The special pliers I bought from Aircraft Spruce are of Harbor Freight quality. (They're sold as "economy" pliers, however.) The cost $15 and are adequate for rare use. One could make a tool that would do the same job, but he'd have to be careful, as some dimensions are critical. The ring-setting tool is made my Mil-Spec is also cheap. It worked adequately, but it was a wee bit oversized for the grommets and this created hassles. $20 or so.