Rear window

[Ron B.]

What prevents water from entering the baggage compartment from between the skin and glass above it? I see no mention of sealant other that were the skins overlap. Not ready to install yet but just curious.

[jswareiv]

Originally Posted by Ron B.

What prevents water from entering the baggage compartment from between the skin and glass above it? I see no mention of sealant other that were the skins overlap. Not ready to install yet but just curious.

See the revised plans Ron, they added proseal. I installed mine and be careful how much you put, when you tighten the nuts, it tends to squeeze it. None of mine ran out, but I don't like the way the black proseal looks on my nicely painted skins, but it's sealed. If you've seen some of the pics that were taken of the prototype at Oshkosh, you can see the proseal. Hope that helps.

[kaber56]

I plan on sealing mine with clear 732 RTV.

[vanduyn]

I had the same thought about water leaking. Instead of pro seal I used a clear silicone caulking (home depot). There was no reaction to the canopy glass and it dries transparent. By the way I used the same on a RV 7 many years ago and it was still water tight when I sold the aircraft.

[rvbuilder2002]

Clear silicon is 100 % unpaintable.

If you have any gap between the skin and window that is filled with silicone, the paint will bead/spread around it.
If people don't like the look of seeing the sealant from the inside, a better plan is to paint the interior edge of the window the same color as the interior.

[MLock]

When I test fit my rear window, once in final place I applied painter's tape to the outside along the edge of the skin. When I removed the window, I scuffed up the window below the tape and painted it.

When I do the final install of the window, after the aircraft has been painted, I will apply the sealant. With the painted portion on the inside next to the skin, the sealant will be hidden and that portion inside the cockpit will stay nice and shiny yet colored.