Firewall covering

[conlimon]

Started a new thread for the answer about what is covering the firewall (behind my super sweet braided steel brake lines!).

I found some stuff called lizard skin- http://www.lizardskin.com/pages/ceramic.php

It's basically a high solid content ceramic paint made to seal the firewall and reject heat (and fire!). basically really thick goopy paint that requires a special paint gun. my experience with it here:

http://www.perfectlygoodairplane.net..._Painting.html

I've got no real hard data yet (not flying) but it is very lightweight, and seemed like a good idea. I painted the floor of the tunnel, and under the floor of the pilot/copilot positions with it. hopefully it's good stuff

cj
www.perfectlygoodairplane.net

[Bugsy]

CJ

Noticed they have 2 products. Rather than redundant phone calls, can you tell us why you didnt go with the sound deadening product?

Probably weighs more, but would less of the sound stuff be better than more of the insulator?

Also, does this stuff dry to a hard finish? Did you top coat it?

Thanks

[conlimon]

I had a long conversation with the lizard skin guy about exactly that question, and his response was that the sound deadening stuff is REALLY heavy, and probably not the best thing for us airplane guys. I can't remember what the exact weight of the sound stuff was, but the ceramic paint is only 3lbs per gallon once it's dry. it's really really light. the finish dries to a lumpy sort of matte black, and it feels like, well, ceramic. Spraying it was kind of an adventure for me, because the spray gun has no atomization nozzle, and it comes out fast and thick. I just tried to get the coverage I needed, and didn't sweat the aesthetics. I'll probably leave it as it is. My interest in it was mostly to try to keep fire and heat on the other side of the firewall. I'm not really sure how to gauge the effectiveness of the stuff, but i figured it couldn't hurt!

cj

[DanH]

<<My interest in it was mostly to try to keep fire and heat on the other side of the firewall.>>

Might be a good idea to actually do a simple test. I notice Lizard Skin is rated to only 500F. You should consider what the product does when heated to 2000F, the aircraft firewall standard. In particular, since you painted it on the inside of the firewall, does it create smoke or fumes when the firewall material is glowing red?

Put a big rosebud tip on your torch, mount it on a stand, and fire it up. On another stand, mount a square of copper sheet or flashing material. Copper melts at 2000F; adjust the distance from the torch until the copper is almost ready to melt through. Now you have a more or less calibrated heat source. Slide a coated section of stainless firewall material into place at the same distance from the torch. Observe the results, and consider those results in the confines of a cabin.

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by DanH

<<My interest in it was mostly to try to keep fire and heat on the other side of the firewall.>>

Might be a good idea to actually do a simple test. I notice Lizard Skin is rated to only 500F. You should consider what the product does when heated to 2000F, the aircraft firewall standard. In particular, since you painted it on the inside of the firewall, does it create smoke or fumes when the firewall material is glowing red?

Put a big rosebud tip on your torch, mount it on a stand, and fire it up. On another stand, mount a square of copper sheet or flashing material. Copper melts at 2000F; adjust the distance from the torch until the copper is almost ready to melt through. Now you have a more or less calibrated heat source. Slide a coated section of stainless firewall material into place at the same distance from the torch. Observe the results, and consider those results in the confines of a cabin.

Right on, Dan.

When I first saw the photo of this product, and then reading the link, I kept expecting to see that it was an intumescent coating, and that it should have been on the engine side of the FW.

The concerns you bring up are literally life and death questions------some fumes will kill you in a single breath.

Hopefully, this material is totally benign---------

[Bugsy]

I'm going to call the manufacturer for an MSDS and have my bioenvironmental folks take a look to answer the benign qeustion. Which is valid. I'll report back.

On another note, CJ assume you plan on cutting away the material for you firewall passthroughs. How well is this stuff suited to being removed without damage to surroundings or your own patience?

[Deems Davis]

RV10 builder Mike Sausen recorded a test of a paint on -ceramic coating, here's a link to it:
http://www.mykitlog.com/users/displa...g=11645&row=10

follow links for the 4 part write-up