Sealing slider canopy

Has anyone used Silicone or equivelant to seal the canopy side skirts, center strip or even create a filet at the rollbar?
I am thinking only about water and not structural like Sikaflex.
For one I am needing to use a few spacers at the rollbar to windscreen on the lower corners and I thought a nice filet to hide the gap and spacers would look better. Second, flying IFR in Florida you do tend to run through rain.

My painter actually used Pro-seal around the canopy and side skirts, and it looks really good. It is a thin bead less than 1/8 inch and even all the way around. Maybe I will snap a picture of it for you.

I'm curious about this too. How do you guys with sliders seal the forward sliding portion against the roll bar. In twenty years of flying a Cessna Cardinal, I've learned to bring a towel when flying in rain.
I hope to sell my towel with the plane

ColoCardinal said:

I'm curious about this too. How do you guys with sliders seal the forward sliding portion against the roll bar. In twenty years of flying a Cessna Cardinal, I've learned to bring a towel when flying in rain.

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I've flown my (Sika) slider 7A in the rain a few times and you'll be happy to know I stay totally dry. I put an adhesive rubber 'D' section on the rollbar (like from an old car door) and it seals nicely against the canopy frame.

ColoCardinal said:

I'm curious about this too. How do you guys with sliders seal the forward sliding portion against the roll bar. In twenty years of flying a Cessna Cardinal, I've learned to bring a towel when flying in rain.
I hope to sell my towel with the plane

Click to expand...

We used D seal weatherstripping on the sliding and stationary parts and no longer have leaks. You can acquire it in the aviation dept. of Home Depot.

A nice seal can be made with RTV. Put a bead (size depends on gap) on one surface, Saran Wrap on the other and close the slider. Let it cure, then remove the Saran Wrap. I have thought of trying it with some anti-stick on the film, but haven't tried that. Engaging the latch should compress the seal. Sealing the back is easy--glue a vinyl strip (upholstery) to the back edge, but leave the back 1/2" free, no glue. Pressure will get between the slider and the vinyl and press it against the fuselage, making a perfect seal. No wind/water at all around the back edge.

Bob

Although I will be thinking about the slider to rollbar joint in the future, I was currently thinking about Steve's painters' solution. A picture would be great Steve.
I worried about the Proseal reaction with the Plexi but I guess not. It looks like getting a good filet would be tough since you wouldn't want to use a solvent to clean up.
I was also thinking about a rather large filet at the rollbar to plexi joint to hide the gap from the spacers. Doesn't seem like Proseal would be good for that seam.

My windscreen is standard construction, however, I used Sika as a sealant under the fairings, which are aluminum. My roll bar seal is cheap standard weather stripping and does a good job in regard to leaks, but D seal would be better.
However, the biggest area of leaking is not at the roll bar, it is the back wash that comes in under the rear skirt. If you do not seal this area with some type of weather stripping, you will get water, lots of it, in the baggage area.