Homemade seal

[zav6a]

A while ago I spoke with fellow that made his own cowl sealing material by slathering silicone rubber thinned with acetone or methanol over fiberglass or kevlar cloth. The solvent evaporated and the silicone set up smooth and thin. I seem to recall it took a couple of coats to build up the thinkness needed.

I've got an odd shape that some custom material would work well on. Has anyone tried this?

[videobobk]

Originally Posted by zav6a

A while ago I spoke with fellow that made his own cowl sealing material by slathering silicone rubber thinned with acetone or methanol over fiberglass or kevlar cloth. The solvent evaporated and the silicone set up smooth and thin. I seem to recall it took a couple of coats to build up the thinkness needed.

I've got an odd shape that some custom material would work well on. Has anyone tried this?

I learned the "trick from composite guru Charles Wilhite of Gamut Services. Take a couple of layers of glass cloth, put silicone between them, put 'em in a plastic bag and take a roller to them. When the silicone is worked through, cut it to shape and mold it into place. Let it cure. You can remove one layer of plastic if you want it to cure quickly, but it won't be quite as smooth. You can experiment with the number of layers of cloth, type of silicone, etc. Two and blue worked for me, but red looks more fireproof. No real need for thinner.

Bob Kelly, engine running!

[zav6a]

Thanks - that sounds cleaner than the solvent approach.