Fiberglass questions

[gacnik123]

Hi All,
I recently bought an RV4 and am completing the condition inspection now. This is my first metal/fiberglass (cowl) plane and I need to repair a hole in the cowling. Where the landing gear cuffs meet the Fuse and cowl, one of the rivnut pulled out that holds the cuff to the cowl. I am going to do this a little different and basically just want to plug the hole.

Questions.
1. Can I put a piece of tape on the outside of the cowl, as a mold release,and use a resin with cab-o-sil or ground glass in the hole and put one layer of mat ect on the inside? Also, I would clean, bevel what I could so a mechanical bite would be somewhat there.
2. Do I want to use a Resin, (west systems), or something else?
3. Am I on the right track or over thinking this? haha

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

John

[Mike S]

You can take a small piece of plastic and tape it in place to cover the hole-----or a piece of packing tape back side to the hole, and tape it in place. Something to cover the hole, that does not have sticky on it, and will not let the resin stick to it. Goes on the outside.

Mix up epoxy and flox and put it into the hole from the inside, then a single layer of bid over the floxed hole, and an inch or so around the hole. Do this while the flox is still not yet cured.

Be sure all is clean, and scuff sanded before you start............

When it has set up, remove the tape, and it should be pretty much ready to go.

Good luck.

[gacnik123]

Thank you Mike. What oz and type glass should I use? Mat or weave? Should I use acetone to clean? Thanks John

[rvbuilder2002]

Mat or weave cloth (6 - 8 oz) will work but cloth is the better choice.

Packing tape applied directly over the hole will work just fine. The adhesive side of the tape will peel off of your hardened flow material just as easily as it will the surrounding cowl surface. The added benefit is that the tape will seal the cowl surface, preventing any resin from wicking in between.

[gacnik123]

Thank you. Should I spend the money for west systems and cloth from A.S. or use fabric from an auto paint shop? Is there a difference? I know I have a lot of questions here, but all my plane's have been tube and fabric up to this point. Thanks John

[RV10Pilot]

Yes to the West epoxy or another high quality epoxy. Don't use the 5 minute stuff from the hardware store. The cloth is mainly there to prevent cracking around the filled hole, so I would use cloth that was convent to get.

Your best local source would be a marine supply company or a marina. Most boat owners care about what they use on there vessels. West Marine is what is near me and they have a good selection of fiberglass "stuff". http://www.westmarine.com/

Good luck with the repair.