Cowl Heat Shield

[Aggie78]

Looking for reviews on adhesive backed heat shielding to attach to the bottom cowl to protect it from the heat of the exhaust as well as oil, gas drips...Van's carries some of it, as does Amazon.

What do you use, how has it held up, etc...Worthy investment, or not?

Thanks in advance,

Rob S.

[DanH]

The self-stick foil from Vans works great if your cowl is finished inside. It may unstick if the surface is not sealed and painted.

"Shadow" the pipes with some fiberfrax felt and the exterior paint will be fine.

[mike647m]

My gray fiberfrax type "shadow" turned brown in one area near the left exhaust stack. Is this dangerous?

[Bavafa]

I have done a layer of fiberfrax with a layer of the self sticking foil from vans on top of it so it can easily be wiped clean etc. This has only been done on the lower cowl and it is so cool to touch where as in contract the top cowl can be quite hot to handle

[Aggie78]

Thanks for the replies, fellas.

My cowl is as of yet unpainted (as is the rest of the airplane) so maybe I need to throttle back on this until after that's done (Oct-Nov timeframe) and then roll in on this project if I want the product to adhere securely.

Rob S.

[mosquito]

I've been wondering what the point of inner cowl heat reflective foil is. I know it's popular, and I'm certain it does have a point, but... what is it, exactly? On the surface, reflecting heat back inwards seems counterproductive, especially after shutdown. So is it just to protect the exterior paint?

-jon

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by mosquito

So is it just to protect the exterior paint?

No, though that is one benefit.
It also protects the inner composite layer and the core material (foam and honeycomb) from deteriorating because of high heat exposure.

[vlittle]

Originally Posted by Aggie78

Looking for reviews on adhesive backed heat shielding to attach to the bottom cowl to protect it from the heat of the exhaust as well as oil, gas drips...Van's carries some of it, as does Amazon.

What do you use, how has it held up, etc...Worthy investment, or not?

Thanks in advance,

Rob S.

Protected my entire lower cowl with the heat shielding (fiberlass/aluminum) with the edges sealed with aluminum tape. I had blisters on the inside of the cowl, even in areas not adjacent to the exhaust. The HR-II is very tightly cowled.

I bought some from ACS and some from Amazon, identical but half the price.

[MikeyDale]

Buy extra! I've gone back to my leftovers and cut off small pieces to use for lots of things. It's like extra wide aluminum tape.