Tip: My Cowling Mistake

Ironflight · #1 03-31-2007, 09:06 PM

I thought I'd share a little tip with folks that are still working on their cowlings, and perhaps save them a little aggravation later on. I'm dropping the Val off at Grady's paint shop tomorrow for a few days so that he can fix a little mistake of mine - I sanded just a little to aggressively on the outer layer while filling pin holes. You can see what happened in this picture: (The "crack" area is about three incehs long)

Basically, I ended up sanding too far into the outer glass layer, and made it thin enough that the honeycomb pattern started breaking through the outer surface. Since it needs to be painted after a little glass work, I figured I'd just let Grady do the whole thing, so it looks nice. This is more cosmetic than structural, but I would not like that inner core to be exposed to absorb moisture. Note this is right at the "corner" where you'd expect to sand a little heavier....I guess I won't make the same mistake on the next cowling....

Live and learn!

walter · #2 03-31-2007, 09:32 PM

That'll buff right out

RV_7A · #3 03-31-2007, 09:49 PM

Man that is one strange photo. I looked at it for 5 minutes trying to figure out where that is and what it is. Cant. Almost went blind. That would be a good mystery photo on other boards. Kinda looks like part of the canopy somehwere along the front. ???

-Jeff

Ironflight · #4 03-31-2007, 10:16 PM

Sorry - didn't want to make anyone blind....heck, you could lose your medical! That is the top of the cowling on the right side, about six inches behind the air intake. Black glareshield, white side....

Paul

rv8ch · #5 03-31-2007, 11:48 PM

The problem is that the paint is so reflective that we see the rafters in your hanger! It took me a minute or two to figure it out.

Thanks for the tip, Paul!

Rivethead · #6 04-17-2007, 10:07 PM

Here's a tip on sanding fiber glass parts. If you start sanding into the weave stop you've already gone too far. Plastic resin (Epoxy or Polyester) is only there to provide stiffness and support for the cloth. Glass cloth is the structural material and once you impinge on that you're compromising your structure.