Tip: Paint protection

[akarmy]

Originally Posted by akarmy

What if anything do you do to protect the paint under fairings and other sections where parts overlap?

Dug out of the deep archives of the Matronics email RV-List

Subject: Re: UHMW tape
From: smcdaniels@juno.com (SCOTT R MCDANIELS)
Date: Nov 14, 1997

Thought I would pass this along as a general tip. I really like this UMHW tape. It is great for abrasion protection in lots of places on RV's. Particularly with things that wont end up showing as a problem until the airplane is a few years old and things made of aluminum that rub on other things made of aluminum or who knows what. We used it on a lot of things on the new YELLOW RV-8.

Here is a few that I can think of.
- along the bottom edge of the canopy skirts where they overlap the sides of the fuselage.
- along the bottom trailing edge of the top wing skin where the flap intersection skin seal rubs (then you don't have to use the stainless steel tape [which is ugly IMHO])
- on the forward seat back were it touches (rubs) on the forward seat back brace.
- used a lot of it on the baffling. anywhere that baffle parts slip together between cylinders, and used it anywhere that the baffle contacts the cylinder itself. After a few years the thin cyl fins will start wearing grooves in the baffle if its not protected.
- we put some on the portions of the gear leg fairings that are under the intersection fairing molded on the wheel pant and under the root fairing at the top of the gear leg which will prevent wear of the fairing from the gear leg shaking around during ground ops.

The tape seems to hold up well to high temperatures, even in contact with the cylinder fins. I really don't know what the long term durability is. I think the only portion that might be effected by heat is the adhesive that sticks it in place. The yellow RV-8 is over 300 hours already (in just 8 months) and we haven't seen any problems with the tape yet.

Even if you didn't us it in the engine compartment I think you would find it very useful in many other places.

Scott McDaniels