Piano hinge glue for cowling?

RickWoodall · #1 03-17-2010, 07:24 PM

Looking for feedback from some of the pro's. I have drilled my hinges down the sides of my cowl and am ready to rivet them on. Between builders sites and vans instructions..there is a lot of diff view on what is a good extra level of attachement to keep hinges solid for the long term.

Did you drill the extra holes and use epoxy as vans suggest is optional?
Did you use a thin bead of JB weld?
Did you use a thin bead of tank sealant?

Just not clear what is a good solid durable back up. Are any of them adequate or better than the others or do I just pick one and live with it? Anyone with experience on this would be helpful.

Jamie · #2 03-17-2010, 07:35 PM

Anything you're going to hear from here is going to be anecdotal.

For what it's worth, I followed the plans and it worked perfectly and continues to work fine. If in doubt...take some of that trimmed off fiberglass and do some tests on your own.

tomwebster · #3 03-17-2010, 08:06 PM

I followed the plans and also did an unplanned
test of the hinge strength. My #3 cylinder broke
a rod bolt and tried to leave and go out the side
of the cowling.
The hinge eyes bent open but both sides of the
hinge stayed attached and still were bonded to
the cowling except for about three inches on one
side at the point the cylinder hit the cowling.

Tom

Erik Westlund · #4 03-17-2010, 10:47 PM

we used plexus. best fiberglass to non fiberglass bond you will ever get in my opinion. i did tests and you have to destroy the hinge to get it to come off, also take some of the glass with it. you can get it at johnstown dist.
good luck
Erik

plehrke · #5 03-18-2010, 08:15 PM

proseal. Easy to work with and still going strong.

Bavafa · #6 03-18-2010, 09:42 PM

I used E6000 glue and it has worked out really good. I think like most people said, any thing is better then nothing.

good luck

Tom Martin · #7 03-19-2010, 05:34 AM

I have used many methods, including just rivets alone. JB weld gets my nod as the easiest, least messy, option. Make sure you mask off the cowling and the hinge eyes. Rough up the bonding area of the hinge and the attach area of the cowling. A thin layer of JB weld is all that is required. Too much and you run the potential of having a mess in the hinge eyes. One pack of JB weld should be more then enough to do all the hinges on the cowling.