Fixing Fiberglass

[N363RV]

Sadness and despair....I was going to publish a little how to article... but It appears that there is a limitation of 10 pics. Strange considering Doug doesn't host the pics. Regardless, It was a major PITA to get these pics up to imageshack, resized and so forth....just to find out I couldn't use them in this post...at least not all of them in one post. Grrrrrr.

Doug, it would be helpful to illustrate to others how to do stuff with more than 10 pics. Give some consideration to fixing this.


I posted the 10 photos that I was allowed and I will put a little blurb below each one.

I am now pressed for time but will hopefully post the "Rest of the Story" later in another post.... assuming this one doesn't get deleted. :-)

-------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday I went for a quick flight. It was good fun until I heard a rhythmic noise that I thought was an engine issue. The period changed with the throttle. There was not a vibration and there was not a power loss.

I got back to the hangar and found the issue. My front leg fiberglass intersection lost the front screw.

Today is Saturday and the weather is cold, gray and only good for doing maintenance from the comfort of my kitchen.

I didn't think about photographing any of this until I got threw the first layup, but the front piece of the intersection was bent over and over from the slipstream and it was nearly broken off. Thankfully it was still there.

The take away is that if you are in a big hurry to get some glass work done, you don't have to wait until tomorrow or even 6 hours later. If the fiberglass item is small enough, just stick it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes on low heat. In my case 170 F.


Here is a picture of the first lay which is on the top.


Here is the top layup in the oven.


Bottom side of broken fairing intersection.


Cut fiberglass to size.


The west resin system.


1/2 squirt from each... More than I really needed.


Let it settle in the corner.


Now mix it up.


Put your fiberglass strip in and squeeze the resin into the cloth.




I had 16 more pics after this showing you the rest of the story...I'll try to post them at a later date.

[Ironflight]

Just a suggestion on the multiple photos thing. I always compose more than a paragraph in word, including th links to pictures. When I finish it, if it is too long for a single post, I just "Reply" to my first post with the second section...and the third...and so forth. I have seen folks do five or six posts for a great travel story.

Paul

[RVadmirer]

I hope Dan chimes in here, given his expertise and status with this forum, but, as a former composite guy, I have to take issue with the technique here. 'About a half pump' is not the way to measure epoxy components and I hope nobody gets the idea that this is common or advised practice. And mixing in a bag is not going to do a very good job either. Just watching Sam James at Oshkosh and many a composite builder verifies both observations. Either might work, sorta and sometimes, but is not an approved method for anything important so why not do it correctly? This is how I think they measure and mix polyester type components or Bondo.
Weigh the materials if you want to make a smaller batch than a full pump. Mix in a cup for two minutes, scraping the sides carefully every turn of the cup. All is documented in the West System instructions which (mfg. instructions) is probably the best way to approach anybody's products....

[N363RV]

That's a great suggestion. Using word will help allow me to see the whole doc before I post it as well. I'm sure that will help me proof it a little bit better as well.

[bhester]

Here the easy way to show a lot of pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/hoptownbob/CarbWork#

[rzbill]

The point of this thread is that fiberglass CAN go into the kitchen oven and there are pictures to prove it can be done!
I'll try this tomorrow..... wish me luck.... send flowers if you don't hear from me.

[N363RV]

I really enjoyed your step by step pictures with captions. It really helps when when trying to illustrate how to accomplish a repair. Thank you for your positive comments and suggestions.

[N363RV]

http://picasaweb.google.com/10524028...eat=directlink

Thanks to Bobby for a great suggestion. I like Picasaweb much better than the imageshack. It has a much more robust application on the client side for adding captions and syncing images.

[bhester]

Now wasn't that easy

Looks great!

[DanH]

Originally Posted by rzbill

The point of this thread is that fiberglass CAN go into the kitchen oven and there are pictures to prove it can be done!
I'll try this tomorrow..... wish me luck.... send flowers if you don't hear from me.

I can see the headline...

WIFE MURDERS HUSBAND

Police were called to the home of a local airplane builder today and found him prostrate on the kitchen floor, bleeding from a head wound. The builder's wife said she found a great stink in her kitchen, and admitted that said stink "drove me over the edge".