glare shield cover material

[JimWoo50]

Can anyone reccommend a suitable material for covering the glare shield inside the canopy? I am tempted to either paint it flat black or epoxiing some vinyl or suede material to it. Any suggestions? Also what is the purpose of the dacron tape as used in conjunction with the West Sys. products? And can I use a mixture of Phosphoric acid and water to etch my aluminum surfaces? In a 5 to one ratio? Tia. Jim.

[robertahegy]

I used a piece of that white, corrigated material used for interior side panels, cut it the shape of the glarshield (with a little extra length), covered it with black leatherette, and glued velcro strips to it to attach it to the AL glareshield. It tucks neatly into the canopy and can be removed easily for replacement, if needed. Something easily done after the plane is all completed and avoids getting any glue or paint on the canopy. I have a 7A tipup, but this should work on sliders, too.

Roberta

[Bob Axsom]

Flat black paint worked very well for me. I have an RV-6A slider. I have two large (around 2") holes in the sheet metal on each side of the center to vent any heat from behind the instrument panel. I cut two sheet metal rings with the ID the same as the hole diameter and riveted them on the underside with small mesh screen sandwiched between the rings and the skin to prevent objects from dropping in. Black will cause a temperature rise as the sun shines in the canopy so you need a way to keep the temperature down. I also have an avionics cooling fan behind the panel that comes on when I turn on the avionics master switch. I routed the output to several locations in the radio stack. I also routed a heat duct up to the fwd edge of the left hole that I control with a remote valve to provide an effective defroster. I mention all of this because with a slider it really works well if you can decide what you are going to do in this area and facilitate the implementation before you install the windshield.

Bob Axsom

[Scott Hersha]

I used automotive headliner material. I got it at an auto upholtery shop. Also available in my town (Cincinnati) at a warehouse that sells foam. It comes in numerous colors/textures of material. It is backed with a thin layer of foam and I attached it to my glareshield with a kind of contact cement that is used to put vinyl tops on cars (also obtained at the auto upholstery shop). All of it was very cheap. Been flying with it now for 3 years and it still looks/feels great. A very professional appearance and also provides a cushion in case you bump your head on the glareshield (mine has a 1 inch lip). Good Luck.

Scott

[Davepar]

I used flat black Rustoleum. I'm not flying yet, so I can't comment on glare prevention performance. But it looks great.

The purpose of the dacron is to soak up excess epoxy. You put it on as the last step and then peel it off after it dries. I haven't personally used it yet, but it's supposed to leave a nice smooth finish.

[Dan_E_Root]

regarding the use of headliner material on the glare shield- it's available at many fabric stores too, for about 1/3 the price you'll get at an upholstery shop...

[rv72004]

I used neoprene 2mm thick glued down to the glareshield , then glued leather onto the neoprene. At the trailing edge of glareshield, the neoprene wraps over . The leather is stitched at this wrap over point.
You have a soft touch glareshield which looks professional.