Sealing tipup canopy rear window

[Greg Arehart]

After three years, I'm finally thinking about sealing the rear window in the 9, where it goes under the aluminum top skin. Looking for good ideas on how to do this. My initial thought is to put a bit of RTV on the underside of the skin, lay a piece of plastic cling wrap over it, and screw on the window. After allowing it to dry, I could pull off the cling wrap and have a custom-made gasket. Are there some different/better ideas out there? I don't mind sealing it permanently, but would prefer being able to remove it (i.e., having a gasket rather than a glued seal).

Thanks in advance.

greg

[Vlad]

At Osh I've seen nicely done seam around the rear window and it was painted. The owner happened to be around I asked him. Tank sealant was the answer.

[bruceh]

3M Strip Caulk. Super easy to use and available at most automotive supply stores.

[OneCharlieKilo]

Paint shop I used sealed it for me and painted the sealant along with the plane. Looks good and great seal. I didn't ask what they used but tank sealant is what I'm told many use for same purpose.
I flew without paint for a couple years and when flying in rain got a fair amount of leakage through that back window into the baggage compartment (-6A). Problem fixed now, at least for rear window....front seal of tip-up canopy is a little tougher.

Not a removable gasket solution but my rear window is pop riveted anyways so works for me.

[tadsargent]

I used Lexel which is available from Ace Hardware stores on mt 7A 6 years later it still liked new and it's canopy safe

[Jerry Fischer]

here is a picture of the way I installed and seems to work great.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by Jerry Fischer

here is a picture of the way I installed and seems to work great.
....

If you do the screw/washer method you can use a thin sponge rubber seal at the edge of the metal. The stuff shipped with the Duckworth lights is just about right - med-soft sponge, about 1/4 wide and 1/16 thick.

[Pmerems]

My paint shop used ProSeal. The window was in position and they taped the edge of the rear top skin and about 1/8" in front of the edge. Then they applied ProSeal with an applicator. I was not present at the time they did this. I believe they may have used a plastic bag and applied it like cake icing. Then they removed the tape before it had a chance to cure. Looks great.

Be careful using different sealant or caulks. I originally used some GE silicone II clear sealant from HD. Just put a very small bead on the edge of the skin prior to securing the rear window. Starting getting some pillowing between the screw holes after a few months of thermal cycling. Removed the window and rolled the top skin edge. When cleaning the Silicone off the window (came off easy) I notice some craze cracking around a few of the countersunk holes in the window. These craze cracks weren't there when I drilled the holes, nor the 4 years it sat in the shop, nor when I installed the window. There wasn't much if any silicone near or in the countersunk holes either. After reading some info it appears that some Silicone can cause craze cracking in acrylic materials. Don't know if the Silicone did or not.

So far I haven't seen any additional growth of the craze cracks and the window is now sealed in place with the ProSeal the paint shop applied.