Flying the pink cowl

[RVG8tor]

I am expecting a call from the inspector soon (FAA said they are forwarding the task to him).

My cowl is still pink and only a bit of filler spread to fill holes. I am almost done sealing the inside, just want some primer then the foil tape.

The plane is scheduled at the painter in February. My question, can I fly with just the pink cowl as it come from Van's with no hole filling done and if so what might be the dangers? The deal is the painter is planning on this work and I don't have the time. I did talk with the painter on my skrit and he had me spray just K36 primer to seat things up, told me not to sand it this way it leaves the seal. I did do the pin hole fill on the skirt in face I think it is nearly ready for paint but I will let the painter decide.

What I would like to do is spray on a coat or two of K36 fly it and take it to the painter for the fill work. My worry is water, it rains up here in the NW and some don't fly sometime if you are not willing to let your plane get wet.

From looking closely at the cowl it seem pretty sealed. I would coat areas I filled with clear epoxy before the primer.

I could not find anything with search on point.

Cheers

[rleffler]

Your painter's opinion is the only one that counts. He has to guarantee his work and what is he willing to accept when you drop off your RV.

Unfortunately, I've heard painters that prefer different extremes, from do nothing to prime.

I'd personally be concerned with oil and exhaust grime getting into pinholes, scratches, etc. If it was my RV, I would probably prime, then let the painter remove the primer if necessary. My opinion is only worth what you paid for it.

I painted my cowl first, so it's a non-issue on my RV.

bob

[DonFromTX]

I had the same questions, my paint shop told me to get a small roller and put on this special DuPont primer with a roller. It will seal it, they can sand it smooth anyway, Cautioned me to NOT use any rattle can primer under any circumstances. It probably depends on what the painter is using for final coats.

[Ironflight]

With the RV-8, I filled all the pinholes and ended with gray primer that I flew for the six months until my paint shop date came up. Grady at GLO then told me that he'd have done all the surface prep as part of the paint job price (huh many of my hours did THAT cost!). With the RV-3, we decided to let Grady do that work, but I was nervous (like you) about getting oil embedded in the pores in those months of flying. Grady suggested a brushed or rolled on coats of West Systems resin (the way Van's describes for pinhole filling) with no sanding - just to seal it. That took almost no time, and seems to have worked very well.

But....as Bob said, check with YOUR paint shop!

Paul

[RVG8tor]

Paul

Timely post, I just emailed Grady with this question, he is doing my paint. For the skirt I filled the pinholes with West filler and then topped with several coats of clear epoxy. We decided the best protection was a coat of K36 primer but not to sand it so that it stays sealed.

I am running out of time on the cowl I have hit most of it with filler left over from other areas but I think I will do like you did and roll on some clear epoxy then an non-sanded coat of primer. The cowl actually looks fairly sealed as it come from the factory just not ready for paint with the depressions the honeycomb makes, but it does not look like anything can get to the honeycomb but I want to protect it a little more.

Wish me luck with the weather, my appointment is in February, there are few windows in the weather to get from the NW to Texas that time of year. I really would like to have the paint done for the trip to SnF.