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carl nank

Well Known Member
I am reading the Van's manual regarding finishing the cowl. The manual discusses finishing the outside of the cowl, but not the inside.

It seems to me that doing something to the inside of the cowl would help prevent problems with oil and heat issues.

I am considering sanding the inside of the cowl and filling with epoxy, as shown in the manual for the outside of the cowl. I also purchased a sheet of reflecting material to protect the inside of the cowl from heat.

Am I correct to do this or am I wasting my time?
 
Yep...

...it's been discussed many times, Carl. Do a search and you'll get a bunch of info. Inside the cowl is a good place to paint excess epoxy you mixed and it will prevent oil-soaking later. There is a silver tape type of heat shield that guys use to prevent exhaust scorching where it's close,

Best,
 
What Pierre said

Definitely worth sealing up the inside of the cowl before any chance of oil getting onto it 9and into pores). I used the 2-inch wide Al tape over about 1/3 of the inside of the cowl to protect from heat. I did this after flying a couple hours and seeing some of the browning of the inside. Every few hours during my Phase I, I would pull the cowl and look for heat issues and add tape as necessary.

greg
 
The rvator a while ago had an article on refinishing the cowl inside- mix epoxy with acetone, squeegee small sections at a time- the acetone dries quickly. This is to seal the pinholes, which connect to the core, from the oil to come once you start flying. Afterwards line the inside of the cowl with the aluminum foil back with adhesive you can order from Van's. The cowls are highly optimized, lightweight but durable, so keeping the radiant heat down is good- a cool cowl is a happy cowl.
 
Why did I not think of using excess epoxy during my build......
Thanks guys! Starting inside of cowl tomorrow.
 
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