FalloutMan
Member
First off, I am new to VAF and am an inspiring RV-7A owner. A little background: I am an aviation electrician (AE2) in the Navy and I currently work on the MH-60S helicopter. I have been working on helos for 4 years now so I know my way around avionics and electrical systems in regards to those weird planes with spinning wings on their heads. Through reading some of the threads around here I found out that Pro-Seal is our beloved 8802 potting that is used to seal EVERYTHING on these aircraft, fuel components or not, so I figured I would be nice and give a little back to the VAF community.
Pro-Seal, or more commonly known as 8802 for those of us that wear clothes with things on our collar that establish how big our ego is, is a chemical that smears onto everything and dries to a rubbery like substance that peels off somewhat nicely on smooth surfaces. 8802 takes 24 hours to properly cure in your average 60-70*F environment with low humidity. In my experience I have noticed that the more humid the air is, the longer 8802 takes to cure. When in doubt, tell maintenance control it needs more time and go back to surfing VAF while you wait.
When working with 8802 remember this one tip: it will get on anything you DON'T want 8802 on and it WILL NOT come out of clothes in a reasonable amount of time. Go buy a pair of coveralls and wear shoes (preferrably leather boots) that you dont care about.
Some application tips:
After you have mixed the 8802 squeeze what you need into a ziploc bag and lop off a corner much like a frosting thing that Martha Stewert uses to make pretty things on cakes. This makes it way super duper easier to apply versus using a popsicle stick or any other method. When you are done you just chuck it into the nearest HAZMAT CONTAINER (this stuff isn't enviro healthy) and go about your day.
During application the biggest mistake people make is they wear gloves while applying. What? Don't wear PPE? That is sacrilage! In reality, gloves make application 100x harder and messier because, no matter what, it WILL stick to the glove instead of whatever you are sealing. I use a bare hand with one simple trick, spit. Spit on your fingers and use your fingers to knead the sealant into the desired shape/area, applying more spit as needed. If your fingers become somewhat dry it will start to stick so wipe off excess and spit again. I assure you that you will have a much easier time putting this stuff on.
As far as prepping goes, masking tape (the blue painters tape is best) is your friend when you want to make your line nice and purdy. Lay out the tape and apply the sealant in btween your tape lanes. Once you are done with application, peel the tape up slowly and push down the edges of the sealant because they will pull up a tad bit. Use your spit covered hand to do this.
After you have applied the sealant check to make sure you dont have any smudges of sealant anywhere you don't want it. If there are any areas that got covered stop and let it dry. Once the sealant is dry you can use a razor blade and just pretend its paint and scrape it away. If its on metal it'll come up easily and cleanly.
Getting 8802 off your body is a little different matter. If you got sealant anywhere, immediately run HOT water over the area and use your nails or a green scrubby pad to scrape/rub it off. If you use cold water it will harden some and be a lot tougher to get off.
The funny part is, based on what people said about Pro-Seal, I strongly considered buying QB wings so I could skip the step. You can only imagine how happy I was to find out that Pro-Seal was just good ol 8802 that I work with almost daily. It isn't something you should lose sleep over. With careful planning and setup, application can be easy and painless, especially if you have done it once before. Hopefully these tips help you guys out and take away some of the pre-stress of sealing tanks. Unfortunately I'm moving to Japan for 3 years on Monday or I'd seal anyone's tanks in the greater San Diego area for a beer and burger. Once I return stateside I plan on breaking ground with an emp kit and I'll gladly exchange sealing for rivet trainging.
Pro-Seal, or more commonly known as 8802 for those of us that wear clothes with things on our collar that establish how big our ego is, is a chemical that smears onto everything and dries to a rubbery like substance that peels off somewhat nicely on smooth surfaces. 8802 takes 24 hours to properly cure in your average 60-70*F environment with low humidity. In my experience I have noticed that the more humid the air is, the longer 8802 takes to cure. When in doubt, tell maintenance control it needs more time and go back to surfing VAF while you wait.
When working with 8802 remember this one tip: it will get on anything you DON'T want 8802 on and it WILL NOT come out of clothes in a reasonable amount of time. Go buy a pair of coveralls and wear shoes (preferrably leather boots) that you dont care about.
Some application tips:
After you have mixed the 8802 squeeze what you need into a ziploc bag and lop off a corner much like a frosting thing that Martha Stewert uses to make pretty things on cakes. This makes it way super duper easier to apply versus using a popsicle stick or any other method. When you are done you just chuck it into the nearest HAZMAT CONTAINER (this stuff isn't enviro healthy) and go about your day.
During application the biggest mistake people make is they wear gloves while applying. What? Don't wear PPE? That is sacrilage! In reality, gloves make application 100x harder and messier because, no matter what, it WILL stick to the glove instead of whatever you are sealing. I use a bare hand with one simple trick, spit. Spit on your fingers and use your fingers to knead the sealant into the desired shape/area, applying more spit as needed. If your fingers become somewhat dry it will start to stick so wipe off excess and spit again. I assure you that you will have a much easier time putting this stuff on.
As far as prepping goes, masking tape (the blue painters tape is best) is your friend when you want to make your line nice and purdy. Lay out the tape and apply the sealant in btween your tape lanes. Once you are done with application, peel the tape up slowly and push down the edges of the sealant because they will pull up a tad bit. Use your spit covered hand to do this.
After you have applied the sealant check to make sure you dont have any smudges of sealant anywhere you don't want it. If there are any areas that got covered stop and let it dry. Once the sealant is dry you can use a razor blade and just pretend its paint and scrape it away. If its on metal it'll come up easily and cleanly.
Getting 8802 off your body is a little different matter. If you got sealant anywhere, immediately run HOT water over the area and use your nails or a green scrubby pad to scrape/rub it off. If you use cold water it will harden some and be a lot tougher to get off.
The funny part is, based on what people said about Pro-Seal, I strongly considered buying QB wings so I could skip the step. You can only imagine how happy I was to find out that Pro-Seal was just good ol 8802 that I work with almost daily. It isn't something you should lose sleep over. With careful planning and setup, application can be easy and painless, especially if you have done it once before. Hopefully these tips help you guys out and take away some of the pre-stress of sealing tanks. Unfortunately I'm moving to Japan for 3 years on Monday or I'd seal anyone's tanks in the greater San Diego area for a beer and burger. Once I return stateside I plan on breaking ground with an emp kit and I'll gladly exchange sealing for rivet trainging.
