Old 1997 post
Rudi.... if the fit of your kit fairing is bad, this method works well. It's a copy of one of my 1997 posting on another board, and it was copied by Van in the RVator.
Essentially you are using the old fairing to make a "floppy" mold, which is then taped in place and built up to the final thickness. Epoxy helps here over polyester. I presume you can get the WEST System epoxies in S. Africa...
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1. Go out and buy WEST epoxy and 410 microballoons.
2. Use Vans part as a male mold to make new fairing with only ONE layer of
4 oz. cloth. Get some mold wax and PVA release agent and use them to
ensure separation after curing.
3. Tape everything in sight at the fin/stab. area with a layer of vinyl
tape. I used 3M #417 tape (also called 'glider tape' ...:^) Do not use
masking tape ... this taped surface must be a release for epoxy. Do a good
job here or you will find all sorts of eppenage parts unintentionally
bonded into a single assembly....:^)
4. The molding you just made is VERY flexible and can now be taped in place
at it's edges only (the edge 1/8 inch only) on the fin/stab junction. I
used vinyl electrical tape a different color from the tape of step 3. It
will hold it's curve well when the edges are held.
5. It probably won't fit well around the LE of the fin ... no big deal,
just cut a notch in the molding so it fits. Every plane seems to be
different in this area.
6. Lay up 2 layers of 9 oz. cloth (satin weave preferred) onto of your
thin, taped-in-place molding with the WEST epoxy. Use separate pieces on
each side and overlap an inch or two at the centerline. The floppy cloth
should nicely bridge the the notch you had to cut in step 5. Use a peel
ply over the final wet layup and gently squeegee the excess resin into the
peel ply ... I cut the peel ply into 3 to 4 inch wide strips since the peel
ply won't conform well to curves.
7. Let cure completely. Leave it for 2 or 3 times longer than you would
think ...:^)
8. Sand lightly .. you will usually need some sort of curved sanding block
... I made one from blue foam.
9. Any low spots found in the sanding step can be lightly filled with WEST
epoxy and microballoons applied with a squeegee.
10. Sand again, sanding most of the filler off.
11. Repeat 9 and 10 until you are happy with the smoothness. I only needed
two applications of filler. All sanding was done by hand, starting with 60
grit. I found the latex paint compatible sandpaper (the green stuff) from
the hardware store to be the least likely to clog. When you are all done,
there should only be patches of filler left, not a complete layer of filler.
12. Pull the tape off that is holding the edge of the original single layer
molding down. A sideways motion works here since the tape edge is now
laminated between the original 4 oz layer and the later two 9 oz layers.
13. Trim the edges of the part to final dimensions .. usually this should
be just inside the tape location of step 4.
14. Remove all tape from step 3 that was providing a masking function.
14. Re-install fairing and drill for the #8 mounting screws.
This technique has been used on at least 4 local RV6s, and with the
WEST epoxy will give a much more stable molding than the original kit one.
It will also fit your plane EXACTLY. Other materials may work, but those
listed above definitely work and are easy to use. It was clean enough with
the WEST epoxy mini-pumps I found I could laminate a layer of cloth in my
regular clothes without a mess.
... hope this helps ...
... Gil (epoxy ain't that bad) Alexander
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gil in Tucson
Note only needed if your part is a bad fit....