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Fiberglass Tips Finish Questions

nippaero

nippaero

Well Known Member
Been reading over several threads on finishing the fiberglass tips on the elevators and rudder. I was leaning towards using West System 410 filler.

Are there any other suggestions that would have better results?
 
It works fine. It tends to cure with a bit of pourosity which can interfere with the primer coat so once I have the desired countour I apply pure epoxy to it, hit it with a heat gun to warm it (a bit just to make it runny) then I wipe it off. It fills the voids and gives you a tougher surface with minimal weight gain.
 
Polyester fillers (Rage Gold for example) are fine on the gelcoated polyester/fiberglass wing tips and tail tips.

I would not try to blend the tail tips into the aluminum surfaces with Rage, as my own experiments say adhesion to aluminum is poor compared to epoxy/micro.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I did find some threads on the subject. Just had to sift through a lot of posts.

It looks like the West System you mix the filler in with the two part epoxy. Do these other fillers have to be mixed as well?
 
The other fillers are polyester fillers that have to be mixed with a catalyst. West 410 is just a powder like substance which needs a resin of some kind, like epoxy.
 
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