Inside cowl prep (new gel coat gray cowl)

[toolmanmike]

I’m almost at the end of the finish kit instructions and they talk a lot about coating the inside of the cowling with thinned epoxy to help protect it. Are these old instructions? My cowl (gray not pink) has a slick surface already- not honeycomb. I don’t think this step should be necessary. What are others doing? I do plan to put some foil on the lower cowl for heat reflection.

 

[RV7 To Go]

I put 2 coats of unthinned West System resin on the inside of my grey cowling to seal it and make it easy to clean the oil residue from. Did the same on my 7 pink cowling now with 800 hrs on it.

 

[bruceh]

Go buy some West System 501 White Pigment Tint for epoxy and mix that in when you seal up the inside. I think I did three coats. You can use a foam roller or cheap brush. Brightens it up and makes it so much easier to clean.

 

[rvbuilder2002]

Grey cowl and pink cowl are exactly the same on the inside.
The surface looks sealed but it’s not.

 

[toolmanmike]

Thank you all. Clear to me know.

 

[mc607]

Is it also a good idea to coat the inside of the wheel pants?

 

[DanH]

I’m almost at the end of the finish kit instructions and they talk a lot about coating the inside of the cowling with thinned epoxy to help protect it. Are these old instructions?

Don't thin the epoxy. Squeegee it into the surface. A foam roller removes all the squeegee marks. When cured, scuff sand without breaking through, as you would prep any epoxy surface. Epoxy primer, then two-part white urethane.

The self-adhesive aluminum foil really sticks well on a painted surface. I like the tinted resin method Bruce outlined, although I would like to know more about that foil adhesion.

 

[georgemohr]

I used a foam roller and didn't thin it (I used West Systems resin). Result was good.

 

[Stoo]

I brushed on West epoxy/ white pigment. What works well with unthinned epoxy is to brush an area and then warm it with a heat gun to thin it out. You can then go back over it lightly to spread it out.
Stewart Willoughby, 6

 

[penguin]

The only good thing about West is that it is easily available, particularly for the inside of a cowl. Go to your local Diamond maintenance company and ask if they have any out of date cowling epoxy. They should have as it has a short shelf life. It is good for a year or so after the formal end date. This epoxy, I think its called Biersin, is high temperature and is tinted with a black pigment for the inside of a Diamond cowl, but is white before hand.