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SB-00043 Elevator cracks implementation issue

N

Navy76

Active Member
I’m scheduled to get my plane painted this fall so, even though I have no elevator cracks, I decided to apply the Proseal per the SB to prevent having to do it later to a painted plane.

Everything was simple enough until I got to the point of actually applying the Proseal. I mixed the Proseal in the cartridge then connected the nozzle with the aluminum tube taped into place, per the instructions. I then started squeezing the handle of the caulking gun (purchased from Vans for this purpose) but nothing came out, I heard some crackling like bubbles popping in the Proseal which I attributed to the tube filling, but nothing came out of the tube. The caulking gun handle was getting difficult to squeeze and when I checked, the plunger was near the end of its travel. Still, no Proseal out of the aluminum tube. I couldn‘t believe it would take that much sealant to fill the tube so I started looking to see where it all went. It turns out that the crackling I heard was Proseal getting past the plunger seal and filling the rear of the cartridge. Bottom line, I finally only got enough out of the aluminum tube to do one side of one bay in one elevator. I basically wasted the whole cartridge and paid $55 for a 6” bead of Proseal.

I ended up with Proseal everywhere but where I wanted it. What a mess! I finally threw the gun, cartridge and aluminum tube away and ordered replacements for everything (I figured I’d be money ahead to replace the caulking gun and tube rather than trying to clean them). It was an expensive mistake but I’m not sure what I did wrong or what I should do differently next time to avoid similar results? Anyone else have this issue? Why is it so hard to push Proseal out of a 15” tube?
 
Navy76 said:
I’m scheduled to get my plane painted this fall so, even though I have no elevator cracks, I decided to apply the Proseal per the SB to prevent having to do it later to a painted plane.

Everything was simple enough until I got to the point of actually applying the Proseal. I mixed the Proseal in the cartridge then connected the nozzle with the aluminum tube taped into place, per the instructions. I then started squeezing the handle of the caulking gun (purchased from Vans for this purpose) but nothing came out, I heard some crackling like bubbles popping in the Proseal which I attributed to the tube filling, but nothing came out of the tube. The caulking gun handle was getting difficult to squeeze and when I checked, the plunger was near the end of its travel. Still, no Proseal out of the aluminum tube. I couldn‘t believe it would take that much sealant to fill the tube so I started looking to see where it all went. It turns out that the crackling I heard was Proseal getting past the plunger seal and filling the rear of the cartridge. Bottom line, I finally only got enough out of the aluminum tube to do one side of one bay in one elevator. I basically wasted the whole cartridge and paid $55 for a 6” bead of Proseal.

I ended up with Proseal everywhere but where I wanted it. What a mess! I finally threw the gun, cartridge and aluminum tube away and ordered replacements for everything (I figured I’d be money ahead to replace the caulking gun and tube rather than trying to clean them). It was an expensive mistake but I’m not sure what I did wrong or what I should do differently next time to avoid similar results? Anyone else have this issue? Why is it so hard to push Proseal out of a 15” tube?
Click to expand...
Do a search on the SB. A solution was provided using AN fittings and if possible a pneumatic proseal gun. Makes job much easier
 
Did you cut the tip of the cartridge back to match the ID of the tube? I've done two sets using the Van's gun with no issues.
 
I dropped the cash on Spruce for the cartridges you fill yourself and just buy the two cans from Vans. It's a little bit of a pain but I'm sure I've saved tons over the amount of smallish batches I mix up to put places. I mixed 7 batches alone just doing the fuel tanks and I even wound up using a cartridge for the void filler on the canopy to make it a nice neat line.
 
I did cut the cartridge nozzle back to 1/4” longer than the ID of the tube and the tape originally held the tube to the nozzle So I don’t think have a more secure attachment to the cartridge would have helped in this case.

I didn’t realize that cartridges were available that I could fill myself. That would have save the day yesterday because I could have salvaged the material that got by the plunger seal.

Thanks everyone for your replies, knowing that you all were able to make the SB-00043 instructions work is reassuring. I’ll give it another go. Thanks again!
 
I used one tube of sealant and the Semco pneumatic gun, with just the recommended tape seal between the cartridge nozzle and the aluminum tube. It was awkward to reach all the bays but the job was done pretty quickly. I had a helper to continuously move a light around to illuminate where the bead was going - that was very helpful. I can confirm, though, that I thought it was going to take forever to see my first sealant come out, but once it did everything was fine and I was able to do the whole job with one cartridge. Of course I didn't have a cartridge failure like you appear to have had.
So, yeah, try it again.
 
I bought empty cartridges I filled myself and a hardware store caulk gun. The inside of the plunger is round while the pushing surface of the gun was flat. I ended up 3D printing an “adapter” that filled the round/hollow part of the plunger and created a flat surface for the gun to press on. That worked well for me with minimal losses to the inside of the cartridge.
 
Navy76 said:
I did cut the cartridge nozzle back to 1/4” longer than the ID of the tube and the tape originally held the tube to the nozzle So I don’t think have a more secure attachment to the cartridge would have helped in this case.

I didn’t realize that cartridges were available that I could fill myself. That would have save the day yesterday because I could have salvaged the material that got by the plunger seal.

Thanks everyone for your replies, knowing that you all were able to make the SB-00043 instructions work is reassuring. I’ll give it another go. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
It's not so much the security as it is making the hole in the nozzle as big as possible, so it takes less pressure to push the mixture out.
 
Thanks for all of the great feedback on this thread! I attempted the procedure again using some of the suggestions provided. I connected the aluminum tube to the Proseal cartridge with AN fittings (I actually used steel JIC fittings with identical dimensions that I picked up a a local hydraulics shop for about $3). I also poured a little epoxy into the plunger seal on the cartridge and let it set up over night. I think this helped a lot by giving the plunger from the caulking gun a good flat surface to push against.

This second attempt at apply the Proseal went off without a hitch. I did find that trying to scrape off any excess material as described in the procedure was making a mess and not removing much excess. For the most part I didn’t scrape unless there was obvious excess material.

Overall, the second attempt was a great success! Thanks again for all of the comments and great advice! It was very helpful!
 
Congratulations! The second one I did came out fine, but the first looks like Jackson Pollock did it. Probably I should have signed it.
 

SEMCO® PACKAGING AND APPLICATION SYSTEMS PLASTIC CARTRIDGES, PLUNGERS AND SEALS - PPG Industries - Aerospace

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A pneumatic sealant gun is optimal. Try EBAY or yardstore.com If you are going to try to use a caulk gun, or ratcheting type gun to apply sealant. stuff a couple disposable gloves in the end before you run the plunger down. If the plunger gets crooked, cleanup isn’t going to be fun.
 
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