Went to Tap Plastic to pick up some epoxy brushes and one of those little grooved wheel thingees that let you roll/push down the glass while allowing the resin to squeeze up between the grooves, but theirs were way too long. I cobbled this short 2-wheeled unit from scrap on hand.
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Alpina - bad news / good news
- Thread starter Mucksmear
- Start date
Doc J
Very Strong User
I still use round nylon servo actuators; Andy Epoxy won't stick, and you just wash them off with Acetone later.
Doc
That’s a good tip! In the past I have always been lacking this tool. Stippling with an epoxy brush works too, which is what I’ve done in the past
Doc J
Very Strong User
I mainly used this type of roller attached to a carbon tube or rod length to roll out the seams in wet-joined overlapped glass fuselages, Mucky. Otherwise, it's really hard to make sure the the joint is fully integrated before curing.
Cheers,
Doc.
Doc J
Very Strong User
I like the "patched" look, but if you don't want it, you can simply score the glass with a chopstick and cut around the outline.
This is what we do in the factory.
Its pretty easy.
Doc.
Hawaii Sloper
Very Strong User
Some nice, meticulous looking repairs goin’ on there! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the process.
Happy holidays fellow fliers!
The last crack was on the top directly behind the wing joiner box. I was originally going to just patch this one from the outside due to the accessibility issues, but I figured it out:
I bent a brush into an “L” so I could clear the apply epoxy to the fuselage directly behind the joiner box.
There’s a 1/4” gap between the top of the joiner box and the top of the fuselage. A strip of cardboard with a small holder tab made of tape allowed me slide the glass patch into position through the 1/4” gap - kinda like sliding a pizza into a pizza oven.
The axe shaped tool was used to press the glass patch up into the epoxy. A mirror helped with positioning/alignment.
Once the glass patch was pushed into the epoxy, I slid the cardboard back out leaving the glass patch in place, and finished the job by stippling with the bent brush and a little more epoxy.
In this pic, a mirror is used to look up at the top of the fuselage area immediately behind the joiner box. You can see the bottom of the joiner box at the bottom of the mirror
The last crack was on the top directly behind the wing joiner box. I was originally going to just patch this one from the outside due to the accessibility issues, but I figured it out:
I bent a brush into an “L” so I could clear the apply epoxy to the fuselage directly behind the joiner box.
There’s a 1/4” gap between the top of the joiner box and the top of the fuselage. A strip of cardboard with a small holder tab made of tape allowed me slide the glass patch into position through the 1/4” gap - kinda like sliding a pizza into a pizza oven.
The axe shaped tool was used to press the glass patch up into the epoxy. A mirror helped with positioning/alignment.
Once the glass patch was pushed into the epoxy, I slid the cardboard back out leaving the glass patch in place, and finished the job by stippling with the bent brush and a little more epoxy.
In this pic, a mirror is used to look up at the top of the fuselage area immediately behind the joiner box. You can see the bottom of the joiner box at the bottom of the mirror
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Doc J
Very Strong User
Killer fixes, Muck.
Are we going to see a gleaming white fuselage after a rubdown and a bit of spray paint?
After this, I think you'll be able to paint your house through your letterbox!
Great job.
Doc.
Next step is to grind/sand down the cracked areas on the outside, and then patch patch the same way I patched the inside, but with the additional step of trying to match the contours (feathering edges and filler) and of course surface finish.Killer fixes, Muck.
Are we going to see a gleaming white fuselage after a rubdown and a bit of spray paint?
After this, I think you'll be able to paint your house through your letterbox!
Great job.
Doc.
Continuing progress of rebuilding shell thickness. Bad posture at the work bench and epoxy pot life means my repair sessions are fairly brief. The big patch across the top just behind the wing joiner seems to be pretty close to target structural thickness and contour. Wont really know until I spray a little primer. Other areas still require additional layers of glass to build up.
For these little patch repairs, I mix up the 4:1 laminating resin by the drop, eg. 20 drops resin + 5 drops hardener.
For these little patch repairs, I mix up the 4:1 laminating resin by the drop, eg. 20 drops resin + 5 drops hardener.
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My exact thoughts as soon as I took the photo. Wait untill I get the red glazing putty on there.
Martin, did your joiner blades get bent in the process? Mine did - I think my only option is to just gently bend them back. Cant easily extract the blades from the wings.Very impressive looking repairs
i had the same fun and games with my Multiplex LS3 back in 2010 - no brace caused the fuz to crush like an eggshell.
After a lot of work and some decent bracing, she flies like new
Martin
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