macleodm3 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 (edited) I am not satisfied with the seam where my clear canopy meets the fiberglass. I have attached a couple photos.... one inside and one outside the plane. Are there any great techniques for this area? I am looking for a very nice, clean line... Any tips? Edited September 26, 2018 by macleodm3 Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidhawk9 Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 Watching with interest. I'm not that far along, but have wondered a bit about it myself. Quote Aerocanard (modified) SN:ACPB-0226 (Chapter 8) Canardspeed.com (my build log and more; usually lags behind actual progress)Flight simulator (X-plane) flight model master: X-Aerodynamics (GMT+12) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Ashton Posted September 26, 2018 Share Posted September 26, 2018 Geez Andrew, some guys would love to have such a nice canopy joint. 1 Quote -KentCozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 10 hours ago, Kent Ashton said: Geez Andrew, some guys would love to have such a nice canopy joint. That was my first reaction as well. I am now hesitant to show the quality of the joint I have come up with for the Glassair III door/window repair I've just done. Back to the shop... Andrew, consider that good and get some protective covering back on that canopy! Seriously, at most you could put some thin painter's tape on the window for a straight edge, then put on some West until it gels up, then pull the tape and let it cure. Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted September 27, 2018 Author Share Posted September 27, 2018 The transition from glass to clear canopy is to me, one place that can make any aircraft look cobbed.... unprofessional, home made. Everything else can be perfect... but some canopies look professional here and some don't. They're all awesome... if they're flying... but I'd like to go the extra mile for this one area. Mine doesn't look as good in person.... I'll need to take a couple new photos this evening to show canopy / glass areas that need some attention. I was wondering if anyone had a great trim product... some sort of a adhesive backed rubber trim strip that worked well. I did the painter's tape / micro around the inside of the rear windows and they turned out OK.. I suppose I could do that for the canopy too.... I have a thick film of sanding dust on my canopy... so that is my protective covering. Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidhawk9 Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 6 hours ago, macleodm3 said: I have a thick film of sanding dust on my canopy... so that is my protective covering. I have this protective covering on many of my parts too. And shelves. And tools. And walls... Quote Aerocanard (modified) SN:ACPB-0226 (Chapter 8) Canardspeed.com (my build log and more; usually lags behind actual progress)Flight simulator (X-plane) flight model master: X-Aerodynamics (GMT+12) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 4 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said: I have this protective covering on many of my parts too. And shelves. And tools. And walls... Yeah its awesome!! It keeps everyone else out of the workshop too.... theft prevention! And I think it kills bugs which like to crap on the plane. 1 Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 14 hours ago, macleodm3 said: And I think it kills bugs which like to crap on the plane. You might be right! Diatomaceous earth, which is tiny broken-up bits of fossilized diatoms, is used as an organic gardening material to prevent bugs. I also just learned that it’s used as a stabilizer for dynamite. So there you have it, our planes are “Organic” AND “dyn-o-mite”! Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 On 9/27/2018 at 10:27 AM, macleodm3 said: Mine doesn't look as good in person.... I'll need to take a couple new photos this evening to show canopy / glass areas that need some attention. I was wondering if anyone had a great trim product... some sort of a adhesive backed rubber trim strip that worked well. I did the painter's tape / micro around the inside of the rear windows and they turned out OK.. I suppose I could do that for the canopy too.... I took a closer look at your pictures. Your inside shot is a touch blurry so that might be hiding some of what you're talking about, which I think is exactly what I am dealing with right now (see the pictures). I built-up a "tape dam" using several layers of painter's tape. The micro build-up is quite thick, and my plan now is to remove the thick "tape dam" and replace with just 1 layer of painters tape. I am going to put down a final treatment of micro (just for edge aesthetics), wait until the micro gels up a touch so it's not running, then pull the tape so I have a clean line. I'll put another layer of tape down after that, just for protecting the plexiglass so I can complete final sanding and whatnot. Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 On 10/1/2018 at 8:36 AM, Jon Matcho said: I built-up a "tape dam" using several layers of painter's tape. The micro build-up is quite thick, and my plan now is to remove the thick "tape dam" and replace with just 1 layer of painters tape. I am going to put down a final treatment of micro (just for edge aesthetics), wait until the micro gels up a touch so it's not running, then pull the tape so I have a clean line. I'll put another layer of tape down after that, just for protecting the plexiglass so I can complete final sanding and whatnot. Yeah... the plans have us build up a bunch of tape... all mine has been removed so I don't have to deal with lots of old tape residue. I try to not have tape on the canopy for more than several weeks. I have added 1 layer of blue painter's tape (auto body painter's tape... not paper masking tape) and some protection film. Next, I am going to do a big micro fill and wipe off any micro that ends up between the fiberglass and blue tape. Let that cure. Sand it down to final profile. Do a small micro fillet... using my contoured micro as a guide on one side and the edge of the blue tape as a guide on the other. Let cure to gel (not complete) and then carefully remove blue tape and black tape and clear film. 1 Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidhawk9 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 The line of the clear part of the canopy over the top there is a bit different to usual. I like it. 1 Quote Aerocanard (modified) SN:ACPB-0226 (Chapter 8) Canardspeed.com (my build log and more; usually lags behind actual progress)Flight simulator (X-plane) flight model master: X-Aerodynamics (GMT+12) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 20 hours ago, macleodm3 said: I have added 1 layer of blue painter's tape (auto body painter's tape... not paper masking tape) and some protection film. I'll definitely be making a trip to the automotive store! Corners without the tape kinking up are the key. Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 11 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said: The line of the clear part of the canopy over the top there is a bit different to usual. I like it. Most Cozys have a curved spot like that but less noticeable amount.... a hat bill shaped curve. I've seen another Cozy with one similar and think it looks good too... maybe 5% more shade from directly overhead. The Aerocanard canopy is much much more coverage... I like the Cozy version more. The glass overhead helps fair the bubble in to the fiberglass. With the bubble only, there is a noticeable dip... it should look good once its faired in with micro. Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 10 hours ago, Jon Matcho said: I'll definitely be making a trip to the automotive store! Corners without the tape kinking up are the key. Search for 3M Vinyl Tape 471+ It conforms amazingly well, around corners and such. Excellent product, but hard to find locally. Advance Auto, Auto Zone, O'Reilly's all did not have it. Found it at a local Federated Auto Parts store by calling around. Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CozyKen Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I'm getting to this point and had a Lancair guy come by for a look. He recommended using Pro Seal. It goes on like caulk and is easy to tool. Paint sticks to it. Spruce has a similar 3M product. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/ac251kitg.php Anyone have experience with either? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Ashton Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 11 hours ago, CozyKen said: I'm getting to this point and had a Lancair guy come by for a look. He recommended using Pro Seal. It goes on like caulk and is easy to tool. Paint sticks to it. Spruce has a similar 3M product. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/ac251kitg.php I've have not use Proseal in that way but used it to build the BD-5 and seal RV fuel tanks. It might work around a canopy edge but it's really sticky stuff and a bit of a mess to apply. I wouldn't call it "easy to tool" because it sticks to everything. It can be sanded but it's like sanding hard rubber. Maybe the Lancair guy has had good results around canopies but I think you can also get a good finish with micro. Quote -KentCozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 (edited) Well... using the painters tape mentioned above (3M 471+) and micro.... I now have a seam that is good enough (meaning it looks good from 8 feet closer than before). I am currently working on the canopy in the basement where its warm (although the sanding dust has gotten me in trouble several times already). I did the following: 1- tape the windows using painters tape, electrical tape, and saran wrap, apply the BIg Fill 2- sand it down using the air file (IR 18" air sander) 3- remove all tape and wrap... clean it all up, move canopy to the basement 4-reapply painters tape and apply micro fillet using a bondo squegees cut to different shapes (micro sticks to plastic cards but not the bondo squeegees) 5- pull off tape before the micro sets... its a thin fillet, so 20 minutes using West 205 (fast) hardener worked for me. Painting will be its own challenge... hopefully in 2019!!! Edited December 17, 2018 by macleodm3 1 Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royal Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 If you dont want to do all that work you can get a 2015 acura RDX rear window seal. Its the biggest I have found. Double sided and and looks great. Ref #: 002 Rubber B, Windshield Dam Part Number: 73213-TX4-A01 Mfg. Origin: 'USA' Emission Types:KA - US - 49 State Spec Retail price: $21.68 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macleodm3 Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 (edited) I have seen seals like that on Cozy aircraft and they look pretty good.... but you still need to do most of the work. Edited June 17, 2020 by macleodm3 Quote Andrew Anunson I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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