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Tonight I did my fiberglass layups on my tip-up canopy:




I guess it's a good thing the GRT EFIS's didn't work or I'd be futzing with them instead of working diligently on the canopy fairing. I have 7 layers now - 1/2" to 2", in 1/4" steps. This wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, although it still needs a lot of work before it's a finished product. I think now I can take the canopy off the fuselage and work on it on sawhorses. That should make dealing with it a lot easier.

Hey, I remember that sight picture!

Looks great Mike!

sweet

Tonight I took the peal ply off to take a look at my handy work. Everything turned out pretty good. Still a lot of sanding in my future. What I was most impressed with was how SOLID the canopy is now on the frame. Before I glassed the front, when I went to raise the canopy by the small handle on the pilot side, the canopy would flex a lot and it took a little encouragement by lifting it from the top center of the canopy for it to lift up. Not any more! The thing goes up and down perfectly. I am very pleased with how it has turned out so far, and after I sand it down, another project boogieman is finished with.

ya know i really enjoyed the canopy. if i were a repeat builder i could really perfect that. looks great, brings back memories. i did my friends for him he because i was so sure i could do even better , bought me 4 hrs. in a 172. he wanted to pay me but i told him if i compared it to building a transmission i would need at least 1000.00$ and that was too much so it had to be free. the 4hrs was a surprise.

Dacron peel-ply is freakin' awesome stuff! Looks great Mike!

Mike,

That looks great! I checked your site but didn't see a picture after you removed the peel-ply. Question: What are you using to sand the epoxy? I am finding that the epoxy really loads up the sandpaper I have.

Bret-

Last night I worked mainly on the fuel controller and the mixture control and not so much on the canopy fairing. I figured I would give it another nights to fully cure (read: I didn't want to sand). However, I did take the peal ply off and use a little 60 grit to play around with what I was in for. I found I got a little build-up with 60 grit, BUT, I discovered the buildup cleaned right off once I drug the sandpaper over some cheap carpet I have over my bench. Worked like a charm!

Bret,

You probably already know this, but make sure you really clean the lay-up before you start sanding (soap and water works fine). The epoxy cures with an "amine blush" on the surface which really loads up the sandpaper. the amine blush will also keep subsequent layers of epoxy from sticking unless it is completely removed.

Pat

i was under the impression that was one of the prurposes of the peel ply, and amine blush wasnt a problem if you used it.???
the blush rises to the surface then you peel it off??? ive been wrong before.

weezbad wrote:i was under the impression that was one of the prurposes of the peel ply, and amine blush wasnt a problem if you used it.???
the blush rises to the surface then you peel it off??? ive been wrong before.

Correct. Peel ply is wonderful stuff.

Mike:

It's looking great! Nice work.

Have you tried wet sanding with some good quality 3M paper. That should keep the loading factor down and control the dust too.

Antony

bullojm1 wrote:Bret-

Last night I worked mainly on the fuel controller and the mixture control and not so much on the canopy fairing. I figured I would give it another nights to fully cure (read: I didn't want to sand). However, I did take the peal ply off and use a little 60 grit to play around with what I was in for. I found I got a little build-up with 60 grit, BUT, I discovered the buildup cleaned right off once I drug the sandpaper over some cheap carpet I have over my bench. Worked like a charm!

i used mirka http://www.mirka-usa.com/homepage/homepage.htm (cause its cheaper than 3m) gold sticky back 80 grit paper stuck on different radius pvc tubes and t blocks. the 80 grit paper is made for this kind of work. sand paper from hardware stores is not good for much in our hobbie. if you have'nt been using autoboby type paper your gonna hate yourself when you do.

Willy-

I picked up some 3M automotive 60 grit tonight and you're right....no build up at all. That stuff is a JOY to work with. Thanks for the great tip!

Mike, where did you find the 3M sandpaper?

Bret-

I found it at Parts America near the spray paint - about 6 bucks for a pack. I found the Mirka paper at really good prices online and on Ebay. I might pick up a bunch of it later on......lord knows I will need it.

Anyways, I played around with a 2" x 2" piece of the 60 grit on my fairing......and I haven;t been able to wear it out yet! Its unbelievable stuff compared to the wood sanding paper I picked up at Home Depot.

if you go to an autobody paint store they will have small packs of 3m out front. the large quantity stuff is usually in the back and you have to ask for it. a rollof mirka gold 80 grit is around 20-30 bucks. it;'s 100 round disks. i use them for all kinds of stuf but a box seems to last forever.
dont get me wrong i love 3m stuff, its a little better, but man its expensive.