hitcttd

My Feedback: (8)

That's pretty much it... My RV-4 from GP came in today, and noticed that the ABS cowling is candy wrap. In any case i've read around that everyone seems to share the same problem, and one guy's post motivated me to even coat the inside for strength... How do i do this? Is it cheap?


Thank you very much

SitNFly

My Feedback: (54)

Buy some glass cloth and apply it to the inside of the cowl with PVC cement. Be careful to not let the cement puddle as it may warp or soften the cowl. Use just enough to wet the glass cloth and adhere it to the cowl. That's all there is to it.

GRANT ED

I did this mod on my GP RV-4 and it worked great. Buy some fiberglass cloth and some resin. Your local boat shop should help you out here. Just mix the resin, lay the cloth on the inside of the cowling and apply the resin with a brush. You only need enough resin to "wet out the cloth" that is the cloth is completely wet with resin but not so much that it is running everywhere. Basically the least amount of resin while still having the cloth wet is best. You will only need to do this on the edge's where the screw holes go. Also do this on the inside of the wheel pants as these are known for cracking.
IF you have any more questions just ask.

tom czenthe

Lay dry fiberglass cloth on the inside and brush on some MEK. It will adhere the cloth and finish it with your favorite,,,,epoxy....glue.....etc.

hitcttd

My Feedback: (8)

Thanks for all the advice, i'm sure it'll come in handy once i start workin on the ABS parts... I hope this plane flies as great as it looks in the picture...


thanks again

Test005

Good thread!
I just got my GP Ultimate 40 and also need to reinforce wheelpants and cowl.
Can I brush thinned epoxy on the fibreglass?

hitcttd

My Feedback: (8)

Hey Test did you see this? http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_16...tm.htm#1686789

very good tutorial on how to make those ABS parts look whole... hope this helps

are you building your bipe from kit also?

GRANT ED

Yep just don't make it to thin.

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS RESIN TO ADHERE THE FIBERGLASS CLOTH. The resin will not adhere well to the ABS cowl.

What I do is cut some 2 oz fiberglass cloth into 2" x 6" strips. Lay the strip inside the cowl and smooth it out. Use THIN CA to adhere it to the cowl. CA will adhere to ABS very well, and unless you really pour the stuff in there, will not soften or distort the ABS.

GRANT ED

Well I've used it in my RV-4 and ultimate bipe with no problems at all. The RV is now three years old.

Phlip

Thanks for the endorsement. I have since come to believe that reinforcement on the inside as laid out in this thread is a great idea. My RV-4 cowl is holding up well without the glass (although I did double the thickness around the propshaft opening as mentioned in my original thread) but I've had to repair the wheel pants twice now because of cracking. Last repair I did I used some glass cloth and medium CA to reinforce around the mounting holes. Great idea!

Phil

tubig

i just put fiberglass down over areas that have a hole in the ABS (such as muffler exits or needle valves exits) or along the seam where ABS is joined together and apply a thin coat of epoxy to the fiberglass. to make sure the epoxy sticks to the ABS first sand that area with 120-150 grit paper and that creates enough roughness to allow the epoxy to stick. unless the ABS is really thin i don't think it necessary to fiberglass all of the ABS. (just adds unnecessary weight).

hitcttd

My Feedback: (8)

Great stuff guys, great planes has such a good reputation, it's mindboggling that they'd cheap out on something like cowling... I've started the rv-4 and have some things to share... more on that later


thanks for all the tips guys

philip: i hope you don't mind me "endorsing" your product, i thought it was one of the most ingenius things i've seen on this board... tres tres bien!