Schuie Driver

Could any of you shed some light on how I'm supposed to fuelproof my planes with epoxy? I'm talking about the engine firewall and any parts of the plane that might get oil exaust on them from flying. A friend of mine told me to paint epoxy on those exposed pieces of wood with a brush, but he also mentioned that I need to thin it out with denatured alcohol. My questions are, should I be using 30 minute or 6 minute epoxy for this task and how much alcohol should I be mixing with the epoxy? Is there a specific texture I should be aiming for?

Thanks in advance for any help with this newbie question..............

AirplaneDan98

I add enough alcohol to thin it to a paint consistency. It doesn't take much, so be careful. Epoxy takes longer to cure when thinned so I use 6 minute.

I've also heard that heating epoxy with a heat gun will thin it down. It also makes it cure faster, so it's probably better to use 30 minute.
Dan

cwat212

I use Dope. You can get it in different colors to match your covering. Apply with a small paint brush.

I don't think it is too expensive - about $4 a jar (3 1/2 ozs).

Rodney

I recommend using 30 minute epoxy and DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT thin it with alcohol as this often causes more problems with bad cure, rubbery cure etc. Just put it on as thin as you can spread it then use your heat gun on it. Don't get it so hot is bubbles, just quite warm. You will see it suddenly wick into every nook and cranny as the heat goes on. This will make a much better fuel seal than paint and much more durable. It will also insure that any glue joint between the firewall and the fuse is much better as it will wick into the smallest void and strengthen it.
I know that many people do use alcohol to thin the epoxy and get passable results. However, to often alchohol has a high water content which causes nothing but poorer cure, longer cure time and weaker chemical bonds.

Crashem

My vote goes for Dope. Its what its for.

I've also used polyester reisen (goto do that outside WOW the fumes!!).

Giant Scale

I have used finishing epoxy resin thinned with alcohol with very good results. I think the problems Rodney eluded to may be to improper mixing or incorrect proportions of resin and hardner rather than the alcohol. The alcohol flashes off relatively quickly. I like a finishing resin that takes several hours to cure out. You can also heat the epoxy but I'd rather use the alcohol.

PHILLCO

My Feedback: (6)

RODNEY: WHERE IN TITUSVILLE DO YOU FLY AND IS IT OPEN TO VISITORS?

stomper

My Feedback: (20)

I use 30 min. epoxy and thin with Acetone. some times I use dope.


Doug

DLT

My Feedback: (48)

I use thin CA to fuel proof....works better than epoxy and is soooo much faster with less mess.

Volfy

My Feedback: (23)

I often add fiberglass while I fuel proof the firewall with 30min epoxy. FG adds hardly any more weight and, heck, if I'm gonna epoxy I might as well strengthen the nose while I'm at it.

5min or 6min epoxy has substantially different chemistry than the longer curing epoxies and are definitely not as strong and as chemical resistant as longer cure cousins.

For small planes and/or ultralite constructions like the Kadet Sr and Seniorita, dope really does make more sense.

I also use CA for fuelproofing, but only for spot treatment. Too much of that stuff just gags me.

visioneer_one

My Feedback: (506)

Ditto on the finishing resin. I don't use any thinner as this stuff is quite thin. Mix up a batch, spread it on, wait a bit (let it penetrate the wood) then squeegee off the excess with a throwaway scraper. Business cards work great for this.

Yes it takes 2+ hours to cure but it works great.