Hi guys,

I recently had a mishap with my L39 (Deadstick), the (rather heavy) pilots opted for ejecting through the front windscreen smashing it to pieces.

I now have a rather delicate job to do as this weakens the structure considerably so the hoop is a bit fragile now.

I've managed to remove most of the screen without incurring any more damage but before I tear in with my Dremel to remove the remainder and existing epoxy I thought I'd ask you experts if I can make this job any easier with less risk of more damage.

The thought just crossed my mind that maybe a little heat on the epoxy would soften it and help with removal.

Any thoughts from you guys would be appreciated,

Thanks in advance,

Gary.

Gary

If it is a hard Hysol then the amount of heat required to soften the epoxy would also damage the fibreglass, if normal 5-30min epoxy I would personally sand it as you would not be able to put any amount of heat in to the epoxy again with out damaging the glass work. Sanding the epoxy off will take time but I think this way is the safest way also if you soften the epoxy you would not be able to sand it whilst soft.
If it is normal resin and you do want to have a go with hairdryer only I would mix up some of the same epoxy let it go off and apply heat to see if it will peel off etc I think I would go for a very sharp X-ACTO blade and try and slice it off then sand with 180-320 grit

Alan

I would go the heat method, it's what we do where I work. As long as the epoxy has not seen a great deal of heat previously it will soften quite easily. Usually the laminating resins that were use to lay up the fuse has a higher temp rating then the epoxy glue used in production. I have been successful removing brackets from a honeycomb panel that were glued in place with a Hysol product 15 years prior to removal by just using heat and some patience. Popcicle sticks that have been sharpened are great for this type of work.

Nice one you learn something new every day! I was more concerned as there would not be a lot of fibreglass to heat up hence temp would rise as just small pieces etc

Gary go and get your hairdryer!

Alan

I have done it with the heat Gun inside, and a (cold wet rag on the outside) to protect the fuse,
also works good , a small bend tip on a "regulated" soldering Iron
G.

Thanks everyone for the input, I found that a 25 watt iron was good for removing the screen remains but would not attack the epoxy until it was so hot the composite started to distort, I'll try it with some protective cooling tomorrow although I suspect a long session with a Dremel will be the only answer.