Piper cowl repair

DesertNomad

DesertNomad

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DesertNomad
What is the best way to fix this chip on my Dakota? Note that the small piece that looks like it is about to fall off, is no longer there. It was very loose and I have it (and most of the other one) in a ziplock bag.
 

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DesertNomad said:
What is the best way to fix this chip on my Dakota?
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It will depend on what the base material is but the hardest part IMO will be to blend in the paint touch up if looks are important.
 
IMO, this is a cosmetic issue and falls into the owner maintenance category. Find a homebuilder who is comfortable with composites and it'll be a small job for them and they will probably already have the necessary materials other than the paint. The process I'd use would be to mask the area, clean the area, grind the area slightly to get a good bonding surface, then fill the hole with a flox/epoxy mix, which is strong. Once I got it close to shape, I'd lay a thin layer of fiberglass cloth over the divot and an inch or two to each side, then finish and paint. The fiberglass cloth would prevent that same divot from cracking around the margins later.
 
kyleb said:
IMO, this is a cosmetic issue and falls into the owner maintenance category. Find a homebuilder who is comfortable with composites and it'll be a small job for them and they will probably already have the necessary materials other than the paint. The process I'd use would be to mask the area, clean the area, grind the area slightly to get a good bonding surface, then fill the hole with a flox/epoxy mix, which is strong. Once I got it close to shape, I'd lay a thin layer of fiberglass cloth over the divot and an inch or two to each side, then finish and paint. The fiberglass cloth would prevent that same divot from cracking around the margins later.
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Thanks. I am not sure if it cracked due to heat or perhaps a stone got kicked up into it. Hopefully it is not hard to rebuild the same shape and rim along the bottom.
 
DesertNomad said:
Thanks. I am not sure if it cracked due to heat or perhaps a stone got kicked up into it. Hopefully it is not hard to rebuild the same shape and rim along the bottom.
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Do you know any composite aircraft builders or RV builders? Any of them should be able to make that repair.
 
DesertNomad said:
Thanks. I am not sure if it cracked due to heat or perhaps a stone got kicked up into it. Hopefully it is not hard to rebuild the same shape and rim along the bottom.
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That's not a chip, a previous repair is failing.

Looks like a larger damage area was already repaired, and possibly auto body filler was used instead of fiberglass. Considering that and the visible crack above the damage, paint removal will tell you more about the underlying structure and the best way to address it.
 
If I were to guess, I would say it looks to me like they applied the gel coat pretty heavy on the inside corner (makes it easier to lay in cloth / mat or to spray in chopped fiber - don't know what process Piper used). Looks good when it's new, but over time it chips easily. (But I have exactly zero experience with Piper cowls). Had similar spots on my E-AB cowl. Assuming the underlying glass isn't cracked, I would chip out the rest of the loose stuff and build it up with thickened epoxy (micro balloons for easy sanding, colloidal silica for less sag) but I tend to have that stuff lying around. An alternate would just be some bondo (not as strong). If the glass is cracked, then I would get more aggressive, sand off more gel coat for an inch or so beyond the crack(s) and apply a couple layers of glass cloth / epoxy first (probably both inside and outside). A little extra cloth never hurts.
(To be clear, my experience is with boats / homebuilts, not type certificated aircraft.)
 
3393RP said:
That's not a chip, a previous repair is failing.

Looks like a larger damage area was already repaired, and possibly auto body filler was used instead of fiberglass. Considering that and the visible crack above the damage, paint removal will tell you more about the underlying structure and the best way to address it.
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Thanks. I'll get a new picture today with that other chip gone. I've owned it for 9 years and put 900 hours on it so it has held up reasonably well I guess... since I didn't do that repair.
 
My ears perked up when hearing about a fiberglass repair. My Archer doesn’t need it but my classic red Corvette, Lol, has a tiny defect that could use some expert advice. It is too small for most shops to deal with. Since I’m half joking, no need to respond though.
 
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