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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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.
Click to expand...

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.
Click to expand...
Do you know any composite aircraft builders or RV builders? Any of them should be able to make that repair.
 
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