What's a Piper instrument cover made of?

P

paramax55

Ejection Handle Pulled
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Messages
23
Display Name
Display name:
paramax55
My instrument panel cover is showing cracks and signs of wear in my 1972 Arrow. It still goes out and in in one piece, but I'd like to take care of the cracks and such before it officially becomes multiple pieces. I know I could just buy another two-piece unit for a couple hundred dollars, but my original is of a nicer design than the replacements I've seen.

What is it made of? I know it has to be one of those ancient materials that nobody uses any more. If I know what I'm working with, I can decide if there's a suitable adhesive/filler to recondition it.
 
Judging by the condition of mine, the same batch of plant as Egyptian papyrus with a carbon date of 2500BC :D
 
This may help: https://www.polyvance.com/pfxinstrumentpanel.php

Some of the stuff just falls apart during disassembly. The overhead vent duct on my PA-28 literally fell apart when I removed it. Not much choice but to replace. That's when I learned that new, PMA'd and certified, parts had to be hand fitted. Ya really wanna avoid new plastic parts if the existing ones fit well and can be repaired. I've repaired rather than replaced the throttle quadrant cover and the flap handle cover.
 
Last edited:
If it truely is Egyptian papyrus, that's similar to paper, right? Elmer's glue should do the trick in that case.
 
I really like the idea of that PlastiFix. I had no idea that this stuff could be as modern as ABS. The ancient papyrus seemed that it would be a much more accurate guess.

I've used some heavy-duty cyanoacrilate on some plastic parts before and I've been amazed at how strong the "real" stuff is. It would only take a couple dots of the stuff to "tack" the parts together while you do the PlastiFix.
 
I’ve repaired lots of interior plastics with a $20 3M fiberglass repair kit that you can get anywhere. It takes a little work cutting the fiberglass matt and prepping the plastic (cleaning and sanding) but I find that my repairs are often stronger than the original build. I don’t like having to fix things more than once.
 
arkvet said:
I’ve repaired lots of interior plastics with a $20 3M fiberglass repair kit that you can get anywhere. It takes a little work cutting the fiberglass matt and prepping the plastic (cleaning and sanding) but I find that my repairs are often stronger than the original build. I don’t like having to fix things more than once.
Click to expand...
One of the early repairs on the 'kota was a small (about 2") crack on aft cabin bulkhead. It's fiberglass so I had no qualms about using a fiberglass repair kit. Since I had the resin from the kit I decided to try it on the flap handle cover. Someone could accidentally step on the cover or drop something on it so I wanted a bit stronger repair, I used some light aluminum plate in place of the glass cloth. That repair has been fine for eight years now. For the throttle quadrant cover repair I stuck with glass cloth. It's a delicate piece and I have the replacement part if the repair fails. Fitting the replacement part will require lots of trimming so I hope to never do that one.

The info on PlastiFix was recently posted here on POA so I thought I'd pass the info on. I'll prolly try the stuff if I have to fix any more interior plastic.
 
A curious thought about the PlastiFix... Like I mentioned, the "real" CYA you get from a hobby store is some incredible stuff. I had a latch break on a front loader washer and (while I didn't expect it to work) I figured it wouldn't cost me anything to try gluing this little 1/4 square inch piece of plastic to see if we could wash one more load of clothes while waiting on the new part. Well, a month and a half later, the repair finally broke again and I had to put in the new part. The stuff defies the laws of physics.

There is a trick for filling in gaps in stuff where you put baking soda in your gap, and drip CYA onto the baking soda. It quickly turns rock hard.

I've fixed fiberglass stuff with some very fine hobby glass cloth. It feels like silk. You cut the cloth, put it in place, then wet it with the CYA. Again, it's amazingly strong.

This PlastiFix sounds like a combination of the same ideas. I wonder what they are using for the adhesive?

I thought this panel was made out of some sort of fiberous material. I've got no reason to think that other than the outside, 1970's texture that makes it not feel like plastic. I also think about bakelite from back in that era and my mind told me it was made from something that doesn't exist any more. I must say, though, it is in much better shape than what an automotive dash would be from that day.
 
Buy a can of black PVC cement in the plumbing department of your local Ace or Home Depot. It is the liquid version of your plastic panel. Place masking tape on the front side of your cracked panel to hold the pieces together, rough up the edges of the crack on the back side with sandpaper and use a popsicle stick to apply the cement to the crack. It will not stick to the masking tape. After it has set, remove the masking tape.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Buy a can of black PVC cement in the plumbing department of your local Ace or Home Depot. It is the liquid version of your plastic panel. Place masking tape on the front side of your cracked panel to hold the pieces together, rough up the edges of the crack on the back side with sandpaper and use a popsicle stick to apply the cement to the crack. It will not stick to the masking tape. After it has set, remove the masking tape.
Click to expand...

That's the stuff. Typically it's yellow goop, at least the stuff in Canada is. The masking tape is right, but instead of roughing the part up for the cement I just use a bit of MEK to prime it. If you can't find MEK, buy the little can of "primer" they sell along with that cement. That's just MEK in a vastly more expensive form. And use fiberglass cloth: wet the area, drop in a patch of fiberglass cut to the right shape, and dab a bit more goop on it. Not a lot; just enough to wet it out. Cutting the cloth so that all the fibers cross the crack is best; the patch will have the fibers at a 45° angle to the cut edges. Compound curves are handled the same way--at 45°.

Once the panel gets so old and so exposed to UV that it's crumbling into dust and small bits, it's better to buy a new part.
 
This stuff is PVC??? Or does PVC glue also melt ABS? I like the idea of using a glue that melts the plastic. It makes for a very strong repair.
 
paramax55 said:
This stuff is PVC??? Or does PVC glue also melt ABS? I like the idea of using a glue that melts the plastic. It makes for a very strong repair.
Click to expand...

It's ABS. Black drain pipe is ABS. People often get the two confused. The PVC cement (clear stuff) is handy for repairing torn vinyl upholtery. Vinyl is PVC.
 
How could one not realize that Poly Vinyl Chlorinate is the same as Vinyl? Oh yeah, that was me. I feel like a derka-derk.
 
paramax55 said:
How could one not realize that Poly Vinyl Chlorinate is the same as Vinyl? Oh yeah, that was me. I feel like a derka-derk.
Click to expand...

Polyvinyl Chloride comes in hard and soft versions, too.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Buy a can of black PVC cement in the plumbing department of your local Ace or Home Depot. It is the liquid version of your plastic panel. Place masking tape on the front side of your cracked panel to hold the pieces together, rough up the edges of the crack on the back side with sandpaper and use a popsicle stick to apply the cement to the crack. It will not stick to the masking tape. After it has set, remove the masking tape.
Click to expand...

You can take some screen used in windows screens from Home Depot to add a little reinforcement too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top