Today
Angela & I plan to take care of the proseal duties on the elevators
and the elevator trim tabs. We'll basically be "gluing" in the
foam ribs Angela cut out for us a while back, and the trailing edge
wedges (just like in the rudder).
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Proseal
is actually a brand name, but it's the commonly accepted term for this
stuff. It was developed as a fuel tank sealant. It's
actually pretty impressive stuff. Sticks very well but maintains
a bit of flexibility after its cured. We're using the stuff
supplied by Van's: Part number MC-236-B2. It's made by
Flamemaster (part number CS 3204) and its very similar to
Proseal. In addition to Van's you can get this stuff at some of
the tool suppliers we have listed on our links page,
but if there are any industrial chemical suppliers in your area, check
with them too. Here you can see the curing agent. This is
mixed 1 part to 10 parts (by weight, not volume) with the white pasty
looking stuff. We bought a digital scale in order to do
this. Be sure and get one that is capable of reading down to a
10th of an ounce at a minimum. That's how low ours goes, and I
wish I had one that was even more sensitive.
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Here's
the paste part. As you can see the can is a bit bigger.
Also note the Mickey Mouse dixie cups… a necessity for mixing
this stuff! (ok, maybe not the Mickey Mouse part -- it's all the
store had available -- but you're going to want something disposable to
mix it in)
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Here
I am mixing the 2 parts together. Some people ratio these by the
color. I tried that the second time around and Angela pointed out
that she thought I had too much… she was right… I
think I'll weigh it from now on. Also, note in the pic the latex
gloves. These are a must also as there is basically no way to not
get this stuff on at least some part of your hands. And remember,
it sticks VERY well!
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(9-14 steps 8 & 9): Ok,
so now that the stuff is mixed up, these are my targets. I made
sure to have everything accessible prior to any mixing. Here you
can see the trim tabs with their corresponding foam ribs layed out in
front of them. And you can also see the elevators with their
trailing edges spread apart with a piece of wood. The trailing
edge wedges that will be inserted are laying nearby also.
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(9-17 step 9): I
think one of the most common applicators for proseal is a popsicke
stick. I couldn't find any at the store so I used a thin putty
knife instead. For the foam ribs I think it works better, but I
didn't care to use it on the metal skins or trailing edges. Here
I'm applying a layer of proseal to one of the foam ribs that will go
into the trim tab...
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With the skins pried open on the trim tab I inserted the foam
rib making sure to align it with the bare metal on the inside of the
skin.
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And here the first rib is inserted. Only 2 more to go
on this trim tab. This is definitely easier to do as a 2 person
job. Not so much that there are 2 things to do, but invariably
it'll happen that you need something moved or pulled out of the way, or
shifted, and since your hands are sticky with proseal, its a good idea
to have someone else use their CLEAN hands to do it!
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(9-14 step 10, 9-17 step 10): Well,
our first mix job had enough to handle both trim tabs but only one of
the elevators. So, we went ahead and weighted down and secured
everything on the parts that were sealed. You want to make sure
everything is held tightly in place while this stuff cures so you
weight it down. The trim tabs are placed in form blocks that are
cut to shape. These are placed directly over the location of the
ribs in order to hald the skin flat against the ribs. Once
everything was secured we mixed up a second batch and finished the
other elevator. We then secured it, and called it a night.
Now these things will have to sit for a few days while we wait for this
stuff to cure.
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