Hysol 101

[Esser]

Hello everyone. When I started building I was trying to find info on Hysol before I dove in so I thought I would show everyone my method here for the beginner. Everyone has different ways to do this I'm sure but for me this is the quickest and cleanest way. If you have another method feel free to share.

Step 1: Container

I find dixie cups too flexible and they fall apart while mixing. Yogurt containers are good but I seem to run out quick. So I use three chopped down solo cups. once they are cut down they are too flexible to stir aggressively so I use three.

http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zpsf6b5b4ef.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zpsf6b5b4ef.jpg.html)
I cut them all so its shallow enough to mix.


http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps0b1f3dcd.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps0b1f3dcd.jpg.html)
I now have three.


http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps8b9caa50.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps8b9caa50.jpg.html)
I weight the one and take note of weight.

http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps6fff3bf1.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps6fff3bf1.jpg.html)
Then I weigh the other.



http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps7f2709ec.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps7f2709ec.jpg.html)
I always put the black part in first for my base weight. It is harder to scoop and move so I will put a chunk in there and then try to match the weight part to that weight.


http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps5ec4ebd7.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps5ec4ebd7.jpg.html)
Measure the black



http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps11237cbf.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps11237cbf.jpg.html)
Scoop up the white.



http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps2bd5d706.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps2bd5d706.jpg.html)
Measure. Remembering that this cup weighed a gram more. I'm sure a gram doesnt matter but I like to match it. The white part is easy to add or subtract.



http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps976bf5a7.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps976bf5a7.jpg.html)
Once I am happy with the weights I scoop the white part into the black part (Remember the white is easier to handle)


http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b423/joshesser/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps9d5412dc.jpg (http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/joshesser/media/Kitfox%20Build/file_zps9d5412dc.jpg.html)
I then stack all three cups and stir until ready.

I find my favourite way of applying it is with the white syringes that kitfox sells. I have reused them over 20 times before I throw them out.


Another thing you will notice is that I use two stainless butter knives. i like them better than tongue depressors. They are sturdier and they wipe clean super easily. Then I reuse them. Just make sure you dont accidentally use the same knife in two different parts . I'm sure it's happened. When I am finished I clean up everything I want to keep with a shop towel damped in methyl Hydrate and throw out the used solo cups.

Try not to make too big of a batch but you don't want to run out in the middle of a project either. You will get the hang of how much you need after a while. I flag areas that need a little bit of hysol but not enough to make a batch, when I have extra I get all those spots.


Lets see what everyone else does.

[SkyPirate]

Cool :) country singer Tobie Keith would be proud :) he has a song "Red Solo Cup" lol

now there is another use for them besides drinking :)

[HighWing]

I have never used the 9460 Hysol, only the EA-9430 from Aircraft Spruce. In the old days the ribs were glued in with a 3M product. Most of my mixes are small by comparison.

For a mixing container, I use the two ounce portion cups you see for loading ketchup for your fries. With the 9430 the mix is 4:1 and the 1 is a thin liquid so I use a syringe to add that. I like the knife idea rather than the wood tongue blades. I use a dental cement spatula. The blade is about 5/16" wide and a couple of inches long. LIke the knives, it is sturdy and cleans up easily. If I forget to clean it, I can use the wire brush wheel on the other end of my grinder. Since my catalyst is a liquid I only need one spatula. I also use the portion cups on all my epoxy fiberglass projects. I find the size perfect for virtually all projects.

A thought on the knives. You can find heat shrink tubing that would fit the handle. Black on black and White on white. Easy to keep the knives separate.

[Av8r3400]

I helped a buddy build his wings a couple years ago. He used the double barreled, self mixing, miniature calk gun style applicator.

This was real easy to work with. No measuring or mixing or applying out of a ziplock bag...

[jiott]

I also used cut down Solo cups.
For measuring I use aluminum measuring spoons and the wood tongue depressors.

Jim

[skbenson]

How in the world do you clean the syringes you bought from Kitfox. By the time I am done applying the denatured alcohol won't clean it out. Also what kind of scale do you use? Thanks for any help.
Regards, Stan

[Esser]

Hi Stan,

For reusing the syringes, I push out as much of the excess left over product I can. At that point I take out the plunger and clean that with methyl hydrate. I then let what ever is left in the bottom of the syringe cure. Once it is cured I stick a wood screw in the nozzle and give it a good whack against the work bench. All the cured Hysol in the bottom just pops out.

As for the scale, I just went to harbor freight/ princess auto and bought a cheap mail scale that had a digital read out.

I make my batches about 40 grams for small batches and about 75 grams for when I have a lot of stuff to epoxy.

[skbenson]

Thank you. I'll give that a try.

[Dorsal]

Esser, I use the same approach to mixing but use one cup. Add one part, tare the scale, then add the second. I like your approach of cutting a bunch of cups in half, quite convenient.

[Chewie]

Stupid question for all the true beginners out there, like myself: What's this for?

[Dave S]

Hi Mark,

Well.....good question.....for those of us who have either built a Kitfox or are at some stage of construction it's apparent, but not necessarily so to a person who is considering or has not see the construction manual...so here goes....

Hysol is one type of structural epoxy adhesive....there are others but this is the one which is currently used on the Kitfox build.

So what do we do with it???? It is used to bond the wing ribs to the wing spars, also to bond the intercostals or ribs to the tail structure as well as many applications in construction where rivets and structural bonding is superior in strength to riveting alone....for instance....when affixing the lift strut brackets to the wing spars (many rivets and hysol). There are other parts of the process where hysol is used; but, you get the idea.

Now...what is this mixing and handling all about? Hysol, like other epoxy products is a two part product which has to be mixed in correct proportions to get its maximum strength.

Then there is the issue the two parts are somewhat the consistency and stickiness of something between "gorilla snot" (contact cement) and "smurf poop" (blue RTV).

That's the short read as to how & why we come up with clever and convenient ways of dealing with this stuff:).

I can see your point...I have friends flying ultralights and trikes, etc, and when their machines were built no Hysol was involved...but lots of bolts, rivets and pins.

Cheers,

Dave S
KF 7 Trigear (Flying)
912ULS Warp Drive

St Paul, MN

[Chewie]

You had me at "Smurf poop". :)

Great info, thanks!!
Mark

[cap01]

do you mean what is hysol ? two part industrial adhesive that pretty much the whole airplane is stuck together with .
hows the flyin going ? weather up north not very good for getting out to head down there , maybe tomorrow .

[Chewie]

Fly-in was (and still is) packed! I saw one kitfox there, a Model IV 1200. Nice guy. If you stop by Sunday the weather here should be epic again, like it was today. None of that Columbia Gorge world-class wind crap.

Yeah, I was asking more about the application of hysol. Jim in Portland did a very nice job sealing the wing strut fairings and it may have been this stuff.

Mark

[jiott]

Hysol is an adhesive, not a filler. On my strut fairings I used Hysol to glue them in place, but then used Super-Fill epoxy (a Polyfiber product) to fill and fair in the strut ends. They are both two part epoxy's but totally different purposes.

Jim

[Flybyjim]

Thanks for all the suggestions for measuring the Hysol.

[grdev]

Is Hysol used to glue leading edge to spar? If so how much does it take to do the job? Is this stuff safe to use in a basement work shop, I mean with the fumes and stuff? Is the Dow Corning RTV just used for the fuel Tanks?

Thanks
Gil

[Esser]

There is a smell to the Hysol but it's not over powering and doesn't have fumes. You more smell it when you are right over top of it. I used it in my basement all last winter with no issues. You do use it for the leading edge and yes the rtv is for the tanks.

[Paul Z]

My sister has a collection of Smurf's going back to the start of the Smurf's. I have always wondered what the Smurf Poop was referring too! My sister is going to love her new gift a tube of Smurf Poop. I've even got a picture for the label,
10554
I'll need to work on the "Caution" label "Smurf Poop is extremely resilient and will not come out of clothes, or bed coverings". My work jacket became a work jacket because of Smurf's Poop!




Hi Mark,

Well.....good question.....for those of us who have either built a Kitfox or are at some stage of construction it's apparent, but not necessarily so to a person who is considering or has not see the construction manual...so here goes....

Hysol is one type of structural epoxy adhesive....there are others but this is the one which is currently used on the Kitfox build.

So what do we do with it???? It is used to bond the wing ribs to the wing spars, also to bond the intercostals or ribs to the tail structure as well as many applications in construction where rivets and structural bonding is superior in strength to riveting alone....for instance....when affixing the lift strut brackets to the wing spars (many rivets and hysol). There are other parts of the process where hysol is used; but, you get the idea.

Now...what is this mixing and handling all about? Hysol, like other epoxy products is a two part product which has to be mixed in correct proportions to get its maximum strength.

Then there is the issue the two parts are somewhat the consistency and stickiness of something between "gorilla snot" (contact cement) and "smurf poop" (blue RTV).

That's the short read as to how & why we come up with clever and convenient ways of dealing with this stuff:).

I can see your point...I have friends flying ultralights and trikes, etc, and when their machines were built no Hysol was involved...but lots of bolts, rivets and pins.

Cheers,

Dave S
KF 7 Trigear (Flying)
912ULS Warp Drive

St Paul, MN

[jmodguy]

Cool :) country singer Tobie Keith would be proud :) he has a song "Red Solo Cup" lol

now there is another use for them besides drinking :)

There are alternatives.... Toby would be dismayed to say the least. :D Red solo cups have one purpose - the others - not so much!!:p