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Thread: Polyfiber wrinkles

  1. #1
    Senior Member JoeRuscito's Avatar
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    Default Polyfiber wrinkles

    I just noticed this wrinkle in my paint. At first I thought I had dripped brake fluid or something but it is dry on both sides of the fabric and I don't believe I ever dripped anything. Has anyone seen this before? Its on the bottom of my fuselage in the middle above the seat legs. I looked the plane over but didn't see it anywhere else.

    Thanks! IMG_0671.jpgIMG_0670.jpg

  2. #2
    Senior Member JoeRuscito's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    I think Ive answered my own question. I noticed there was some heat shrink directly above the spot, where I had added chafe sleeve to my brake lines.... well I must have gotten a bit too close with the heat gun without thinking. Pretty frustrated with myself that I didn't think about the fabric. It seems like the fabric is still strong I pushed and prodded it quite a bit. The paint and coatings still seem well secured. Should I be concerned about the fabric strength? In this spot I would think it should be ok.

  3. #3
    rawheels's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    You could cut it out and add a patch if you feel the degraded fabric is in a flight-critical spot. It is really pretty easy with the poly-fiber system, just follow their directions in the book.

  4. #4
    Senior Member JoeRuscito's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    I don’t believe it’s flight critical. It’s right above the gear. Center of floor of the fuselage. Maybe only 2x2 absolute max area that would have gotten any heat.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    Joe,

    If the fabric still has its tension as you indicated, I'd suspect the there is no integrity issue with that. The paint likely softened a bit from the heat and that may be why there are some things that look like sags. If the paint ever peels - not a big deal to repaint the spot.

    If the fabric were REALLY overheated - it would start to lose it's tension and you would be able to detect that. If it is not flapping in the wind - I don't see a problem.

    FWIW - I did what could be called a boo boo on the belly fabric - dropped a phillips screwdriver point down punching a perfectly round hole - so I slapped a grommet on it and called it a "Drain hole"

    We all have some kind of imperfection somewhere on our planes - the belly out of sight is the perfect place.

    Fly Well
    Dave S
    Kitfox 7 Trigear (Flying since 2009)
    912ULS Warp Drive

    St Paul, MN

  6. #6
    Senior Member JoeRuscito's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    Thanks Dave, I was definitely kicking myself when I figured it out.... Couldn't be happier with the placement of said mistake though... hard to see at all.

  7. #7
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    I learned something to avoid. After all was painted with Aerothane, I added a small doily on the INSIDE of the fabric (on the belly luckily) to reinforce an area where I had punched thru the fabric to install an OAT sensor. The MEK in the PolyTak I used to glue down the doily softened and bubbled up the paint on the outside of the fabric. Had to remove the bubbled paint and redo.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  8. #8
    Senior Member JoeRuscito's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    Oh man good to know! The aerothane looks awesome.... But I do not want to repair it if I can avoid!

    Thanks for the tip

  9. #9
    Senior Member 109JB's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    Punch test that area. If it fails, fix it. If it doesn't you are good. Speculation doesn't work.

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Polyfiber wrinkles

    Quote Originally Posted by JoeRuscito View Post
    I just noticed this wrinkle in my paint. At first I thought I had dripped brake fluid or something but it is dry on both sides of the fabric and I don't believe I ever dripped anything. Has anyone seen this before? Its on the bottom of my fuselage in the middle above the seat legs. I looked the plane over but didn't see it anywhere else.

    Thanks! IMG_0671.jpgIMG_0670.jpg
    You could try heating it (from the outside) slightly, maybe test a small corner. Nothing to lose at this point.
    James T
    Valrico, FL

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