Silver over paint?

[mhorowit]

I looked at a Tcraft today.
I moved her out into the sunlight, removed the inspection plates on the wings and looked for light leaks. There were quite a few, along the edges of tape.
Question: can I simply paint over the current coating with silver until the light stops leaking, then put fininshing coats on? After all, the aluminum/silver is suspended in butyrate dope. - Mike

[alwaysoar]

Re: Silver over paint?

Mike, Another great question. My plane had light showing through along the edges of the tape on one wing. What had happened is that the person who did the recover job on that wing failed to shrink the tape enough, so the sun did it exposing slivers of un-UV-protected fabric only a few thousands wide. I was washing the wing, and the pressure from the sponge was enough to break through the fabric. My options were to 1/ recover the wing, 2/ or put 3" tapes along each rib, or 3/ cry. I decided to cry (spontaneous actually), and to recover the wing.

What I would do if I came across that again would be to first take a Maule tester to the edges to see if it fails because it would do no good to slop on silver if the fabric was shot. Then you could probably put on silver and paint it, though it would be safer to put on 3" tapes because even if it passed the maule test, it still might be weaker than the rest of the cover. You would want to be sure of the process used.

My wing had been recovered only 4 years before, so sunlight can work fast to destroy "lifetime fabric" if it's unprotected. I tested the other wing along the tapes and it was ok, and the rest of the plane as well.

Stay tuned for my future posting on the $1000,000.00 TCraft.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Silver over paint?

Take this seriously about the fabric deteriorating where the light comes thru. DEPENDING on which covering method was used, you can possibly put a 2 inch tape over it if done correctly. I know thqat this would be OK and safe if it were Stits covering. I cannot speak for other brands. But you DARN well should poke at the fabric at those spots with a Maule tester or a screwdriver or something.

Or, tell the seller that the airplane will need fabric because of the UV damage to the fabric. Ask the seller to prove the airplane was in a hangar and you'll consider that it might be able to be repaired.Or ask the seller to provide an IA signature that the fabric is airworthy.

[mhorowit]

Re: Silver over paint?

VB - a pro will do the pre-buy - I've pointed out light leaks and asked she test those areas specifically - Mike