Glue for canopy?

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Rich
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Rich »

Don wrote:The only concern I would have is when gluing the hinge blocks back to the main canopy, you had some type of clamping pressure holding them together during the curing time.
The clamping pressure was provided by my hand/fingers, with the nice short curing time.
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Don
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Don »

Rich wrote:
Don wrote:The only concern I would have is when gluing the hinge blocks back to the main canopy, you had some type of clamping pressure holding them together during the curing time.
The clamping pressure was provided by my hand/fingers, with the nice short curing time.
Hopefully you get lucky and the bond holds over time. The key with UV adhesives and acrylic, is to keep the glue substrate as thin as possible. The normal procedure is by applying clamping pressure to spread the glue out. When you start up and
shut down the engine on a DA40, a lot of the vibration is transferred to the canopy, especially if you have the canopy in the partially open position, and a lot of that shaking also transfers to those little hinge blocks. I always try to remember to shut the canopy and lock it to the fully closed position before start up and shut down. BTW, back in 2003, my very first DA40's passengers side hinge blocks also fell off only a few week after delivery from the factory. Instead of calling Diamond warranty service, I just bonded them back myself.
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Rich »

Don wrote:
Rich wrote:
Don wrote:The only concern I would have is when gluing the hinge blocks back to the main canopy, you had some type of clamping pressure holding them together during the curing time.
The clamping pressure was provided by my hand/fingers, with the nice short curing time.
Hopefully you get lucky and it holds over time. The key with UV adhesives and acrylic, is to keep the glue substrate as thin as possible. The normal procedure is by applying clamping pressure to spread the glue out.
I did that. I observed the glue being squeezed out from between the parts until it would squeeze no more. It's quite easy to watch. If it doesn't work out I'll simply sand the pieces and rig up a really tight clamping device for the next try. Got plenty of this adhesive left :)
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Don »

Colin wrote:Great photos, Don.

My canopy on the DA40 was not properly annealed and after a couple years developed crazing internal to the two surfaces. It built up over time until I replaced it in the last two years of flying the plane. When I picked up the plane at the factory he said, "Well, now you can stop filing IFR for every flight."
Over the years, I have seen plenty of formed acrylic that was not properly annealed by the fabricator. Also, when a plane is left out on the ramp for long periods of time, the sun's UV can accelerate the crazing. That said, I hope Diamond cut you a good deal when replacing your canopy as they are very expensive.
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Colin »

I hope Diamond cut you a good deal when replacing your canopy as they are very expensive.
Is full retail price ($5k, I think) a good deal?

Then, uh, no. I don't think they felt that they had done anything wrong in supply a canopy that started crazing after two years and about 400 hours.
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Rich
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Rich »

So far, so good. The piece seems to be held solidly in place by the adhesive. Muy caliente here these days, but doesn't seem to faze the adhesive bond.
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by 40flyer »

Colin,

Do you remember what the canopy replacement cost?
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Colin »

Something on the order of $5k.
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Re: Glue for canopy?

Post by Lance Murray »

Just realized this was an old thread but here is the info for repairing your acrylic.

https://www.eplastics.com/accessories/p ... rylic-glue

PLEXIGLASS ACRYLIC GLUE

ePlastics® stocks and sells a complete line of plastic adhesives for plexiglass/acrylic material.

IPS Weld-On® 3™ is water-thin, quick drying and is mostly Methylene Chloride in composition. Good for gluing small parts where fast drying is required and bond strength not as critical.

IPS Weld-On® 4™ is water-thin, and a bit slower drying. Most commonly used for 80% of acrylic fabrication tasks.

IPS Weld-On® 16™ is syrupy (or bodied) and fast drying. This adhesive works great where the parts don't fit exactly right, for putting a bead inside a box you are trying to make water-tight, or for bonding applications where a bubble-free bond is not required (bonding solid colors for instance). Also known as SCIGRIP 16.
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