Which tape for wing gaps ?

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Da20Marin
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Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by Da20Marin »

Parked plane outside for a few months, need to replace the tape over the wing gaps. Shop said get 3M Vinyl tape, looked on internet, lots and lots of choices. Anyone have a specific SKU they would recommend? 3M has many options for type of adhesive etc. Thanks!
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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by Kesk »

3M 4811 2" width is what we use
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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by Spinner »

Diamond said that they could no longer sell the 4811 so they recommended we use the 3m 471-2 I guess no one looked at the specs which said that this tape was only good to about 20 degrees or so. Needless to say I would not buy it again. 3M says they are going to start producing the 4811 again in April.
Meantime we went the glider tape route Wings and Wheels Premium gap tape. We will see how that works.
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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by smoss »

Spinner wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:30 pm
Meantime we went the glider tape route Wings and Wheels Premium gap tape. We will see how that works.
Eager to get a review onf the W&W tape. I have always used the Bowlus, but shipping and payment at Cumulus is a pain. My biggest thing is how hard it is to remove a year or more later... The 3M is a nightmare, crumbles and leaves challenging residue, the Bowlus is doable.
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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by Kesk »

smoss wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:33 pm
Spinner wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:30 pm
Meantime we went the glider tape route Wings and Wheels Premium gap tape. We will see how that works.
Eager to get a review onf the W&W tape. I have always used the Bowlus, but shipping and payment at Cumulus is a pain. My biggest thing is how hard it is to remove a year or more later... The 3M is a nightmare, crumbles and leaves challenging residue, the Bowlus is doable.
The 3M stuff often requires automotive adhesive remover with a scrubbing pad, used MEK before that. Certain tapes over time will rip the paint straight off too, some of ours have had that happen.

Ours get the wings pulled off every 2-3 years so it doesn't cause any problems. The tape is, in Diamond fashion (even though it's 3M), unobtainium.
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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by Spinner »

We are doing a B-bolt check at the 100 hour interval usually means replacing the tape. The 4811 seems to come off a little easier than it used to any ways. Our inspection intervals are 75 hour (former 50 hour) 150 hour (former 100 hour) 300 hour (former 200 hour) 1500 hour (former 1000 hour) and 6000 hour so the wings get pulled at the 1500 and 6000 hour.
We use a lot of tape lol.
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Re: Which tape for wing gaps ?

Post by Kesk »

Spinner wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 3:29 pm We are doing a B-bolt check at the 100 hour interval usually means replacing the tape. The 4811 seems to come off a little easier than it used to any ways. Our inspection intervals are 75 hour (former 50 hour) 150 hour (former 100 hour) 300 hour (former 200 hour) 1500 hour (former 1000 hour) and 6000 hour so the wings get pulled at the 1500 and 6000 hour.
We use a lot of tape lol.
To be honest we usually just go by feel on the B-bolt axial check, not uncommon to need to tighten the B-bolt at the 1000 and 6000 though.
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