glare shield finish

I just noticed a nice touch in Mickey Coggins' build website. (RV8ch on the forum) I remember when it was time to do something with the glare shied, I kind of vacillated, because I was worried that flat black paint would get scratched up over time. I ultimately did just paint it with flat black rattle can paint, and it has been fine for 10 years, mostly because I don't put anything up there. It is tempting to put a headset up there, but it can easily scratch the inside surface of the windscreen, as well as the paint on the glare shield, so I just don't.

Anyway, fast forward to now, Mickey used a flat black vinyl wrap. That just struck me as a great idea. Maybe one of the best places to use a vinyl wrap.

Just as another tidbit, when I was trying to decide how to add some kind of finishing touch to the inside of the windscreen around the perimeter where it meets the glare shield, I used a length of 5/16" neoprene vacuum hose, and just tacked it in a few places with CA glue as I wedged it into the intersection space. That also has done well for 10 years.

Truck bed liner paint

If you're able to finish the glareshield before the windscreen goes in, I recommend truck bed liner paint. It comes in flat/matte black and is very durable.

Cheers, David
RV-6A A&P

My -8 has done fine with flat black rattle can paint for fourteen years and almost two thousand hours as well....but another alternative is to cover the glareshield with fuzzy Velcro - gives you a place to throw pens and pencils (with a dab of Velcro on them) or stick on temporary antennas....

I used 1/4 closed cell foam covered by a $10 Walmart yoga mat.

Ironflight said:

My -8 has done fine with flat black rattle can paint for fourteen years and almost two thousand hours as well....but another alternative is to cover the glareshield with fuzzy Velcro - gives you a place to throw pens and pencils (with a dab of Velcro on them) or stick on temporary antennas....

Click to expand...

I. LOVE. THIS. IDEA!

Hi

Did mine with loop side of Velcro sheet , not yet flown but looks good

Mark

I used flocking on my glare shield. Charcoal grey nylon fibers have been really durable, soft to the touch, and no glare. Great for other interior surfaces as well. I bought mine from flockit.com.

ltn6a said:

Hi

Did mine with loop side of Velcro sheet , not yet flown but looks good

Mark

Click to expand...

The only problem you might find with the hook side on the airframe is that it will collect every little bit of fluff, thread, or lint that floats through the air and become pretty messy (and impossible to clean) over time.

This is what we discovered back at my old employer - YMMV of course.

Black speaker carpet from the auto parts store works well also.

I've also used black vinyl from the fabric store and that worked great too.

Neither one of these will scratch.

koupster said:

If you're able to finish the glareshield before the windscreen goes in, I recommend truck bed liner paint. It comes in flat/matte black and is very durable.

Cheers, David
RV-6A A&P

Click to expand...

this is a great idea. I have flat black in my current airplane, but I'll ponder either this or Ironflight's fuzzy cover; both do the job of reducing glare, but I like the fuzzy aspect too. Hmm...decisions decisions. It's almost up there with "what engine?"...

rocketbob said:

Black speaker carpet from the auto parts store works well also.

I've also used black vinyl from the fabric store and that worked great too.

Neither one of these will scratch.

Click to expand...

Yes, my solution as well. The acrylic carpet from Pep Boys is the ticket, and it functions like the "fuzzy" side of Velcro...possibly better! I have various GPS pucks and spare mechanical pencils attached to it using the "hook" portion.

I made a paper template for one side, which can be used for the mirror image of the other side as well. Before I glued the carpet down, I used some black paint too, as I didn't wanted any shiny aluminum showing through any small gaps in the center seam.

Fluff, lint, etc. will find its way there over time, but a quick blast for compressed air will clean it up in seconds. The carpet is quite non-reflective too.

As someone else on here had done wallmart grill pad, I used black indoor/out carpet from home depot. I was easy to install and not to thick. Not glued, just held captive between windshield and under the edge the Classic Aero dash edge pad.

Works will velcro.

Steve