Non-Builder Body Work Questions

Hi all!

I'm a non-builder but have been trying to get my RV-4 in good shape for a couple years now and getting closer and closer! What I'm running into is some body work issues that the shop considered to be okay but I didn't.

The avionics cowling apparently didn't fit after the long legs were put on and the firewall was replaced so they cut it in half and riveted the two halves together. The tape was due to the fact that, even though they certified it for IFR, I was told it would leak a lot and ruin the avionics.




With the tape removed, now that I have a hangar.



A view of the 'waves' where it is screwed into place in the firewall.



Just another cowling gap.



A view of the legs. They need to be re-worked too but I guess I need to figure out fiberglass stuff to make that happen.




So, yeah. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. IDK if I should just get a piece of metal and start working it myself or if someone has run in to this and knows how it should be cut. Would it make more sense to just fill it or work the fiberglass back? Like I said, not a builder and just barely bright enough to get the hangar door open.

Thanks in advance!

TJ

There are many options for fixing this stuff. The "easy" fix for filling the gap where the tape was is to sand away the paint with fairly course sand paper and then fill it with microballoons, sand it smooth and repaint it. There is a chance of it cracking down the road, but it will still look much better than it is right now. Done right you wont even know its there. The only issue is its brittle, so if you remove that panel for inspection or anything and the metal flexes, there is a good chance of the filler cracking. You could also put a "nice" piece of tape over it. Google "gap seal tape". It's used on gliders.


The gear fairings is just fiberglass work. You can study/watch videos on fiberglass and research how to make the fairings for the gear legs. Its not particularly hard, but it is messy and time consuming. The nice thing about fiberglass is if you mess it up, you can sand it down and try it again.

Filling the gap in the cowling will be more difficult. I suppose you could just layer some fiber glass on the inside, fill it with microballoons and trim to fit. It wont be as strong as the original cowl, but it will probably work.

What kind of IFR "certification" did you get?

None of the pictures show up?

There are no photos with your post. Have you read the sticky post regarding attachments on this forum?

Robin8er said:

There are many options for fixing this stuff.

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Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look in to them. Did the pictures load for you?

Sam Buchanan said:

What kind of IFR "certification" did you get?

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Sorry, whatever you're getting at went over my head lol. But if it's something to learn I'd not mind the edification.

Snowflake said:

None of the pictures show up?

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chaskuss said:

There are no photos with your post. Have you read the sticky post regarding attachments on this forum?

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Sorry about that, they showed on my end but I guess I didn't do it right after all. Links below!

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM2fP8MYL1z2CmC_KS2DpQ_ionaUBTCzb-EgMO2ZRUuDkVsczlE6OvPDCaNhwbItA/photo/AF1QipPYi8zC2C5BzQeJq5agqR6YrGKe7HDnE_cCtu44?key=RS03QVBlQUtDX0JaanBLdWdXX2gtVnRRdVdGVFdR

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Hz88irUXV4JGqSHqoxZqiouCj2_H1SI8LrmJy8npZg94cz9CFb2Lk6kfNqwvhJa7x6y-QaqLRHAiNQ1b3xp_Z12F-Cla2B8cc_qAMUBzPFNjsov_pgcxqzzDgUMm0Vc9kY4_YWC1TJ2QLPReuZZPkez8PTAIc2T1PNz7cnjt8IvlKLaJYZbZk_y-wrVre6ml6zM10EsT2ZpRkFfroWkuYPD5ENGeF7LFlFRXaFaeUSxsEJSRF4VdCXYaiuAIwCwqq5NlPAVInOeMqxNAZPgk-GD5I0Ccim6hM-D1JhJIx_FZxesMlGKpiMTHeu7INO8S3FmKE8sLS9hhlzGb0Q86OYS2xfL7oZ4TsLFqE1zvsSN8o5mEfDrBztoeSFtf9XZAEOVjd_FiFQA1y9ZVaRsezH4hmDgEeOkHl2uQdbspsY355y4GrX9pZXIHw4ldkqPfmgf9l4GPZtULhIp_8s9S2RhVmj2Wytg8000FImSGwC5tS5CIMfY9P5jummEEK4cYzC6UgecqWzrDKx2HkCizyfhGumAnSojusmVyWuSkZYeIC0qIvjcL_M81t1S16IZem4ZaB5J4tpkecJDBFnJ_o7woHHcLCSOLTiv3Ojy1lFL6G2ORZJqiL89gcCSOX0GLHfhQkFdzvS_s7XdeRTdYoOKbr2a4eIOkm5Y4Lozpj7FiLM_p2MLTA=w1085-h1445-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6hzUU8O1wK7C58uUUpWiQ0bkpQ2LGOIUODW24M2pn_M7Sy_Z2MbC6Ll2Ov9lzjCzvF-J4iPPtlMKKfRAm48rxXDQnENkN54B9DNaIo6NUnRiYdv6lCSiHOcmQZlYhfYqHvEWzW9pKnrTXOB1n9RazFolAzPvn4CofzVx5b-I3wNNL4NxVCicyLJSk6nI4JHS-MAYI_LSIY7yLNRDmON5Yqfm1dbckHn5WLcaTTt3APFol6CMD8njoABdKoSsaUDKNl3fBXzMROypcIrHR6r50L8HW9gpOUMS2v0dp95alGUez-jTQpq2QGrVijjulm0GbAUgIcdIUp5tvcH_V3Uh4ANI6QiT5snRp1cwo_rIMclAEhBkEG-OkzPNP-_QgMDF05Z9szRJS1lb9GPMGLpigDqauClKjkhiosp3LJIz5d0aqh1BNa9iiWWtqNQyyH0aBdP-CUoA7YXdB9AdwpybTbzpOhWh3KB8nnQAzB6PxRlAax0wuDBbwQFn-cwLAg9BTr_PW-eqd8a6MnW8DUF0C49Csyjo5Y8CrApg5y_Wk2SZM9GsWzFBazFfZt7SYD-mbHJdtUG2fKkVq-4FdxiIs5qOyJo8rbkBRRHbEUp3JRgIJ4jcQp0lKHDHfV0nmCzpBtl1S_4Ugt4xp5RfZxmxKG8yCBEn4oRnwmyCUznZtprfxtjOLAXZlGjNxlydC5vH-Z9YWuWb4AasC9bF4c9SD9-3kqZGn_xbvJp7CbLbBdw5NQA=w1085-h1445-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HosCpN2AINs3p8CcmWMy0z3Yq12y0VWiyjBseDh2lHeS6S5X3fZzJ7T2hliO8I0GdEW6p_RWQE009Z_lVytvkQo1RUhKeKSkOfu4irepL15bPkQnNBKZuGANjFQ93yd9nx2tDqbER-RaYneg_seWVukY5BUAzDWrS6OA20JRYwqm_zU1nq7r8Q0_HmOaW5aPBCvIo4eT_Xz5YxJvplOdcbCFzLL85lS-Cr-8Xf3yluAX5e6UNhHRXn3_yVyaJlWMi2p-eKfJRhTA6pi0uCrnberhy8iJ_hkH0pLD4NWqO4WwS7CRZB9RkfCupOiLgdX4BE4kWTCDPMkoXpQ9aUgzp6FRMtkr3EpVdpu9Bvdj9-bLBm-HaI_uJF4IhcBNn2oYuwu0ksXz22jErqxgMleUfftkkMhXpmyAyYERNNIsYCnYoJpFSBmHyeDi5Y30hyFPUR-Co2zd_ykTuQXUVJCdnCL3YjZdSyRd5mEgDmVjN2ejZKNPenGqFw5yQRDrYjAcCI3oDe6HstLApea8-adVm6kk5FSR1r5m8RuSe3EDhpvYaTqopXqxrTmINR30cfdaDcDqCpsfw-8o6tuYzNzWojOA0bRpHh_JVRvLl7sAESsg7MCHiUTiODdeGrVDKp1JXFhsLKxd747X0EWzBYdi0bWa-39eRCPmshN5gP5NiMfjgmJKJAVywNKpgpomHlVv_gb02cT2oS2s9WBaIdg0lrs4_icT7bFZtnjAfmAhWFj3pMs=w1085-h1445-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k1i9-KP2QeT7sG-Fh9PPVnN7Ya7LZ4kIa3nUCGqFzIRLuOtapQqujUYW_eSrRLX53k3MKUSmBwsl7-9NvKf-6H8GCqisEZcwnzpdhXbujLZDP0g0YOJJMUoP9WhlgoV0A275KfTLU5oFSL28VCZtgDAULSZC4GpVS4RZ6wlfke7i1W0lkaIJgvMGV4JsjiVzj5xdhP_1neG4XKlBMijZlDau7fBhYYDmjtozbB0o7RMbM8tQJl5rDQOeCz3PLzEEw9aSlS2c4F_kImV3HHZa_2Fw5IZRuJ4j_wRk8RHGXvniaKwRLT9GGbib9ojsVVcWKzewKR0p9K-On8TZk-pqSE0N5fU1g8MunVMYnfdhDsKYYzW_3Tf2fraqFdo-DzhLrEeQz7XN0CHLMOVW7_GCilOuQ5iqSQYCJnupCwGRulQYXm_P5zCphnZFCOuGvB7mFJ8Sbo_2uyQLQSWY-Kszy38-8g4YYBZhCt0R5KPR1L7tsINpjblfSVm4cB6Hxa0vCk_BJUx7bxqvmun8y9-CYLK1m6fl8zBuljTfVYnRz8u_nry1UZsz3hiXJ11fgpHJRLUwQWtJ2lN0cwloc3MuvPDRbc8feXrpRwDCJwqhPf-7i1uJoy_jHYZ3usGpkN_C199qJhogthThbgN0OElfOWl4ZG1RcAqd88UncddT2mVbYLxd8iSWw88WH1iq1XHVW0IHENmWI-f74Qs8o2atjWsBSmdxmKAbKAp-LE72epG9xOs=w1085-h1445-no

I'll try to figure out how to actually embed the pictures moving forward!

Crewser1989 said:

Sorry, whatever you're getting at went over my head lol. But if it's something to learn I'd not mind the edification.

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In regard to "IFR certification" on our RV's, the only thing the avionics shop might do is certify your transponder and pitot-static system. Anything in addition to that is not applicable to our amateur-built aircraft. Hoping you didn't pay for something that doesn't do you any good.

Sam Buchanan said:

Hoping you didn't pay for something that doesn't do you any good.

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Super. Duper. Hahah that?s been the common with the theme with the -4 and it?s something I?m really trying to overcome

Thanks for the info though!