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VHB tape for canopy ?

1bigdog

Well Known Member
Has anyone tried VHB tapes for any of the canopy assembly.
I can see where it might be helpful instead of sika when it's in areas that have to have very thin application. But some VHB is also being promoted as structural glazing. I could see it being useful for the targa, or fairing attach, but not sure if I'd go so far as the acylic to steel.

Just wondering?

Cheers.
 
Application details?

Has anyone tried VHB tapes for any of the canopy assembly.
I can see where it might be helpful instead of sika when it's in areas that have to have very thin application. But some VHB is also being promoted as structural glazing. I could see it being useful for the targa, or fairing attach, but not sure if I'd go so far as the acylic to steel.

Just wondering?

Cheers.

Used SIKA for the canopy (Tip-UP), but still want to do a Targa strip to finish it. (Flying 12+ months now). Would consider VHB for Targa but there would have to be some data regarding use with Plexiglass and heat (Arizona 115*F in the shade). Looked at 3M site and they also have a 'glass' hydrophobic pre-treatment solution for improved adhesion, but glass is inert in comparison to plexiglass. Hate to ruin a good installation with the chemicals in VHB or in prep.

It would take a lot of convincing to experiment with this Experimental that's flying. I have some scraps of Plexi (trimmings) which I've been testing in the desert environment by leaving them out in the sun for over 2 yrs now. Have held up well, and it would take longer than that to convince me to test VHB. But it's an attractive concept. Ease of application with tape would be a major benefit, along with consistent thickness.
 
VHB research

Well, the stuff is used to build school busses and ambulances and semi truck trailers, and more...so I think it has been tested enough for us to make a call about using the stuff. High-heat versions are available.

I used a short strip of the stuff to attach a rudder trim tab to an RV4 I built back in the Stone Age - that tab is still in place after 28 years.

I have used it to attach skin stiffeners and other parts (G3 avionics rack - very easy to build) - preparation of the surfaces is important. Also, I used the really thin stuff - not the stuff with a foam core. I think the trucks etc are built with a thin foam core hi-temp product. Seems to me that this product would work for a canopy, but the two surfaces would need to be virtually parallel to get the right attach strength.

In other words, you could not attach plexi to the round tube structure of the slider frame and expect that to hold the plexi. You would need to make up some sort of flat surface for the tape to work within it's parameters.

Picking the right product seems to be the Big Test - there are many versions of the product.
 
polished or just unpainted ?

Used SIKA for the canopy (Tip-UP), but still want to do a Targa strip to finish it. (Flying 12+ months now). Would consider VHB for Targa but there would have to be some data regarding use with Plexiglass and heat (Arizona 115*F in the shade). Looked at 3M site and they also have a 'glass' hydrophobic pre-treatment solution for improved adhesion, but glass is inert in comparison to plexiglass. Hate to ruin a good installation with the chemicals in VHB or in prep.

It would take a lot of convincing to experiment with this Experimental that's flying. I have some scraps of Plexi (trimmings) which I've been testing in the desert environment by leaving them out in the sun for over 2 yrs now. Have held up well, and it would take longer than that to convince me to test VHB. But it's an attractive concept. Ease of application with tape would be a major benefit, along with consistent thickness.

Hi Gary
Just looked at your kit log. Looks fantastic. Is that polished ? That's my plan.
And very good point about the chemistry on acrylic. I'll have to research further. Everything I saw on 3M was glass glazing.

Cheers.
 
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