Wing Bubbles and re-surfacing

For what it's worth
We have an on going discussion in my club (in the UK where in winter it
is cold and DAMP) about storing aircraft to avoid osmosis and bumps.
One of our club syndicates have kept a discus for some years and are now
keeping a ventus without any trouble by completely sealing a the trailer
vents and installing an industrial grade de-humidifier within the
trailer. This is permanently connected to power, it only uses a few
pounds worth of electric every year and so is well worth the cost.

Regards

Robin

In message , Steve Hill
writes
After my nice flight last month in Mt. Rainier wave to 24k, my wings have
turned into a blistered nightmare on the DG-400. I probably have 2,000 small
bubbles ranging from .005 to .015" tall...I've been sanding the gelcoat down
in an effort to see if I can break through them, but I am nervous as hell if
what I'm doing is a bad idea...Is there any chemical that will remove
Gelcoat and not hurt the substrate, or is the best method to actually just
sand till ya can't sand no more???


Anyway...my thought is to sand the wings down, but then I'm not really clear
on what's going to keep the moisture from returning for good...it seems like
baking the wings is a decent idea, though for now I'm not exactly sure how
and at what temperature...Anyone's input will be appreciated...again, the
worry is that if you go to all the trouble to sand things down to bare
material, is there a way to assure that the bubbles don't come back in the
future. My plan would be to re-finish with one of the PolyUrethane
systems...So, time, temp, advice or chemicals!!!!

Thanks


Steve.





--
Robin Birch

In article ,
Robin Birch wrote:

For what it's worth
We have an on going discussion in my club (in the UK where in winter it
is cold and DAMP) about storing aircraft to avoid osmosis and bumps.
One of our club syndicates have kept a discus for some years and are now
keeping a ventus without any trouble by completely sealing a the trailer
vents and installing an industrial grade de-humidifier within the
trailer. This is permanently connected to power, it only uses a few
pounds worth of electric every year and so is well worth the cost.

Yes. I've been doing that for years. Except I find that a cheap (about
$150 US) standard-issue dehumidifier does the trick. But this is only
for when I bring the glider home to work on. Normally it is in a hangar
(glider in trailer, trailer in hangar) and doesn't seem to require the
dehumidifier there. If I were to keep my glider in the trailer, trailer
outside, during the hot and dry summer months I might be a bit concerned
about inside trailer temps without open vents. Not sure. I agree with
your energy use observation. I couldn't detect an increase looking at
my billing statements. Not that I would care much even if I could.

Regards,

-Doug (in often very wet Michigan)