Screw hold repair in fabric?

Brian Huffaker wrote:

Thanks for the ideas. Most won't work tho. These are rectangular
inspection holes with screws holding the cover plates on. The enlarged
holes are in the thickened fabric sections (there may be some plastic
embedded in there, but it doesn't look like it) The holes that go into
wood are fine. I was hoping that somebody would have experience with
a glue/epoxy something that could be used to fill in the old holes
without harming the fabric.

Sorry I can't take a picture, I'm on call this week and can't get up
to the airport.

Brian Huffaker )
RV-8A #80091 Riviting lower fuse subfloor
Starduster Too N23UT flying

Someone already suggested making backing plates from thin aluminum
sheet metal. Personally, that's the way I think I'd go about it.

Use clear shoe-goo to install the backing plates inside the fabric?
That should hold it in place when all the screws are removed.

It sounds like you are just screwing to the fabric in places...


Best of luck,

Richard Lamb

On Mon, 24 May 2004 23:14:10 +0000 (UTC), Brian Huffaker
wrote:


It's annual time on the starduster, and several of the screw holds
to hold on the inspection plates have been enlarged over the years to
the point where a screw won't stay in the whole. Around each inspection
hole, there is a thickened area in the fabric that has been drilled
or punched to recieve the screws. We are using sheet metal screws.
I don't know what covering system was used, but could probably find
out (it was recovered several years before I bought into the
partnetship). Is there some kind of filler that could be placed in
these holes and then drilled out back to a smaller size so that the
screws would stay in?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Brian Huffaker, DSWL )
RV-8A 80091 Riviting foward lower fuseage skin
1/4 Starduster Too N23UT flying.

Rivnuts (aluminum expanding shank), or
Rawlnuts (rubber expanding shank) are possibilities, I suppose?

Brian W