Repairing Plastic Instrument Panel Overlay

Would have been nice if Piper had put the sump drain actuator *outside* on the
belly near where you need to hold the collection bottle, wouldn't it? Even if
it were behind some sort of door (like it is on the inside), it would have
avoided all the passenger induced damage, as well as many of the gas spots on
asphalt ramps. (I assume the 235 has a similar set up as a Six with the push
down lever thingy behind the cheesy plastic door with the spring hinges). Maybe
someone can come up with an STC to put the drain actuator on the belly where it
belongs.

Jay Honeck wrote:

Thanks for the help.

There is a very fine product called "JB Weld" that my A&P recommended to me.
It works extremely well on the plastic instrument panel parts.

JB Weld is amazing stuff. It comes in two separate tubes, and you mix it
together like epoxy. It stays workable for over an hour, and "gravity
smoothes" itself into a very nice surface.

When it is fully cured (overnight) you can drill it, sand it, saw it -- just
like the original plastic. I have used it to repair several parts, and --
after painting -- you can't see the repair at all.

On the last thing I repaired (the stupidly designed fuel sump access door
that every back-seat passenger seems to step on and break) I actually used
it to not only fix the break, but I was able to get it to "surround" and
encapsulate a small piece of aluminum sheet metal, to act as a
reinforcement. To further strengthen the piece, I drilled and pop-riveted
the aluminum piece to the plastic before gluing. The JB Weld fills voids
extremely well.

(Every time I fix this stupid part, I make it stronger. This is my third
attempt -- if my kids break it again, I'm installing a piano hinge on the
danged door!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

--
--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

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