Re-curving mylar on a glider

I use Acetone to clean out all of the old adhesive.
It doesn't leave any residue and completely evaporates
for good clean surface. Nasty stuff though use good
rubber gloves and good ventilation. Never had any tape
come off prematurely just after the AZ sun has dried
out the adhesive.

Follow the acetone with denatured alcohol as a final cleaner. McMaster-Carr
does sell an acrylic adhesive "primer". I tested some, though not a very
good test, and could not discern any improvement over tape adhesion without
the primer. In both cases the tape stuck well.

I is important to apply the tape when it is warm or use a heat gun to
pre-heat the surfaces. As others have mentioned, sand all surfaces to be
bonded, including that portion of the Mylar. I use a 1/2" wide bearing
mounted in a wood handle to apply pressure to the mylar/tape bond.

The Mylar curing machine was one that Larry Mansberger had. I think he said
that Rick Wright either built it or helped. No pictures, but it looked a bit
like an old film projector, though the Mylar had a more direct path. Mylar
passed over a heating element and then through a curved roller, probably
aluminum, to impart the set and remove the heat.

all the best,

--
bumper ZZ (reverse all after @)
"Dare to be different . . . circle in sink."
Quiet Vent kit and MKII yaw string

"Cliff Hilty" wrote in message
...
I use Acetone to clean out all of the old adhesive.
It doesn't leave any residue and completely evaporates
for good clean surface. Nasty stuff though use good
rubber gloves and good ventilation. Never had any tape
come off prematurely just after the AZ sun has dried
out the adhesive.

bumper wrote:
Follow the acetone with denatured alcohol as a final cleaner. McMaster-Carr
does sell an acrylic adhesive "primer". I tested some, though not a very
good test, and could not discern any improvement over tape adhesion without
the primer. In both cases the tape stuck well.

I is important to apply the tape when it is warm or use a heat gun to
pre-heat the surfaces. As others have mentioned, sand all surfaces to be
bonded, including that portion of the Mylar. I use a 1/2" wide bearing
mounted in a wood handle to apply pressure to the mylar/tape bond.

all the best,

--
bumper ZZ (reverse all after @)
"Dare to be different . . . circle in sink."
Quiet Vent kit and MKII yaw string

Agree with all of Bumper's notes above. When I re-did the mylar on my
LS4 wings after doing some gelcoat work, I followed all of the above
procedures. Since the adhesive we are using is a pressure sensitive
adhesive (PSA), it's important to make sure that you apply a uniform
and comprehensive pressure on the joint. I wasn't smart enough to use
a roller, but I found that a plastic putty spreader worked pretty well.
I did notice a distinct improvement in performance when both the
wing and the tape were pre-warmed to about 70-75F.

P3