fabric adhesive

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ralphhsd
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:40 am

fabric adhesive

Post by ralphhsd »

Has anyone used the 3M product 30NF Fastbond contact cement to glue the fabric onto the airframe and wings?
Ralph Hurlbert, SD
ralphhsd@itctel.com
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: fabric adhesive

Post by taildrags »

Ralph;

A quick look on Amazon.com shows a gallon of the 3M product at $107/gallon. A quick look on Aircraft Spruce shows Poly-Tak at $99.80/gallon. A look at Stewart Systems' EkoBond, a water-based product like the 3M, is $202/gallon. I didn't read the application instructions on the 3M adhesive exhaustively, but what we have in our application is a polyester fabric that we want to adhere to wood in a very secure fashion since it forms the structure of the aircraft. You might put in a question to the 3M tech line about this, but keep it in generic terms because I'm sure if you mention that it's for an experimental aircraft, they won't be very willing to help.

If you're using the Poly-Fiber system, why not just use the adhesive that goes with the certified system, at no additional cost? If you're averse to using solvent-based covering materials and prefer water-based, go with the Stewart System product that will cost you $100 more if you plan to use as much as a gallon of adhesive on your project. In my opinion, sticking with aircraft materials for this important part of your project is well worth a few extra dollars. Steve Wittman found out the hard way how important adhering the fabric to the structure is. He's not around today, but if he were I suspect that he would encourage you to stick with proven covering systems.
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