Wing Walk Strip and Refresh

[Piloto]

About ten years ago I used Rust-Oleum Textured for the wing-walk. No peeling of the paint and looks great. I removed the old material and sprayed Rust-Oleum. The texture is very similar to beach sand.

José 

[xcrmckenna]

About ten years ago I used Rust-Oleum Textured for the wing-walk. No peeling of the paint and looks great. I removed the old material and sprayed Rust-Oleum. The texture is very similar to beach sand.
José 

That's what I used to paint my new panel cover with. I wouldn't have guess it was that durable. Good to know though.


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[Bob K]

Sven:

Thank you for the excellent dissertation. I am in the process of entering my right fuel tank to remove my original fuel sump drains, and install the newer style drain valves per SB20-188. Your posting has saved me a great deal of time in researching the methods to remove/replace the wing walk material that covers the tank panel.

Many thanks,

Bob K

[jetdriven]

On 9/1/2017 at 7:29 PM, Piloto said:

About ten years ago I used Rust-Oleum Textured for the wing-walk. No peeling of the paint and looks great. I removed the old material and sprayed Rust-Oleum. The texture is very similar to beach sand.

José 

Be sure to mask off your airplane to be sure to tape off all of the hanger openings that are possible. Because frequently people spray paint stuff in T hangars and that overspray migrates to several other hangers and you have several thousand dollars of  claims for overspray

[LANCECASPER]

18 hours ago, Bob K said:

Sven:

Thank you for the excellent dissertation. I am in the process of entering my right fuel tank to remove my original fuel sump drains, and install the newer style drain valves per SB20-188. Your posting has saved me a great deal of time in researching the methods to remove/replace the wing walk material that covers the tank panel.

Many thanks,

Bob K

Why do you have to enter your tanks from the top to replace the sumps?

[Pete M]

when i repainted my e i didnt use wing walk. Just a patch of pearl grey and some extra clear to protect it. Figured i could use tape if it got slippery. Never had a problem, even wet. I dont like the look of wing walk. Especially the black.

Pete

[David_H]

That decal looks good. Nice work.

I bet that an M decal would look good as well.

 

[StevenL757]

I agree.  If Guy’s work on these step decals is as good as his baffle seals, sign me up!

@GEE-BEE, Guy - If you can do one for an Ovation step, I’ll send a pic of my step, and the logo I’m envisioning.

[carusoam]

Mooneys have two different shaped steps... (I believe)

1) the retractable one, is somewhat rectangular/parallelogram ( @takair Is our resident retract step expert, invite for rob to take a look )

2) The rounded shape of the fixed step...

Best regards,

-a-

[takair]

9 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Mooneys have two different shaped steps... (I believe)

1) the retractable one, is somewhat rectangular/parallelogram ( @takair Is our resident retract step expert, invite for rob to take a look )

2) The rounded shape of the fixed step...

Best regards,

-a-

Here is a not-so-great close up of the retractable step.  Some graphics would be a nice touch.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

Why do you have to enter your tanks from the top to replace the sumps?

Early fuel drains were one piece and were riveted to the wing skin. To upgrade to screw in style requires opening the tank.

https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4147179/technical_documents/service_bulletins/sbm20-188a-1.pdf

Clarence

[David_H]

[PT20J]

5 hours ago, GEE-BEE said:

i will cut you our grip tape

 

Guy, @GEE-BEE can you make the wing walk in one piece? Is it self-adhesive backed or does it require glue? What kind of glue?

Skip

[Bob K]

12 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

Why do you have to enter your tanks from the top to replace the sumps?

The sumps are original to the aircraft, and no longer supported by Mooney. They require to be drilled out, and a patch is installed inside the tank to cover the holes. Then mounting hardware will be installed inside the tank to accommodate a newer style drain (that can be threaded out later without tank entry). Reference SB20-188A 

[xcrmckenna]

I finally have a hangar I can let my plane sit in for weeks to replace my wing walk. But my new problem some of my top tank screws are leaking. What is the best way to seal these up? Strip the wing walk off try and back those affected screws out and dab a little tank sealer on them? 

[DonMuncy]

4 minutes ago, xcrmckenna said:

I finally have a hangar I can let my plane sit in for weeks to replace my wing walk. But my new problem some of my top tank screws are leaking. What is the best way to seal these up? Strip the wing walk off try and back those affected screws out and dab a little tank sealer on them? 

Yep, that is pretty much it. And you can use various other sealants without having to buy the tank sealant. Permatex for instance.

[xcrmckenna]

Yep, that is pretty much it. And you can use various other sealants without having to buy the tank sealant. Permatex for instance.

How hard is it to get the screws out?


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[EricJ]

Just now, xcrmckenna said:

How hard is it to get the screws out?


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Easy peasy, usually.   At least on mine it was trivial.

I just used a little steel pick and very carefully removed the walk material just from the top of the screw, enough to clean it well enough to get a screwdriver on it.   The screw then comes right out.

Clean the screw threads and any debris out of the hole, dab a little Permatex 3 on the screw (per Maxwell), let it cure (it says how long on the container, iirc) and put it back in.   Once it has fully cured you can dab a little new walk material on the screw heads.

This is definitely one of the easier tank leak repairs to do.

[xcrmckenna]

Easy peasy, usually.   At least on mine it was trivial.

I just used a little steel pick and very carefully removed the walk material just from the top of the screw, enough to clean it well enough to get a screwdriver on it.   The screw then comes right out.

Clean the screw threads and any debris out of the hole, dab a little Permatex 3 on the screw (per Maxwell), let it cure (it says how long on the container, iirc) and put it back in.   Once it has fully cured you can dab a little new walk material on the screw heads.

This is definitely one of the easier tank leak repairs to do.

Awesome. I will get on it!


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[xcrmckenna]

@Sven per your technique I’ve started the removal. I just checked the situation after 4 hours and there were some dry spots and I think some spots that didn’t get enough remover on it. So after dinner I’m going to pull up the saran wrap scrap up the loose stuff and put some more remover in it for the evening. 

[carusoam]

12 minutes ago, xcrmckenna said:

@Sven per your technique I’ve started the removal. I just checked the situation after 4 hours and there were some dry spots and I think some spots that didn’t get enough remover on it. So after dinner I’m going to pull up the saran wrap scrap up the loose stuff and put some more remover in it for the evening. 

Something to consider, Charles...

The Saran Wrap will keep an environment of stripper in the area that it is covering...  anything that evaporates, can condense under the plastic....

It may be wise to keep the Saran Wrap within the confines of 3M tape...

This will keep any solvent from accidentally getting contact with the paint...

PP thoughts only, observation that you used the 3M tape for a reason...

Kind of like guarding the paint from accidental splashes... and accidental evaporation/condensation...

Best regards,

-a-

[xcrmckenna]

Something to consider, Charles...
The Saran Wrap will keep an environment of stripper in the area that it is covering...  anything that evaporates, can condense under the plastic....
It may be wise to keep the Saran Wrap within the confines of 3M tape...
This will keep any solvent from accidentally getting contact with the paint...
PP thoughts only, observation that you used the 3M tape for a reason...
Kind of like guarding the paint from accidental splashes... and accidental evaporation/condensation...
Best regards,
-a-

Good call, I wrapped it by myself so it was easier to go bigger. I didn’t think about the evaporations though. I’ll buy dinner if you want to come help...


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[carusoam]

Thanks for the offer Charles!

You will be done with that project and on to three others before I could get there...  

Best regards,

-a-

[xcrmckenna]

Bare aluminum that probably hasn’t seen the light of day since it was on the assembly line in Kerrville. A few screws getting resealed then rolling the walk on Sunday.



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[Guest]

Some Alodine and primer would be a good idea first.

Clarence