M20E Broken Plastic Armrest/ Fuel Selector Markings

[Tahir K]

Hey guys,

The side of my airplane has this plastic wall panel and the armrest to it is cracked. Has anyone ever replaced the entire panel or fixed the arm rest before? I’m open to any sort of solution to fix, replace, or substitute. 

Also, the markings on my fuel selector have faded away. Does anyone know what they are supposed to say and if there are pre made cut out stickers that I can get to put on? I have a label maker and wouldn’t mind doing it myself, but I just want to be 100% sure I label it right. 

Thanks for the help in advance!  

[oldguyscanfly]

https://www.highergraphics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=122&zenid=2esnjr36fnncs6ve6oq9994gl1

Can't help with the armrest  

 

[carusoam]

Planeplastics... does the big pieces...

But look for methods of improving what you have around here...
they are medium sized jobs...

Best regards,

-a-

[Tahir K]

28 minutes ago, oldguyscanfly said:

https://www.highergraphics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=122&zenid=2esnjr36fnncs6ve6oq9994gl1

Can't help with the armrest  

 

This helps a ton! Thanks

[Tahir K]

14 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Planeplastics... does the big pieces...

But look for methods of improving what you have around here...
they are medium sized jobs...

Best regards,

-a-

Checked on planeplastics, they had the panel for the 65' E, but didn't see a side panel for the 66' E. Might have to figure out a way to fix what I have

[markgrue]

For the armrest might I suggest west systems epoxy with microballons to thicken it up to the consistency of peanut butter.  carefully spread the crack open and push some in until it is well filled.  use some small spring clamps to hold it together and when it dries sand any that pushes out.  It is light and very strong.

 

Mark

[PT20J]

The plastic is ABS. You can melt ABS plastic in MEK or Acetone to make a thin paste (some people melt Leggos and Plane Plastics sells a kit containing ABS chips, a small paint can and syringe). You can lay up few layers of fiberglass cloth with the paste on the back side and it will form a flexible repair that permanently solvent bonds with the original part. If you paint it with SEM Color Coat afterwards, it will look great. There are also flexible epoxies (Bondo makes one -- check an auto parts store) made for repairing bumpers and dashboards.

Skip

[ArtVandelay]

I used this to fix cracks in plastic:

[Schinderhannes]

We had countless cracks in the plastic panel in the airplane. So I got a lot of practice fixing it. I tried a lot of the commercial products with mediocre success until a friend (fellow M20c owner) who is a true craftsman taught me his way.

Remove the panel and turn upside - cut pieces of fiberglass covering the crack with approx. 1/2 " overlap - put fiberglass piece over crack and wet the fiberglass with cyanoacrylate (superglue) - with fast moving finger work the super glue into the fiberglass.

The fiberglass and plastic panel will build a strong bond super fast and the reinforce the tired plastic.     

[geoffb]

Black ABS cement and fiberglass cloth.  The solvent in the cement melts the ABS of the panel just like a piece of pipe.  Makes the cloth adhere very well.  In my experience, the epoxy resins do not get a good bond and aren't flexible enough to stay adhered to the old panel.  Reinforce the back of the panel behind the arm rest to stiffen it up.  Then fill and paint like mentioned above and it should look quite nice.

I wish my interior panels looked as good as yours.

Of, left is LEFT, right is RIGHT.   Forward and aft are both OFF.

[Tahir K]

Fiberglass seems to be the way to go based on the general consensus. I'll post some pictures after I fix it. Thanks everyone!

[Ross Taylor]

21 minutes ago, Tahir K said:

Fiberglass seems to be the way to go based on the general consensus. I'll post some pictures after I fix it. Thanks everyone!

Keep in mind that fiberglass is just the reinforcement structure, to add some strength.  The most important part is the adhesive which bonds that fiberglass to the part and which wets the fiberglass.  On our E, I tried a few things on broken plastic...our worst part was the door trim and it took a lot of repair, especially near edges around the window where the screw holes had cracked and were split to the edge.  I have to agree with @geoffb, above, about the black ABS cement.  It bonded really well and, even more importantly, it remains somewhat flexible,  I used fiberglass in most spots and, in a few, I embedded safety wire (deep into crevasses or in really narrow spots near the edge).

 

 

[bonal]

LASAR has a fuel selection sticker that is marked and has the detentes for levers position 707 263 0412 also for your crack repairs I recommend using Marinetex. It's a two part epoxy and I have found it to be stronger than anything I've ever used. I have successfully repaired things with it that you would not believe. It's puddy like consistency make it easy to apply and it is sand able.

[Tahir K]

Keep in mind that fiberglass is just the reinforcement structure, to add some strength.  The most important part is the adhesive which bonds that fiberglass to the part and which wets the fiberglass.  On our E, I tried a few things on broken plastic...our worst part was the door trim and it took a lot of repair, especially near edges around the window where the screw holes had cracked and were split to the edge.  I have to agree with [mention=12153]geoffb[/mention], above, about the black ABS cement.  It bonded really well and, even more importantly, it remains somewhat flexible,  I used fiberglass in most spots and, in a few, I embedded safety wire (deep into crevasses or in really narrow spots near the edge).
 
 

What was the safety wire for? Added support? Did the black abs cement need to be painted over? As you can see in the pictures my panels are white so I'd hate for it to be black in the repair area. Unless I can get clear or white abs cement?

[Ross Taylor]

Good question @Tahir K - I used the safety wire just for reinforcement in the narrow spots where I couldn't get enough fiberglass.  For example, around some of the screw holes near the edges of the door window surround.  There was less than a 1/4 inch there, so I bent safety wire into a sort of u-shape and curled the ends...then pasted those over with ABS cement.  I just thought that way the screw couldn't pull through the edge again, because of the thin but strong wire in embedded there.

The ABS is black, but I did all of this on the backside of my door panel so it's not visible.  I actually don't know if it's paintable.  Hmmm...something to test!

[PT20J]

1 hour ago, Tahir K said:
What was the safety wire for? Added support? Did the black abs cement need to be painted over? As you can see in the pictures my panels are white so I'd hate for it to be black in the repair area. Unless I can get clear or white abs cement?

The black ABS cement (from the hardware store for gluing ABS plumbing) is made from ABS resin, MEK and acetone. I’ve used it on the black glare shield. The advantage of melting Leggos or buying the kit from Plane Plastics is that you can make white glue. Either glue can be painted - when the solvents evaporate, it’s just ABS.

Skip

 

 

[bonal]

Marinetex comes in white. Can be used to fix cracked boat hulls need I say more.

[Ross Taylor]

3 hours ago, bonal said:

Marinetex comes in white. Can be used to fix cracked boat hulls need I say more.

I've never used that but I just ordered some through the Amazon. Having another trick in my toolbox is always handy. Thanks for the pirep!

[Tahir K]

5 hours ago, PT20J said:

The black ABS cement (from the hardware store for gluing ABS plumbing) is made from ABS resin, MEK and acetone. I’ve used it on the black glare shield. The advantage of melting Leggos or buying the kit from Plane Plastics is that you can make white glue. Either glue can be painted - when the solvents evaporate, it’s just ABS.

Skip

 

 

Noted. Thanks Skip

[Tahir K]

6 hours ago, Ross Taylor said:

Good question @Tahir K - I used the safety wire just for reinforcement in the narrow spots where I couldn't get enough fiberglass.  For example, around some of the screw holes near the edges of the door window surround.  There was less than a 1/4 inch there, so I bent safety wire into a sort of u-shape and curled the ends...then pasted those over with ABS cement.  I just thought that way the screw couldn't pull through the edge again, because of the thin but strong wire in embedded there.

The ABS is black, but I did all of this on the backside of my door panel so it's not visible.  I actually don't know if it's paintable.  Hmmm...something to test!

Thanks for the insight Ross. Hopefully the fiberglass and abs cement will do the trick but this is a trick I'll keep with me in case I ever need it in the future.