PIREP: Weep No More

[danb35]

My Mooney was getting kind of leaky, and my attempt at patching it with my A&P didn't last very long (though it did seem to work initially).  I decided it was time to bite the bullet and fix it right, and not wanting to give up the useful load for bladders, elected a reseal.  I like the idea of chemical stripping better than hand-scraping, so I flew '48Q up to Willmar, MN a couple of weeks ago on 1/27.

 

I don't have the plane back yet, so I'll update the thread with additional info when I do.  So far, though, Paul has been very communicative and free with information.  He's also been very helpful on the logistics.  He sent a few pictures of the job yesterday.

 

Two pictures of the tanks before stripping (click to enlarge any of the pics):

 

Two pictures of the clean, stripped tanks:

 

...and two of the sealed parts:

[jetdriven]

Let us know the final bill, laid-in. 

[scottfromiowa]

We have a June date set with Paul

[FloridaMan]

I believe he did my F model several years ago before I bought it. No leaks so far. 

[aaronk25]

Paul did mine 1 year ago, absolutely awesome work.

[M20F-1968]

Paul stripped and re-sealed my tanks last Jan.  He does nice work and was easy to work with.

 

John Breda

[AndyFromCB]

I kind of like the smell of fuel in my cabin ;-)

[Earl]

When my fuel selector valve leak was discovered at my annual the A&P said I could surely smell fumes in the cabin, right?  I told him, "My God man, if i got in my Mooney and couldn't smell fuel I would think I either have some serious medical condition affecting my sense of smell or someone has stolen all my fuel!!"      

 

Actually since I had my tanks partially resealed by an MSC I had not smelled fuel but did a bit and just chalked it up to the other side starting to leak as well.  With the fix I am once again looking forward to getting into an odor free airplane.

[rbridges]

I kind of like the smell of fuel in my cabin ;-)

 

 

haha.  I got bladders, but it's nice to get rid of the fuel smell.  Now, all I can smell is "old".  That's my wife's word for it anyway.

[N1026F]

okay...I'm kind of confused: fuel smell in cabin good? or bad?

and how strong does the smell have to be before I have to fly with the extinguisher in my lap or tell my passengers to not smoke during the flight?

[FloridaMan]

I tend to smell fuel when I first turn on my cabin heat. I have a CO detector and it hasn't detected anything, so I'm guessing some richness may load up in the heater that comes out when I turn it on. 

[Nathan Peterson]

Dan,  Thanks for the pic's!  Looks like Mr. Paul is doing a good job for you... My brother is taking his 252 up to see Paul this Jun.  

 

Thanks again for sharing,

 

Nate

[scottfromiowa]

haha.  I got bladders, but it's nice to get rid of the fuel smell.  Now, all I can smell is "old".  That's my wife's word for it anyway.

How old is she...

[danb35]

BTW, Scott, I ended up making a semi-planned stop in Iowa (Sioux City, SUX, to be exact) to wait out some wx on the way up there.  First time stopping there.

[FloridaMan]

I just checked my logbooks. Paul signed them in 9/15/2005 for the tank reseal. I have noted zero leaks and minimal fuel level changes when the plane sits for a week (likely from venting here in the FL heat). Occasionally I get a little black spec in the fuel cup when I check the fuel, but I understand that to be completely normal. I've run the right tank dry before and noted that it takes 34 gallons to fill it. I've gotten it down to 32-33 a couple times (on long cross countries, I switch tanks 3 hours after take-off to make sure I have two hours in the tank that I didn't climb out on with reserve). 

[danb35]

Just got the bill from Paul (will be picking up the plane this weekend).  He'd quoted me $7600 plus tax and shipping on the materials, as well as any additional parts and a full tank of gas.  The total (not including the gas) was $7951.57.  Here's the breakdown:

 

Poly-gone, $1120
Fillet sealer, $224
Brush coat sealer, $224
Access panel sealant, $64
Top coat, $91.68
Labor, $5876.32
Nutplates, 22 @ $5 ea, $110
Fuel drain valves, 2 @ $40 ea, $80
Shipping, $30
Tax, $131.57

 

The nutplates were capped/sealed nutplates in the access panels, and had been damaged previously when someone installed them with too much sealant in place.

[carusoam]

With a long warranty!

Fill it to the top, and let it sit prior to leaving....

This way you will feal better that you at least did the best you can to test the new tanks before taking it home.

Good luck,

-a-

[AmigOne]

Fuel smell in the cabin can also be caused by leaking gaskets where the fuel senders attach to the tanks.  I replaced both gaskets and the smell disappeared for a long time.  It has  now reappeared so slightly so when it gets warmer I'll pul out the side panels again just in case .  I had not thought of a leaking fuel selector valve as mentioned above as a source of smell so I guess will have to check that too.   

[Chap]

I had my  Mooney painted back in 1997.  The paint shop did not spare the stripper.  After the paint my tanks leaked.  Each year I had the A&P patch.  This would work for a while but the leaks always returned.  I finally decided to do it right.  I had Paul reseal my 64C about a year ago.  Final cost was about the same as bladders.  Paul is a real professional, he does quality work.  I would recommend him and the process. 

Chap

[fantom]

I had my Mooney painted back in 1997. The paint shop did not spare the stripper. After the paint my tanks leaked.

Sadly a common problem at non Mooney savvy shops, as one popular CA one learned no to long ago.

[FloridaMan]

I'd also like to add that the folks up there at Willmar were incredibly nice. It's on my list of places to go again. 

[yvesg]

I had my  Mooney painted back in 1997.  The paint shop did not spare the stripper.  After the paint my tanks leaked.  Each year I had the A&P patch.  This would work for a while but the leaks always returned.  I finally decided to do it right.  I had Paul reseal my 64C about a year ago.  Final cost was about the same as bladders.  Paul is a real professional, he does quality work.  I would recommend him and the process. 

Chap

Chap, could you elaborate on what you mean by "spare the stripper"? My bird will get repainted soon and I would not want to get in the same situation as you did. Any specific directives I shall tell the painter assuming he does not have too much Mooney knowledge?

Thanks.

Yves

[fantom]

Chap, could you elaborate on what you mean by "spare the stripper Yves

I wrote the instructions up several times. Do a search to find it.

[yvesg]

I wrote the instructions up several times. Do a search to find it.

fantom, I spent some time searching for this following your comment and no luck. After searching for "paint stripper" or "stripper" it did not return a thread that would discuss "spare stripper"

Yves

[fantom]

Should have tried 'chemical stripper'

 

http://mooneyspace.com/topic/5334-oxygen-leak/?hl=%2Bchemical+%2Bstripper#entry68831

 

During a paint job insist that the paint shop does not put chemical stripper directly on any tank covers.

One way to avoid this is to mask the covers with aluminum foil tape during chemical stripping and then

later remove paint from the tank covers mechanically. A good shop, that's not cutting corners, will

hopefully either know this or have some other tricks up their sleeve.

 

Otherwise, count on tanks leaking within a year or two.