Painting the corners of the windscreen and / or canopy

[tmobbs]

The publicity shots for the B series Sonex and Waiex show the windscreens have curved corners which I like the look of. I wondered about painting the corners of my windscreen (and possibly the corners of the canopy too) to achieve that effect.

I am concious that both Lexan and the plexi-glass type material from which the canopy is made are susceptible to attack by solvents, so I asked Sonex what paint to use.

But Kerry tells me that the B Series has a "skirt" around the windscreen and it is that which is painted, not the Lexan from which the windscreen is made. He could not advise me about any type of paint that could be used on the transparencies.

So has any Sonex or Waiex builder painted part of their transparencies (either by design or by accident) and if so, what paint did you use and how has it stood up to the ravages of time?

Tim Mobbs
Sonex #1555 tw, Aerovee #0672
Bungay, Suffolk, England

[GordonTurner]

Maybe investigate that vinyl wrap?

Gordon

[fastj22]

The vinyl wrap sticks well to the plastic. That's how we did mike and my canopy edges.

[Darick]

Ive seen this before and will be using it as part of my paint scheme. I'm planning on using the vinyl covering used in the radio control hobby for airplanes. "Ultracote" is one brand name. However, we need to find out if our canopy material is compatible with the adhesive on the vinyl.

Any chemists out there?

[DCASonex]

Sika, the folks who make bonding used for the canopy material have primer paints for that, but not sure if that is applicable to the Lexan windshield. Would check their web site for info.

David A. Sonex TD, with bonded canopy.

[fastj22]

Here's a shot of how the vinyl looks.

[Onex107]

As you may know, the Onex fuel cap is through a hole in the windshield and a drop of gas on the windshield will cause a crack. I have used a black adhesive paper, like shelf paper, to add a spill/drip proof area around the fuel hole. It's been on two years without a problem.

[kevinh]

Here's a shot of how the vinyl looks.

John, that looks great. How did you get the nice curves on the vinyl. Did you do it by hand or have the sticker cut to that shape?

[fastj22]

We use stuff called cut tape. Its basically a thread imbedded in a tape. You lay out the shape on the windshield like you would with pinstripe tape, then lay the wrap over it. With a little practice, you then pull the thread up through both the tape and vinyl cutting it in place. Then weed out the tape left over under the wrap. No knife touches the substrate.

[fastj22]

As you may know, the Onex fuel cap is through a hole in the windshield and a drop of gas on the windshield will cause a crack. I have used a black adhesive paper, like shelf paper, to add a spill/drip proof area around the fuel hole. It's been on two years without a problem.

Vinyl wrap holds up real well to av gas. If someone gives me a template, I can cut out a bunch with my plotter and send them out. No Onex in my area yet.