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Fiberglass Avionics Panel Question

David Paule

Well Known Member
The avionics shelf on my RV-3B is fiberglass. It's located just forward of the panel. Here's the question:

Should I paint or prime the surface? Except during maintenance, it'll never see sunlight, and it ought never to be exposed to any fluids. Here's the equipment mounting side.

UgjriP9.jpg


I can't see that paint or primer will add anything except weight.

I ought to note, though, that one edge of the shelf is supported by the switch panel, and since that'll be visible from the cockpit, that part will be the same color as the instrument panel.

IEh2B1K.jpg


Thanks!

Dave
 
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Paint it Dave and dont wear socks when you fly it. You will still save weight and it will look nice!
 
Paint it Dave, same color as the panel all in one go.:)

And I guess you have already done this but I would climb in and out few times with the switch panel in place, and the seat too if possible to see how it is for knee/leg clearance as get your legs under. I am 6'1 and I am very glad my panel depth is no deeper than plans. YMMV of course.

Regards,
Russell
 
Paint the front only

My vote is to paint the pilot side only and leave the backside bare. The panel on my non-RV is bare fibreglass where you can't see and it flies just fine in spite of being unpainted.
 
Dye the Epoxy??

Build it new and dye the epoxy with the color you want!
If you scratch it, while getting in and out, you will not notice….

I don´t know if this had been done before, but it´s EXPERIMENTAL after all, isn´t it??

If you don´t want to re-build the shelf, i would go and paint the outside only…….

(…...and still wear no socks when flying……...that comment is hillarious, it brightend up my day!)

everyone stay safe.
 
I would cut as much as possible off the front to gain better access to the brakes and rudder pedals. Everything on a -3 is tight to get to. Also would sit in seat and check knee clearance. You might want to cut two semi circular cutouts over your knees. And since you have to paint the lower front, might as well paint all of it. Drill some lighting holes it it too. Weight kills the -3.
 
As far as I know, there is no structural reason to paint fiberglass that isn't exposed to the elements.

Paint for aesthetics if you want, or as someone else mentioned, you could dye the epoxy if it happens to need another coat or if you're willing to make a new one.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, friends.

I'm 5' 5" (170 cm) and have short legs, so fit isn't an issue with the switch panel. Still, I'll double-check that. My feet are in front of the shelf so brake access is not affected.

The glasswork is complete. That's the actual avionics shelf shown in the photo. It's too late to add dye, but I like the idea, although not enough to make a second one.

Access to the avionics shelf can be obtained two ways. One way is to enter the cockpit head-first and belly up, wriggle under the shelf and come up in front of it. It's a bit snug. There's only marginally enough room between the shelf and the firewall. The other way is that on the RV-3B, the forward coaming between the firewall and panel is removable. Take that off and there's access from both sides, and in fact I had it off for the first photo and you can even see some of the nutplates. Since I'm old enough to qualify for Medicare I will generally take this second approach to it.

Thanks, everyone,
Dave
 
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I would not paint it... it already looks good and it is protected from the elements. It will take more time, more paint, and more weight to paint it. Also, if you paint it and then decide to add any additional fiberglass brackets or appurtenances you'd need to sand off the paint/primer.
 
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I would not paint it... it already looks good and it is protected from the elements. It will take more time, more paint, and more weight to paint it. Also, if you paint it and then decide to add any additional fiberglass brackets or appurtenances you'd need to sand off the paint/primer.

I agree. I avoid painting them for aesthetic reasons, too.
 
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