Vent: I think the new composite patch kits are a step back from the old aluminum ones, even though everyone at my hangar loves them.

I mean, maybe it's just me but I had a 3-inch delamination on a rudder skin last week and the prep time for the composite kit was double what it would've been for a simple doubler, so has anyone else found a faster method that actually holds?

3 comments

3 Comments

chen.casey1mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, that prep time is no joke. I spent a whole afternoon just on surface grinding for a small repair last month, felt like overkill. The shop foreman swears by a slower-cure epoxy now, says it gives him more working time to get the layers right without rushing.

the_sandra1mo ago

That extra working time just invites dust and contamination into the bond.

kaiharris25d ago

Whoa, hold up. I think we're missing something big about the dust issue. The extra working time isn't just about contamination from outside. It's about the bond itself getting time to relax and settle. I've seen slower-cure epoxies actually pull dust into the gap because of capillary action as they shrunk during the final set. So that extra time can backfire if the surface isn't perfectly clean and the epoxy starts drawing in particles from the edges.