October 29, 2006 - Proseal

Another windy day.  Today, I mess with the dreaded Proseal for the first time.  If you've been following this web log, you know I bought the pre-built fuel tanks.  It wasn't so much I was afraid of dealing with the Proseal; it was that I wanted to save some time, yet not go completely quickbuild.  Anyways, I needed to secure the circular fuel tank access covers and fuel senders to the wing root area.  There's a bunch of ways you can go here.  I decided to go with Proseal without gaskets.  It offers the least chance of fuel leaks but is hard to get off if you should ever have to get the access covers off.  Proseal is a fuel-resistance sealer that is very toxic and requires MEK to get it off something. 

So I ordered the 7 oz proseal kit from Vans.  It is that big syringe-looking thing I'm holding in my right hand. 

After donning all my safety gear, I scuffed up the areas where the Proseal would go with scotch-brite, then cleaned those areas with MEK. 

Proseal has two parts - 10 parts white and 1 part black.  You mix it in the syringe by pushing down the plunger 50 times while twisting the plunger clockwise.  I did that and it wasn't easy!  But after 50 plunges, the proseal looked like it was mixed OK, with a dark-grey color.

Mixing complete.  The next step is to unscrew the plunger and replace it with a long nozzle that screws on.  Then you remove the red cap and use a "caulk gun" like thing to squeeze out the proseal.  Wait, I don't have the proseal gun.  I ended up using a dowel to push the proseal out and it wasn't much fun.  Do yourself a favor and buy the proseal gun!
 
But, despite the difficulties, everything came out great.  I squeezed a bead of proseal around the outside edge of the cover, then put the cover in place on the fuel tank.  Then I dipped each screw in some proseal, then screwed the cover down.  This caused the proseal to ooze out the edges, making a nice looking bead.  I did the same with the sender plate. 
 
I'll test the tanks for leaks in a few days, but I doubt if the access covers and sending units will have any leaks.
 
Now that I've met the elephant, I actually like Prosea.  It wasn't bad at all to work with.  Of course, I wasn't dealing with little rivets and Proseal covered clecos, either. 
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