Loose Gofoil

I've tried a bunch of methods of refurbishing a loose Gofoil. They all work but there's a bit of messing around involved.

Recently I bit the bullet and tried the method recommended by Alex Aquera in the video below.

It was a bit of a Doh! moment. So easy to do and gives a perfect result. I was annoyed at myself for not just doing it the right way in first place.

I sand the inside of the foil with some 80 grit wrapped around a chisel. You only need to sand the part from the opening to the screw hole. Tap out any dust and give it a wipe with some alcohol or metho.

I bought some of the TR104 mold release wax he uses in the video. Dabbed it on with the supplied sponge. I masked off the screw hole to prevent any resin getting in there. I also mask the end of the fuselage where it meets the foil.

I used some West 105 resin I had lying around and the slow catalyst with some microfibers to thicken it. Wipe it on. Pull of the tapes. Whack on the foil. Clean off any excess. Put in the screw and let it cure. I've left it for 3-4 days because I've been going up the bush for a few days.

When you come home take out the screw, tap it with a mallet. Job done.

I use a spare mast with is slightly smaller than my everyday mast. It means the foil is a little tight on my everyday mast, which I like.

For the first go I tried epoxy paste. I had done a test run with the mould release and it worked but the cured paste would not let go with the foil attached. I had to bash it with a sledge hammer to get it off. Epoxy with a little thickener works perfectly.

so a much easier method is to just grind down 4mm of the back of the wing socket where it presses against the flange so it sits a little deeper. Make sure you mark what you intend to grind before sanding so it comes out uniform. Maybe double check the socket depth to make sure it's not bottoming out on the tip.

you might have to re-drill the retaining screw hole but that's a lot easier than figuring out that epoxy and release nonsense.

I thought about the grinding method but was concerned about having to repeat it each year when the foils wore again. Also issues of keeping the ends square and dust and stuff.

The epoxy and release paste worked first time I did it following the instructions (not so well with epoxy putty).

I've since done 3 foils and it couldn't be easier. Sand a bit. Clean with alcohol. Rub on release. Mask off a bit. Mix resin and thickener. Smear it on. Plonk it together. Wipe off excess. Wait for it to cure. Tap it off with the Gofoil mallet. Time will tell but so far so good.

I've got some drug dealer scales and little silicone mixing cups. Easy to measure accurately and no waste. All the implements are self cleaning and reusable.