Brief Description: Bonding the plexiglass to the welded frame system
After cutting tubing to get the 1/8" spacers between the rail system and the canopy. I put the spacers in place as I had previously connected the canopy.
After the primer I had pulled the electrical tape, so I wanted to to make sure that I applied electrical tape to protect areas I did not want to have adhesive and did a couple dry walkthroughs with Jennifer.
I applied the triangle profile to the adhesive around the edge of the plexiglass and took a breath (I've never been this nervious about applying what feels like simple calking) Jennifer supported the front of the canopy frame and we set the welded frame rail system into the plexiglass bowl. As I pulled in the canopy sides Jennifer supported the front roll bar to make sure it stayed in proper place as I began clamping the sides and rear of the canopy. I'm sure anyone who has built a single or tandum Van's kit can relate to the preasure required on the rear of the canopy to hold it to the frame rail. Warm plastic helps and lots of clamps. My plan was to have a 1/8" spacer between each plex/rail clamp. Jennifer was GREAT she kept me calm as I pushed and pulled plastic, clamping and reclamping shiming pieces for more even preasure, especially on the rear of the canopy.
At the end I think I was still holding my breath when Jenny sail, "just breath, it looks great". I think I stood there for 15 mins watching adhesive cure. Finally walked away. I'll check on the clamps periodically, According to the data sheet the adhesive skins in 60 min. But the curing time for 8-10 mm was about 8 days. At which time I will remove clamps and apply the fillet bonds on each side of the rail to clean everything up and provide the maximum adhesion.
