Ray Griffin:
Recently checked out behind the rear seat in my ’74 Sierra, and noticed that the silver facing to several of the honeycomb panels, on both sides of the interior rear fuselage tail cone, are peeling off the brown paper honeycomb in big swirls. One piece was totally off,lying on the bottom of the tailcone. The honeycomb panels themselves appear to be still adhered to the fuselage,except at one small edge,near the battery. Any ideas on proper remedial action? Hard to get in there to effect repairs.
Editor:
CAUTION! DO NOT REMOVE THE HONEYCOMB PANELS! Contrary to popular belief, these panels are not there for sound deadening. They are skin dampers. If you remove the panels, it will be just a matter of time before you get cracked skins in that area.
While it is difficult to get into that area to effect repairs, it can be done. Lay some cribbing and supports in the area, covered with padding. Recruit a slim but responsible kid. Get some premium automotive spray adhesive from an auto refinishing supply house (not Pep Boys stuff). Follow the can instructions; it is usually a contact spray that you apply to both surfaces. Use it to reattach the cover sheets. You will need some good ventilation, and possibly a respirator, due to the solvents in the spray adhesive.
You may have to redo this periodically. It is easier to fix if you catch any peels early on. In many case you can then spray it from a distance, and use a small broom to smooth the sheeting back into place.
There may be alternative products out there, but since it is bonded on, I can’t imagine what you would go through to remove all traces of the original “pads”. Beech has not had these pads for many years.