I decided to tackle the patch repair today. First thing was flip the fuselage so I could examine the damage and to clean it with Acetone, both top and bottom. When I got it upside down, I saw another hole I didn't realize was there. The handle of the rotisserie had punched a hole near the firewall.
I cut two patches out of the Oratex 6000 scraps I had on hand and pre glued them. After cleaning the fabric, I used blue masking tape to tape the fabric together so I could place the patch on the inside. By pulling the fabric as taught as I could get it while taping it, gave me a pretty good surface for the patch. A lot of tape was used, well beyond the perimeter of the damaged area. Once that was done, I rotated the fuselage back up to glue the inside surfaces. After the glue dried, I laid the patches in place and used the heat gun to get them installed. They went on without issue and I left them to cure overnight. I also removed the tape.
The next morning I used the Toko iron to shrink the fabric and get it taught again. Worked pretty good. I was able to get the fabric pretty smooth. I again applied the blue masking tape all around the damaged (sliced) areas in order to keep the Super Fill confined when applied. I used a plastic putty blade to spread the Super Fill into the gouges to fill them in. Once finished, I removed the tape leaving the Super Fill only in the damaged area and left it to cure.
I will re-tape the area once cured so I can sand the Super Fill flush with the surrounding fabric protecting the fabric from the sand paper. Once happy with the finish of the Super Fill, I will cut exterior cosmetic patches from the thinner Oratex 600. I have the front patch already cut from 600 tape. I'll need to order a larger piece for the big patch.
