Question: I have a puncture in my VCOTE.  How do I patch this?

Answer:  If you puncture VCOTE, thoroughly clean any oil residue from the area of the puncture. We clean using Fantastic and a paper towel. Once you have all the oil residue removed, wipe the area again with a fresh clean towel moistened with water or plain alcohol. The patch should be 1/2" (13 mm) bigger than the hole on all sides.

It may be difficult to match colors or patterns. When you run into this challenge, you might want to take a different approach. Rather than try to match the color or pattern, deliberately use a black white or silver patch and cut it into the shape of a panel hatch. Detail this with lettering and a perimeter line and it will look like the hatch is supposed to be there. Another trick is to cut the patch into a shape of a letter, flag or aircraft marking.

We recommend using after market VCOTE patch material. You can also use polyester covering such as POLYCOTE, ULTRACOTE or ORACOVER. Monokote or SolarFilm covering material will also work. Cut the patch with rounded corners. Seal the patch in place with a heat iron with sock set at 225F first and then tighten the patch and the original covering around the patch using a heat gun as outlined in the tightening section above. To repair larger more extensive damage areas, you may wish to obtain the appropriate VCOTE covering set for this model.