I have plans to use two new substances during final assembly of the canopy, and I wanted to do a materials-compatibility test first to make sure that neither of them will eat plexiglass or promote cracking (as good-old regular Loctite will, apparently).
The first material to be evaluated is Lexel, a clear rubber caulk that I plan to use between the plexiglass and canopy skirts:
The second is Vibra-Tite, a sort of paintable threadlocker. It has the same function as Loctite, but supposedly minus the inconvenient plexiglass-destroying side effects.
I dug up the piece of scrap plexiglass on which I've been practicing drilling and countersinking, and cut and drilled a small piece of scrap aluminum to fit it. Then I masked off an area just outside where the aluminum piece will go, and applied a bead of Lexel:
Then I riveted and screwed the aluminum to the plexiglass and removed the tape, leaving a decent looking caulk edge. I also smeared on a blob of Vibra-Tite. Why two different kinds of fasteners? So I can properly judge the amount of squeeze-out from both rivets and screws.
I'll let this all cure for several days and then examine it closely to make extra sure than none of this stuff is going to destroy my expensive canopy (and incidentally cause me to become an alcoholic).