Gore Challenges Traditional Wet Sealing With First Dry Sealant for Permanent Aircraft Structures

New GORE^® SKYFLEX^® Aerospace Materials PX1 Series accelerates aircraft assembly and delivers weight savings in the production of permanent aircraft structures.

PLEINFELD, Germany and NEWARK, Del., U.S. (March 31, 2026)  — For decades, wet sealing has been accepted as a necessary constraint in aerostructure manufacturing, despite its impact on throughput, variability and necessary rework. Today, W. L. Gore & Associates challenges that assumption with the introduction of the GORE SKYFLEX Aerospace Materials PX1 Series, the first ready-to-use dry sealant technology engineered for permanent aircraft structures.

Building on decades of success with GORE® SKYFLEX® Aerospace Materials, the new PX1 Series extends Gore’s proven dry sealing technology to permanent aerospace structures. The result is a reliable, durable and tested solution that eliminates the need for mixing, curing, or clean-up while reducing labor hours and rework.

PX1 Series enables one-way and robotic assembly processes, improving efficiency and process control while maintaining high sealing integrity. As a pre-formed dry sealant, PX1 Series helps avoid material over-application common with form-in-place sealants, reducing unnecessary sealant mass at the joint level while maintaining consistent sealing performance. This pre-formed dry sealant reduces waste, contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or hazardous substances, and requires no special disposal, supporting safer and more sustainable production environments. PX1 Series’ commercial product readiness has been verified through independent testing and multiple validation programs with leading OEMs and defense customers.

As a dry alternative to traditional form-in-place sealants, PX1 Series minimizes operator variability and ensures consistent sealing quality under vibration and temperature cycling. It maintains reliable sealing and corrosion protection across the full lifetime of an aircraft, with proven performance in 1,000-hour salt-fog testing between −55 °C and +120 °C (-67 °F to +248 °F).

The PX1 Series marks the next generation of innovative sealants and drives forward short-term prototype development and evaluation for OEMs, MROs, or technology development segments (eVTOL, aerospace, rockets), where ease of use and speed are crucial.