31
OCT 07 - Cleaned and Prekoted
VS Parts - 1.5 Hours
I used a soapy scotchbrite pad to clean the parts of all oils, grease, etc.
Then I used
Prekote to
prepare the parts for priming. I really like the Prekote product. It is non-toxic,
environmentally friendly, and is very easy to use. Following the directions that
are provided on their website, I sprayed it on with a spray bottle, let dwell for
2 minutes, and then rinsed. I then applied a second coat of Prekote and rinsed again.
My horizontal stabilizer parts that were treated with Prekote came out excellent
and the primer has excellent adhesion. My bucking bar was hitting the spars / ribs
in a number of places while riveting, and the primer was barely marred if at all.
The AKZO two-part epoxy that I'm using is hard as nails. I'm glad that I made the
choice to prime. For me, it's peace of mind.
As an update to the
29OCT07 entry, I received an e-mail back from Van's regarding my questions about 1.) A few imperfect rivets on the horizontal
stabilizer (they were slightly oblong) 2.) A few drilled holes in the VS ribs
(also slightly oblong) and 3.) The VS spar and reinforcement not sitting perfectly
flat due to the dimpling / countersinking process.
The response
I received is classic:
"You are being too critical. You are building an airplane,
not the Space Shuttle." As I suspected, he indicated that rivets should
not be drilled out unless absolutely necessary. He referenced the Alcoa aluminum
handbook that states that slight imperfections in rivets are no cause for concern.
Regarding the slightly oblong holes, again no cause for concern. He also added that it is normal for the parts not
to nest perfectly after the dimpling / countersinking process. The parts should
flatten out during riveting.
Build on!
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