A few getting started questions

Hi group, I finished my inventory this evening.

The only thing I may be missing is QTY 1 W-00026 Alignment template. What is that?

Have a few questions regarding priming. Are the pieces (such as ribs etc..) supposed to be primed before they are assembled or is everything primed at once after finishing?

The general section of the plans mention all aluminum bar, angle, and tube must be primed. Which pieces does this refer too?

Which primer are you guys using? Is anyone not priming?

Thanks!
Tom

I don't have my inventory in front of me but I think that W-0026 is the cradle templates drawn on your crate top.

Priming is kind of up to you. Do some reading in the primer wars section and make up your mind. I took a middle ground of some sort and am priming mating surfaces with SEM rattle can. If you're going to prime at all you should do it before you assemble. The instructions tell you when to prime if desired.

Extruded parts are basically anything that's not flat sheet aluminum or stamped out of sheet aluminum. Tubes primarily.

O dear Gods! It's the primer wars again. Without coming down on one side or another, if you are going to prime you do so before riveting. The pieces that must be primed regardless of what you decide are all non-alclad. You can usually tell the alclad parts because they have blue or (rarely) clear or white plastic covering them. Anything not clad must be protected and anything that will touch a dissimilar metal (steel to aluminum, for example) must be primed.

There are many acceptable primers and priming methods. Most important is good preparation; the materials are somewhat secondary though most people, I think, like the epoxy primers. For my -10, since I'm not priming alclad, I am using SEM in a spray can; I like the self-etching and it has been, in my experience, pretty tough.

As far as your missing part, contact Vans'; they'll get it to you. It's probably not going to be the first thing you need so you'll have it in hand by the time you need it.

KCBerner said:

I don't have my inventory in front of me but I think that W-0026 is the cradle templates drawn on your crate top.

Priming is kind of up to you. Do some reading in the primer wars section and make up your mind. I took a middle ground of some sort and am priming mating surfaces with SEM rattle can. If you're going to prime at all you should do it before you assemble. The instructions tell you when to prime if desired.

Extruded parts are basically anything that's not flat sheet aluminum or stamped out of sheet aluminum. Tubes primarily.

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It's not the crate drawings, those actually have a different part number and are quantity 2.

I like your idea of just priming mating surfaces. Are you planning on priming the rest after assembly or no?

Not priming anything more after assembly. I think you can see here kind of what I'm doing.
http://www.kcberner.com/2013/03/15/section-14-top-skins-2/

I'm also priming all of the ribs because its just as easy as priming just the mating surface.

There will be some other times you'll need to use primer like when you countersink into the spar. SEM worked good for that too.

I planned on just priming all mating surfaces. It morphed into the entire "skeleton" as that was just slightly more.

Don't forget the "Liquid Plumber".

(You'll have to search that one if you don't already know what it means)

Living in Florida, you may want to put a little more thought into this than I did. Read some from the primers section of the forum and I think you'll pretty quickly get a feel for what's right for your build

Zinc Chromate

Like you, I am located close to the sea so I did a lot of research on priming. Opinions vary from 'none' to 'prime everything'. You have to decide.

I will use zinc chromate because there are still WW-II aircraft around which were exposed to the worst kind of conditions and the interiors look almost pristine. Aircraft Spruce sells zinc chromate in small quantities. I will use it on all interior surfaces of my aircraft. Good skill and luck with your build.

tkatc said:

I planned on just priming all mating surfaces. It morphed into the entire "skeleton" as that was just slightly more.

Don't forget the "Liquid Plumber".

(You'll have to search that one if you don't already know what it means)

Click to expand...

I did see your post a few weeks back.

KCBerner said:

Not priming anything more after assembly. I think you can see here kind of what I'm doing.
http://www.kcberner.com/2013/03/15/section-14-top-skins-2/

I'm also priming all of the ribs because its just as easy as priming just the mating surface.

There will be some other times you'll need to use primer like when you countersink into the spar. SEM worked good for that too.

Click to expand...

Questions on the SEM.

Where are you buying yours, prices seem vary greatly?
Did you decide to switch to Napa 7220 at some point?
Are you priming and then dimpling?
How long to dry?
What kind of prep is required for SEM or 7220?

Thanks

I'm getting my SEM at local auto paint place called English Color. It's around $17 per can.

I've used Napa 7220 also when I ran out of SEM and Napa was open on Sundays. 7220 is great if you can get it on their sales for $5 but I wouldn't pay the $12+ normal price. SEM covers better and can goes farther. SEM seems more durable to me too.

I've messed up and primed before dimpling but that's the wrong plan. Dimpler will wipe off the primer. Prime just before assembly. Read ahead in the plans, it generally says when to prime. All I do for prep is wipe the part down with acetone.

I've got a hot air gun and if I hit the part with the air gun, it dries in minutes.

Thanks everyone for the help.

I bought a few cans of SEM self etching primer online at autopartsandstuff.com for $13.45 plus shipping.

KCBerner said:

I've messed up and primed before dimpling but that's the wrong plan. Dimpler will wipe off the primer. Prime just before assembly.

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Priming before dimpling is SOP for me. I scuff with scotchbrite and Dawn diswashing soap, so it's much easier on the scotchbrite pads (and your finger pads ) to do this before dimpling. I use duplicolor self etching primer (averages $10/can) and let it cure (different from DRYING) for a couple of days before dimpling. Works fine. As always, YMMV...