Ron B. - "...leave some on a tray with a stick in it and monitor how it is curing."
Thanks Ron, did that.
Mich48041 - "I would not wait for the sealant to partially set up, but would rivet soon after applying sealant."
rvbuilder2002 - "I see no benefit delaying the riveting."
Joe and Scott, OK you sold me. I riveted and it wasn't a mess at all. Good call.
bhassel - "?Flamemaster?"
Yes, Flamemaster CS 3204 B2
LittleJoeA - "...little squares of tape with a hole in the center and applied the tape around each rivet."
Exactly what another builder recommended, and I saw the results on his plane. Heck yeah!, er?I mean wilco.
Timely that this post popped back up to the top today, as I just got back from doing the deed?and all is quite well, thank y?all very, very much.
Besides the recommendations received here, I also asked around. (Living in a part of the country that can be understated as being an ?RV rich environment? has its benefits.) In addition to sealing the joint between the lower firewall and the center shelf part, I wanted to run a bead along the bottom where the lower firewall joins the floor and sidewalls. Pal Jimmie from a couple hangars rows over suggested using thin line tape to mask the sealant area. So I did. Great idea.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Roger, a fellow -12 builder, and got to look over his nearly finished plane. Besides getting some sage advice about sealing the firewall, I also got to abandon any hope of snagging a Lindy?not next to his plane anyway. Drop dead gorgeous it is. He was adamant about using veterinary hypo syringes to apply the sealant. So I did. Another great idea.
I had already changed my mind about riveting based on feedback from Joe Gores and Scott McDaniel, noted above. Glad I did, too. Between the fine line tape and the syringes, there was no mess to get in the way of popping the rivets. I didn?t even get any sealant on the pullers - not even a spec.
