Long time lurker, first time poster.
Several fellow builders have provided encouragement to share my story even though posting is not one of my strong points.
I completed the finishing kit in late 2013 and then put the build on hold while retiring, selling our house, moving, and building a new house at GE05 Gibson Field (Blue Mountain Air Park). The aircraft was stored in a garage for about 2 years. After moving the aircraft to it's new home, found that a family of mice found the RV-12 to be a very accomodating. After being evicted, started to assess the damage and decided to remove the entire bottom of the aircraft (bottom skin and all corner skins). The picture below shows the extensive damage on the skins. There is also extensive corrosion on the flanges of the floor and baggage ribs where the skins attached. No way I would have been able to clean that up without removing the skins. Currently in process of cleaning and treating affected areas (clean with Acteone, remove primer, sand to remove corrosion, treat with Alumiprep 33 and Alodine 1201, and reprime). Plan to order new parts this week and start reassembly over the next couple of weeks. I did a cursory look at wiring and brake lines and do not see any obvious damage from chewing but do need to do a more detailed inspection.
The lesson for me is to make sure the aircraft is protected from the little critters going forward. What are others doing to protect the aircraft from these freeloaders?
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Several fellow builders have provided encouragement to share my story even though posting is not one of my strong points.
I completed the finishing kit in late 2013 and then put the build on hold while retiring, selling our house, moving, and building a new house at GE05 Gibson Field (Blue Mountain Air Park). The aircraft was stored in a garage for about 2 years. After moving the aircraft to it's new home, found that a family of mice found the RV-12 to be a very accomodating. After being evicted, started to assess the damage and decided to remove the entire bottom of the aircraft (bottom skin and all corner skins). The picture below shows the extensive damage on the skins. There is also extensive corrosion on the flanges of the floor and baggage ribs where the skins attached. No way I would have been able to clean that up without removing the skins. Currently in process of cleaning and treating affected areas (clean with Acteone, remove primer, sand to remove corrosion, treat with Alumiprep 33 and Alodine 1201, and reprime). Plan to order new parts this week and start reassembly over the next couple of weeks. I did a cursory look at wiring and brake lines and do not see any obvious damage from chewing but do need to do a more detailed inspection.
The lesson for me is to make sure the aircraft is protected from the little critters going forward. What are others doing to protect the aircraft from these freeloaders?