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Priming assembled components philosophy

gotyoke

Well Known Member
Don't even have my -14A emp kit yet and I'm already running into challenges with understanding regarding the priming philosophy. I assumed after initial assembly and drilling, you would disassemble, debur, dimple as needed, and then prep and prime all parts.

That's not quite what I'm reading in the instructions. For the rudder, the only time priming is mentioned is on page 07-07 step 9, by which point a couple ribs, some reinforcement plates, and even some nut plates have already been riveted to the rudder spar. The contacting sides of those parts won't get the primer. Pretty much everything else will.

Are the contacting sides of those parts not primed as an expedient decision to reduce the number of primings steps, or is there some engineering-based reasoning that they *shouldn't* be primed? I will close my eyes and accept either answer (or something in between) with a smile.
 
Just curious, does the -14 have a section 5 in the plans? Or, are you looking for a different take.

5.1 in my plans has a pretty good explanation of Van's philosophy on priming, the materials needed and the processes.

In the old RVator news letter, there was a series of articles on priming interior surfaces. Good reading. You can still get "20 Years of the RVator" in electronic format, I think.
 
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Priming is a very optional process. Every builder gets to decide for themselves whether to do it or not. Van's manuals describe what they feel is the minimum, however check with Chapter 5 in any case.

If you're going to prime everything, priming gets done after all the cutting, drilling and deburring has been done, before any riveting. Some people like to dimple first, others prefer to prime and then dimple. Their reasoning is that the surface prep is easier if the parts are not yet dimpled. If you choose to do it that way, test your primer to make sure it'll withstand the dimpling operation.

Dave
 
Manual

Priming is a very optional process. Every builder gets to decide for themselves whether to do it or not. Van's manuals describe what they feel is the minimum, however check with Chapter 5 in any case.

If you're going to prime everything, priming gets done after all the cutting, drilling and deburring has been done, before any riveting. Some people like to dimple first, others prefer to prime and then dimple. Their reasoning is that the surface prep is easier if the parts are not yet dimpled. If you choose to do it that way, test your primer to make sure it'll withstand the dimpling operation.

Dave

What he ^ said. I'm a scuff first, dimple then clean and prime.
Vans manual is intended to be read in order so give the front a thorough read. Then don't assume it's perfect. There are instructions out of order, some left out and sometimes better options. Read a chapter ahead. Search VAF before starting any major component. If there's an error, chances are another builder has found it first.
 
You'll get all kind of answers here, but the most important part to remember is that you should/must prime all non-alclad parts, example would be the vertical spar reinforcement, any angle material, ribs, and any steel parts (although most are powder coated from the factory).

These are the things that will corrode quickly.

Corrosion generally starts between two surfaces, so priming before assembly is preferred.


Alclad (pure aluminum clading over aluminum alloy) is generally the skin material or most sheet aluminum. The pure aluminum acts as a corrosion barrier in most, but not all cases, so priming those are optional.

Enjoy the building journey, but don't get hung up on the minutia.
 
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