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Soldering Iron for Vinyl - Recommendation?

D

David Paule

Well Known Member
Looking for a soldering iron for removing the blue film with an end that I can round so it doesn't scratch. It has to be something currently available. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Dave
 
I use a standard Weller Solder Gun. I make the tip from 12 gauge copper house wire, then buff the fabricated tip on the ScotchBright wheel.

Carl
 
Weller 6110 is a "cutting tip" about .030 wide and about half the size of a penny, fits a Weller gun type soldering iron. Didn't find it on the Weller website, but lots of vendors in an internet search. I've used this for years and is perfect for cutting the vinyl.
 
Nearly impossible

I found it nearly impossible to keep from scratching the aluminum using a soldering iron. The aluminum is alclad type with a very soft layer of pure aluminum and scratches very easily. Not sure what younare trying to achieve with removing only a strip of blue?
 
daveyator said:
My recommendation would be “don’t waste your time.”
I did, and I did.
Cheers DaveH
Click to expand...

I agree

It is a lot of extra time (and often times a lot of scratches that are worse than if it hadn't been done), for very little pay back. With one exception being if someone plans to actually have a bare polished final finish.

I led the first teen group build of an RV-12 many years ago.
We didn't leave any of the plastic on during the build but we were proactive in trying to avoid scratches (protected work tables, etc.) but hey, these were teenagers after all.
We must have done a pretty good job because when we took it to OSH 2011 after getting completed with just a small amount of trim paint and the rest bare metal, we were questioned all week long what polishing process we had used. People wouldn't believe that it was raw skins as received in the kit.
 
Regular 30w iron normal dull tip. Cut 1/2 way through...
no scratching. Peals right off.
iron.JPG
It even helps if removing completely.
 
Waste of time...

In my opinion, it's a waste of time.
I did it at first on the tail. Despite being careful, the skin was still scratched.
And you will have scratches on the exposed skin anyway.

Also, depending on the humidity, there's a chance of filiform corrosion under the blue stuff... Ask me how I know.
Remove the blue vinyl as you build.

As for those who wish to polish, don't worry too much with small surface scratches. To a certain point, they will disapear without too much work if the polishing process is done correctly.
I mistakenly "ScotchBrited" the exterior side of a underwing inspection panel.
Your mileage may vary, but seriously, after polish, it's very hard to tell that this panel was scuffed with a maroon ScotchBrite pad.
 
If I build another Vans airplane, I would remove all the blue film, alodine before any work start if I want a painted finish. Removing the strips of blue film takes a lot of time and I ended up scuffing the mirror surface before priming. All the labor intensive work of removing the strips became wasted.
 
The builders who mentioned soldering tools - thanks!

Scott, I think you picked up on what this is for. In this case, there are too few mentors to provide proper guidance (mentors needed - Boulder Colorado, 4 days a week, send me a PM) and leaving the vinyl on is the only way I'll feel comfortable with it. I've got plenty of experience with my RV-3B project and out here, we don't seem to get corrosion all that easily.

Dave
 
David Paule said:
Looking for a soldering iron for removing the blue film with an end that I can round so it doesn't scratch. It has to be something currently available. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...

I polished the tip of a pencil type cheap, non- temperature adjustable unit. Then found early that pressure was leaving marks. Afterward, I just let it get hot then l lightly held the handle with only the weight of the tool. It did not always completely sear the plastic (speed related) but the plastic would tear along the line nicely.

You are capable of making up your own mind about the risks and tradeoffs. Leaving on most of the blue film on the elevators is about the same weight as primer and paint so the balance will end up pretty good.
 
David Paule said:
The builders who mentioned soldering tools - thanks!

Scott, I think you picked up on what this is for. In this case, there are too few mentors to provide proper guidance (mentors needed - Boulder Colorado, 4 days a week, send me a PM) and leaving the vinyl on is the only way I'll feel comfortable with it. I've got plenty of experience with my RV-3B project and out here, we don't seem to get corrosion all that easily.

Dave
Click to expand...

I hope you didn’t get the wrong impression……. We removed all the plastic from the parts while doing our teen build project, and people still thought we had polished it. Just a little bit of care goes a long way.
 
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