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Sealing fraying surfaces

S

Skier

I'm New Here
I was reading this website on corrosion protection and sealing of dating surfaces.
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/corrosion/faysurf.htm

It says to seal the surfaces but doesn’t give details on what produces to use. I’ve read elsewhere that typical silicon sealant can be corrosive to aluminum. Does anyone have a recommended produce for this type of sealing?

Also, any recommendations on application? I’ve read that residue from the sealant can cause issues with painting afterwards.
 
Pro-seal, the polysulfide tank sealant we use for fuel tanks, works. Plus, it's paintable.

But most builders don't do that - instead, they prime the parts before assembly, and this works well too, plus a part can be replaced. Which it probably can't, at least without great difficulty, if you've used Pro-Seal to glue it together.

Recommendation: prime your parts and don't worry about it.

Dave
 
I used flamemaster cs3204 c20 to seal all my fuselage faying surfaces. Skygeek was the only place I could find it and currently there is a 40 day lead time so I think I am just going to use some standard b2 thinned to finish up the last pieces. Over kill and a little messy but I am glad I did it.
 
Skier said:
I was reading this website on corrosion protection and sealing of dating surfaces.
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/corrosion/faysurf.htm

It says to seal the surfaces but doesn’t give details on what produces to use. I’ve read elsewhere that typical silicon sealant can be corrosive to aluminum. Does anyone have a recommended produce for this type of sealing?

Also, any recommendations on application? I’ve read that residue from the sealant can cause issues with painting afterwards.
Click to expand...

A few thoughts to consider....

In the context of the article you linked to, RV's are NOT made from bare 2024 aluminum. The material is alclad (claded) 2024 aluminum which means it has a thin coating of pure aluminum (less prone to corrosion) on the surface.

RV's spend little if any time in an environment that comes anywhere close to what aircraft are exposed to doing carrier operations.

There is now 30 + years of operational experience within the RV fleet (now well over 10,000 aircraft) with little to no evidence of corrosion that would be any cause for concern. Particularly to a degree that would warrant the mess, extra labor time, additional cost, and additional weight that has to be carried around on the aircraft 100 % of the time.

A sprayed coating of protective primer raises the level of protect by such a huge factor that it probably explains why if RV builders do anything at all, 99.99% of them do that.
 
Last edited:
Scott, more coffee!

In the context of the article you linked to, RV's are made from bare 2024 aluminum.
Click to expand...

Corrected to say alclad right?! Made me jump :eek:

Please shoot us a link of the Van's corrosion test hanging up outside the shop door, that should put any concerns to rest.
 
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