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Wing Skin pillowing

JDBoston

Well Known Member
I have looked at a few of the postings here with regards to how the skins mate up. Most seemed to be focused on the scarf joint where the two skins meet.

My problem is a little different. where the bottom skins meet the outboard leading edge (bottom) only on the last two outboard ribs I see some pillowing where the skins meet.

Should I remove the rivets and try filing these skins, or is this an indication of other problems (twist, skin punch incorrect, etc)? Or just leave it alone and let the painter take care of it. The top skins are fine in this area.


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You can use a soldering iron to cut the vinyl so that you can remove the stuff near the rivets and leave a smooth edge.

Dave
 
Thanks for the feedback including Tom who reached out via email.

I will take the obvious route, which is I will drill out :eek: a portion of the rivets involved here and use a v-blade edge deburring tool to remove some material for a better fit. I already tried it on the segment that I have yet to rivet which has the same issue and it works fine.

Edit: Joe just got back to me from Vans and suggested that I NOT drill out the rivets as the risk of doing more damage is greater than the issue.

I was posting also just to see if others ran into the same issue. Another learning experience, I will check for fit before starting riveting. I have become spoiled as most of the kit is so precise that things just fit :)

Thanks again
 
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Tape and a file?

Perhaps you could still file some of the edge off, using a small file. Tape one edge of the file so it slides while the other side bites. If you tackle this now, there may be enough stress still in the skin that it will snap into place (i.e. flush) once you file enough off.

In my build, I luckily caught this during assembly for match-drilling, and filed a little more off the skin edges prior to final assembly. It also helps to break the skin edge (i.e. put a small bend in the material) to help both skins lay nice and flat against the spar flange.
 
I suspect that you just do not have enough clearance between the two sheets. Try a little experiment in one spot. Take a piece of hardwood, 1" by 1", by a 12 inches or so. Dimensions are not critical. Now sharpen one end so that you have a wedge shape. Round off the end of the wedge to a nice tight smooth radius 1/8" or so.
Now you have a tool. Place the radius on the edge of the metal that is out of place and gently tap it with a hammer. This might just pop/push the edge down where it belongs. Be careful though, hitting it too hard can stretch the metal making the situation worse. Hence the little experiment in one spot.....
 
Test fit the leading edge and fuel tank before final install. A small gap between skins will alleviate this issue.
 
file help

Instead of taping the one side of the file which raises it up off the bottom sheet. Consider grinding the down side so there are no teeth. Buff with scotch bright wheel super smooth and you'll have a zero gap file. Oh ya apply some drylube to the skin before you drag steel against aluminum. Hey, it's a new tool for your box you may never have to use again.
Works for me, and should work for you.
No I didn't have your problem but been a mechanic for 55 years so fixed a few things.
My three cents worth Art
 
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