corrosion protection for pushrods

[tonyjohnson]

I am about to rivet the end fittings on 3 of my pushrods, including the large one from the bellcrank to the elevator. Before I close it up, I thought I would ask here for advise regarding corrosion protection for the inside of the rods, which will not see the light of day again.

I read somewhere, in the plans I think, that Vans recommended primer for the interior of some of the pushrods.

What are the rest of you guys doing, if anything, to protect the inside of the pushrods from corrosion?

[rv9builder]

I bought a quart can (not a spray can) of liquid primer at Ace Hardware and poured it into the tubes and swirled them to try to get the primer to cover as much of the insides as possible.

[Jekyll]

Prime them with the same primer you use (if you prime), pour it in a swirl it around.

Jekyll

[frankh]

well except I did prime between the mating surfaces.

Vans builders seem to have a factory supported position that 6061 will dissappear before your very eyes if not completely primed.....

If that was true every Zenair Zodiac (made completly of 6061T6) would be rusting like mad....Mine was corrosion (and paint free) after 7 years. None of them are primed inside...well OK maybe one or two.

If you live on the coast YMMV....But lots of unpainted Zodiacs live on the coast too.

Frank

[cytoxin]

especially the steel tubes, and painted them with akzo or nason ful poxy.and i would do it again. it can make getting the ends in kida tricky though. some say why, i say why not.

[mgomez]

I taped one end with masking tape, tilted the pushrod towards the taped end, and then sprayed and sprayed and sprayed the inside with GPB-988. Then I picked it up and swirled it around awhile. Once that coat dried, I put tape on the open end and removed it from the lower end. I then repeated the process.

I also primed and painted the outside of the pushrods with a thin coat of white Rustoleum out of a rattle can.

I did find that getting the fittings to fit with all that primer inside was hard. I heated the pushrod a bit with a heatgun to expand it, and then they fit with a light tap.

Note: if your primer is flammable, wait for the fumes to dissipate from inside the tube before you use the heatgun. Or at least yell "Clear!" first.

[tonyjohnson]

Thanks guys for your repsonses. It seems that most of you do prime the interior of the pushrods. The previous owner of my project used vari-prime. I have read that vari-prime is an excellent primer for areas that would be top coated with paint, but does not good (and perhaps some harm) if not top coated.

Without renewing the famous primer wars, I am wondering what primer to use in the interior of the pushrods, considering that the primer will not be top coated. I am thinking a two part sealant/primer.

Any suggestions?

[frankh]

Lets see..No primer and the tube will last 100 years.....Hmm yes very important choice...NOT!......

[tinman]

I shot some Corrosion X in there before closing them up. Every couple of years, I will unthread one of the bearings and shoot some more in there just for giggles.
Don