Electrical bonding issues after paint/primer

[Nictech]

I am new to this forum and will be starting to build an RV-10 this year. I have been researching a lot of things and I wonder if anyone considers bonding an issue after priming and/or painting. From what I can see, parts are normally primed just before riveting. If the primer is not disturbed, there will not be a very good electrical bond between the parts. This probably doesn't seem like a problem because there are many paths for the electricity to flow. Showld a separate ground be run to all electrical units? Could this be a problem for corrosion as well considering that corrosion is an electrical occurance. I hope that someone can clarify this for me.

I hope that I posted this in the right spot? Nope, but it now is

Nick

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by Nictech

I am new to this forum and will be starting to build an RV-10 this year. Nick

Welcome aboard.

It is going to be a fun ride

Just a suggestion, get familiar with the search function on the site, there have been enough 10s built now, that most of the normal questions already been addressed here.

But dont be afraid to ask for help------there is an incredible amount of help/knowledge available here.

Good luck.

[victor]

most of the grounding requirements (metal aircraft) can use the airfame as the ground path, and not only saves wiring, connectors, and money, but also lessens the chances of broken wires, wiring resistance, and added clutter. There are some items needing dedicated ground wiring, but lights, sensors(fuel and oil pressure), most instruments, -- common grounding points on the airframe works fine.

[Kevin Horton]

Originally Posted by Nictech

... I wonder if anyone considers bonding an issue after priming and/or painting. From what I can see, parts are normally primed just before riveting. If the primer is not disturbed, there will not be a very good electrical bond between the parts. This probably doesn't seem like a problem because there are many paths for the electricity to flow. Showld a separate ground be run to all electrical units?

The rivet is subjected to very high pressures during riveting, and it seems that this forces it into a good gas-tight, electrical contact with the pieces that form the hole. There are thousands of RVs flying, the majority probably have primed airframes, and most of them use the airframe for the ground return on everything except avionics, intercom, etc. Problems with electrical bonding due to primer in rivet holes is a non issue.

The situation might be different for aircraft that use 100% pulled rivets, like the RV-12. I don't know. Folks that have built Zeniths would know whether there are any issues like this or not.

You do need to be sure to get a good bond between the ground wire and the airframe. These bonds can degrade with time, causing problems with electrically powered equipment.