Priming hard-to-paint areas

[WingsOnWheels]

I am about to rivet on the flap brace and am thinking long-term:

Since it will be near impossible to paint the spar behind the flap brace (or the inside face of the brace) once the wing is assembled should I just primer in there for now or put a coat of paint?

I have no idea at this point what paint I will be using, but more than likely it will be white. Should I shoot some generic white on the somewhat hidden bits or just prime and not worry about it? What have others done in this area?

[rwshooter]

I primed the contact areas only..thinking that the finish paint would take care of the rest and i think it will. I hope!!

[WingsOnWheels]

Originally Posted by rwshooter

I primed the contact areas only..thinking that the finish paint would take care of the rest and i think it will. I hope!!

What about the back-side of the flap brace and the lower skin? Both seem near impossible to paint once assembled.

[chaskuss]

Originally Posted by WingsOnWheels

I am about to rivet on the flap brace and am thinking long-term:

Since it will be near impossible to paint the spar behind the flap brace (or the inside face of the brace) once the wing is assembled should I just primer in there for now or put a coat of paint?

I have no idea at this point what paint I will be using, but more than likely it will be white. Should I shoot some generic white on the somewhat hidden bits or just prime and not worry about it? What have others done in this area?

Colin,
Good eye. You are correct. Once the flap brace is riveted in place, you will never be able to ensure complete paint coverage of the forward side of the flap brace and the rear of the rear spar which the brace covers.
I epoxy primed the rear spar's rear face, then sprayed it with the Vans gray I was using for the interior. I did the same thing for the entire flap brace. Any areas that will be visible once the wing is assembled, will later be sprayed with the finish paint. The gray paint will not be visible, but will protect these parts from weather and corrosion.
How much effort you expend in this area depends on where you live and how long you want the plane to last. I live near the Atlantic Ocean in SE Florida.
Charlie Kuss

[WingsOnWheels]

Charlie,

Thank you for the input. I think I will go ahead and shoot some white paint on the hard to reach areas. I live in North Texas these days, but I grew up about 20 feet from the pacific and spend a lot of time back there. I have seen the damage salt air can do and want to make sure this plane lasts.

-Colin