Polishing flush rivet set?

CharlieWaffles · #1 06-12-2011, 08:00 PM

My flush rivet set head has gotten very lightly scuffed and now leaves a ring of abrasion around rivet heads. Any good way to polish it smooth to eliminate this or is a new head the only way to remedy? I tried my scotchbrite wheel and it hasn't helped. There's no deep scratches, just surface stuff.

WingsOnWheels · #2 06-12-2011, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlieWaffles

My flush rivet set head has gotten very lightly scuffed and now leaves a ring of abrasion around rivet heads. Any good way to polish it smooth to eliminate this or is a new head the only way to remedy? I tried my scotchbrite wheel and it hasn't helped. There's no deep scratches, just surface stuff.

Chuck it up in your drill and hit it with some metal polish. Don't forget to remove the rubber grommet first. Clean with MEK or the like to get the polish off and then put the grommet back on. Good as new.

Edit: Mother's metal polish works great, but anything will do.

CharlieWaffles · #3 06-12-2011, 08:38 PM

I have an Avery swivel style that has no shaft without the rubber grommets. But I took the grimmet off and manually hit it with some 330 grit dry and 600 wet and it looks pretty good. Will have to try it out tomorrow to know for sure.

WingsOnWheels · #4 06-12-2011, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlieWaffles

I have an Avery swivel style that has no shaft without the rubber grommets. But I took the grimmet off and manually hit it with some 330 grit dry and 600 wet and it looks pretty good. Will have to try it out tomorrow to know for sure.

Gotcha. I also have the same set (in addition to the fixed set). For the swivel set, I just polished it by hand. I would hit it with some metal polish after the 600 grit to give it a nice shine. That will reduce leaving marks on the skin.

larrynew · #5 06-13-2011, 09:37 AM

I chucked mine in my drill press and lowered it onto a folded diaper with progressively finer sandpaper on top. I finished it with rubbing compound and then polishing compound directly on the diaper. The folded diaper helped the abrasive get around the slight curvature at the edge. Took about 10 minutes total and shines like a mirror.

bruceh · #6 06-13-2011, 12:18 PM

I use a small piece of clear packing tape over the flush rivet heads as I rivet. It does 2 things. Keeps the rivets firmly in place when lining up the rivet gun and bucking bar, or squeezer, and totally eliminates any scuffing of the aluminum by the flush set. A 2-3" piece can be used repeatedly until the stickum goes away. Fold over a 1/2" part of the piece onto itself so you get a little tab for easy removal.

N130PM · #7 06-15-2011, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlieWaffles

My flush rivet set head has gotten very lightly scuffed and now leaves a ring of abrasion around rivet heads. Any good way to polish it smooth to eliminate this or is a new head the only way to remedy? I tried my scotchbrite wheel and it hasn't helped. There's no deep scratches, just surface stuff.

Lets look forward a bit. Assuming your plane will be painted, your rivet lines should all be sanded (I actually block them) to make sure you don't have riv edges tipping up above the paint. Then they will be sealed with a coat of high build or some other method. Point is, don't get too wrapped around the axle on this. Having your unpainted kit looking like a mirror matters for zip.

szicree · #8 06-15-2011, 07:11 PM

One of my first part time jobs as a teen was at a small machine shop that actually manufactured flush rivet sets. As the low man on the totem pole I was required to spend countless hours in the sun behind the shop standing at a buffing wheel making those newly machined sets shine like mirrors. The standard approach was two different buffing wheels and two different grits of compound. After a while my mind would usually wander enough to allow the wheel to grab and fling the part with extreme speed. I think this might be why the buffer was moved outside.