Do I prime rivets?

[AX-O]

Should be able to rivet the 801 skins on my horizontal stab this Fri. Do I need to prime the rivets inside?

[Jamie]

Quick...everyone duck!

But seriously, if you want to prime all your rivets, if it makes you sleep better at night then by all means go ahead. Having said that, I can almost guarantee you that you will not be priming them by the time you get to the wings. Almost no one primes the rivets. I do know of one builder who has dabbed some epoxy primer on every single rivet (shop and manufactured head) that he has set, but that really isn't the norm.

Many people will argue that you shouldn't prime anything....so the question of whether or not to prime your rivets is more akin to religion than science. Hope that helps in some small way.

[rv8ch]

Originally Posted by AX-O

Do I need to prime the rivets inside?

Yes, but only after you first clean them with something like acetone, then scotchbrite each rivet, both shank and head, then clean again, then apply some alodine. A two-pack epoxy is what I recommend, but it has to be wet when you squeeze.






Just kidding!



Seriously, it seems the rivets are covered in something...alodine?

[Guy Prevost]

You are welcome to prime them, but rivets are already passivated from the factory and shouldn't need additional corrosion protection. That's why they have the gold tint to them. I'm not sure what method they use, but I would guess it's just alodine. Passivation is also the reason that AN bolts are gold color and we don't (usually) prime them. If you want more information, PM me. I'm not a corrosion expert, but my wife is a materials engineer that has worked extensively in aluminum corrosion.

FMI see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passivation

I hope this thread doesn't turn into another primer war!