blue plastic covering

[dspender]

In my construction manual it recommends removing the blue plastic covering on aluminum parts within a few weeks. I thought it was to protect the surfaces but it sounds that along with inventory of my parts upon arrival I may as well remove all that plastic sheeting. Sound right

[Don Patrick]

I remove the blue vinyl when I need to. Some folks have experienced some corrosion over time in some cases. I have not. Also depends on the environment your in.

I'm currently working on my fuse and there are many parts still covered with it. I'll remove it when I'm ready to prime and debur.

Cheers,

Don

[wirejock]

For frame of reference, my tail kit was purchased from another builder who never started it. It spent life in a hangar and my garage in Austin, TX. Average humidity it not high but not dry either. It is probably 4-5 years old now. I am finding tiny spots of corrosion on the edges where moisture probably wicked under the plastic. Also, plastic is a real bear to peel off. I plan to remove it as the parts get assembled and premiered . If your kit is new and stored in a garage you should be fine.

[David Paule]

One thing worth noting is that in many cases the part number tag is on the blue vinyl. You'll need to keep track of which part is which when you remove the vinyl and mark them.

Dave

[dspender]

Think I'll keep it on for a while

[Mel]

The blue plastic is to protect the aluminum during press forming.

[airguy]

Keeping the part number is just about the only valid reason I can think of for leaving the vinyl on. There were several times later in the build cycle that I was digging through a pile of parts looking for that "one" with a certain part number.

[Wayne Gillispie]

My wife and kids spent two weeks removing blue vinyl from the entire kit and remarking with a sharpie. I did not put nearly the scratches on it that my painter did. A hairdryer works wonders on new or old vinyl.

[riseric]

Just to add my 2 cents,

I have my parts stored in a basement garage that has low to medium relative humidity. (low to 45% depending on days).

After just over 1 year (my tail kit was received in Feb 2012), I noticed yesterday some surface corrosion under the vinyl where, from the start, it was "wavy" on the edges.



I took it out with some 400 grit with a light touch and spot primed.





I don't intend to polish the surfaces so all the vinyl is coming off as the parts are used.

All my tail feathers were spot corroded appart from the HS that was intact...

[Flyin4Fun]

I purchased tail and wing kits that were a year old. The vinyl removed easily with no corrosion.
I also purchased a fuse kit that was 5 years old. The vinyl comes off very hard and there is some corrosion like Eric has found.
Unless you are a fast builder or want to polish your plane, I suggest you remove the vinyl as soon as practical.