[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]

Up to you...

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]

corrosion

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]

Surface corrosion

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]

Take it off soon

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.

 

[crabandy]

Easy way to remove blue plastic

 

[ColoRv]

Haha, that's excellent. You should hire them out to local builders. Save the money they pay you for the security system your house is going to need when those two little girls are teenagers!

I hate removing the plastic, though after buying a project that was started by someone who left the plastic on....I would advise removing it quickly. LOTS of corrosion under mine when I removed it. Some of it was in the middle of the panels...meaning the plastic was put on a wet piece of aluminum.

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

I was in the keep-the-plastic on crowd during my 11 years of building and now that I've polished the airplane, it's easier to see the net benefit of keeping it on.

There isn't any. And, yeah, there are a few spots were oxidation occurs along the edges.

That polishes out OK with a little extra effort.

It is kinda cool when you finally take the plastic off and everything is all shiny... or so you think. There's actually a layer of adhesive or some sort of substance the plastic leaves behind which can be taken off with some MEK or acetone.

It's a fleeting thrill that lasts a day or so until you realize that the skin isn't really that bright or that shiny.

Bottom line on the debate: Meh.