C

Catbird

Well Known Member
When I built my E-LSA RV-12 in the semi-arid desert of East-Central Washington, I saw no reason to prime anything. I had no plans to move away from the area and would keep the plane hangared. Corrosion would never be an issue.

Fast forward to the present - and the furure. My job is taking me to West Palm Beach, Florida for 18 months. Now I face the unpleasant prospect of leaving my unprotected RV-12 hangared at home or taking it with me into the hot, humid, and salty environment of the southern Florida coastline. It's not the unpainted, polished exterior that I'm worried about - it's the internal airframe. If corrosion gets started inside, I'll never be able to stop it.

Does anyone else out there have first-hand knowledge or experience with unprimed aircraft in such a hot, humid, and salty environment? Is my concern real or imagined?
 
Probably real but I have no idea how long it takes. If you have to take it at least have a quality anti corrosion product applied.

Good luck.
 
Make sure you're hangared in a wood (not metal) hangar. That makes a HUGE difference, as the wood absorbs moisture, and keeps your plane from getting "rained" on inside the hangar.

Do not park outside. If you do, wash the plane with lots of clean fresh water.

Be sure to wipe down the leading edges after every flight with a good spray wax. Heck, we always did that in Iowa, and we still do it here on the island.

The use of Corrosion-X has already been mentioned. Spray it liberally in the after fuselage, and wings.

Been here three years. No signs of corrosion in our Pathfinder. :D

Oh, and enjoy the RV's ability to climb quickly. Once you're above the haze layer, the air along the coast isn't any more salty than anywhere else. ;)
 
Are Corrosion-x and ACF-50 similar/interchangeable products.
Is one better in some way than the other?
John
 
Corrosion

The only thing I have found about using acf-50 on most types of aircraft over the years that it works really well gets in everywhere however we have found it can make rivets start working especially cherrymax rivets.
 
Currently flying a 35 year old 15000+ 152 that grew up in clearwater Fl. Has regular corrosion X treatments in the logbooks and is holding up. If you are serious about this type of treatment don't try to do it with a rattle can. There are places that will fog the plane for (last I heard) $400. Also, any of this will be a problem down the road if you try to paint it. Most painters say wait a couple years after treatment.
You can also log onto Cessna.com and download the aging aircraft circular that will help to guide you on what areas are considered to have the worst corrosion affects and how you would deal with them. I'm priming since I live in the SF bay area and it's considered level 1 per cessna.
 
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