[GRANT ED]

I am just about to rivet my VS together and will be alodining the skin. i have had a look around and have noticed something with RV's. There are a lot that fly with no paint so we get to see them bare. I have noticed than none are alodined on the outside. Why is this? I will be alodining mine on the outside. Every late model production aircraft I work on is alodined on the outside so why not do it to your RV. Just a curious observation.

 

[Highflight]

For those who choose to Alodine as part of the finish system (there are primers that make Alodine treatment unnecessary), you really don't want to do that until you actually paint.

It is virtually assured that parts of the aircraft will get scratched while test flying and areas of bare aluminum will be exposed. When the aircraft is painted later, those areas will not have the benefit of the Alodine treatment.

When you Alodine just before painting, you'll be cleaning and treating the entire aircraft, including areas that might have been scratched.
The interior/inside areas like in the tail that are Alodined before assembling are pretty much protected from abrasion once assembled (plus, it's impossible to do the Alodine process properly once areas are closed in during assembly).

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

As I understand it, Alodining also commits you to a particular primer. for example, you can't Alodine and use the SW wash primer.