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dweyant

Well Known Member
So, I made a mistake with the rudder skin.

My back riviting came out nicely on the skins, except for one rivet. I didn't have them back rivet plate quite in the correct spot and it messed up the rivet.

I was able to drill out the rivet and replace it, but now the replaced rivet is sitting high. The rivet it flush in the hole, but the area around the rivet (maybe the size of a quarter) is a bit higher than the rest of the skin.

It isn't that bad, but it is annoying me. So, my question is, should I try drilling it out and replacing it? How likely am I to make it worse, and even if I get it out, can I fix the issue.

I don't think I can really get a picture that illustrates the problem very well.

Thanks,

-Dan
 
Dan,

Hard to say, but in my experience it's not easy to "repair" a defect in the skin. Also, depending on where is it (e.g., stiffener) you may have to drill out a lot of rivets to address the dent. I think I might live with it for a few days and see if it bothers you less. Best thing you can do is try and turn the outie into an inie, and fill-in the dent. My 2 cents.

Tom
 
Structurally, it is probably not a big deal. I did exactly that with my bottom elevator skin. I'm not overly worried about it being on the bottom and all, but it is one area I will monitor during service "just in case". Being on the rudder it will stand out at fly-ins, so it comes down to if you want a showpiece, or are prepared to live with a few imperfections.
 
my wife was helping me dimple my rudder skin and i ended up with one extra hole. i just put a decal around it and it says, "oil". eventually i filled it and painted it over.
 
Great responses. Once the skin is stretched, it's stretched. From my old auto body days, there are methods to shrink a marginally stretched skin, but finding someone with that skill set on aluminum, well, if you find him, let us all know.... it involves a torque and peening. Not worth the risk in my opinion.
 
Rudder skin..

That rudder skin is REALLY THIN, so if it's been stretched around the rivet from drilling and re-riveting, then I think that genie is out of the bottle. I messed up a rivet on my rudder skin because when I back riveted, the head was on the edge of the backing plate. I pounded, massaged, cussed and bled. The more I tried, the worse it got. (I love fiberglass & hate metal). Ended up scraping the skin and started over with a new sheet from Van.

It won't be the last boo boo you make.... it's part of the process, learning from your mistakes along the way. Main thing is be careful and don't get in a rush... it'll bite you every time.
 
simple fix....from a simple mind!

.....how on earth would anyone notice that, with the awesome checker pattern that you are going to paint on the rudder? :)
 
Ice

I have not tried this on Aluminum skins so YMMV.
I have tried ice on small car dings. There are many you-tube videos on how to do it but it is simply cooling the spot of streched aluminum and it helps to shrink it back. Most expands back but some stays shrunk. I have tried it on a car and it does work. I don't think you could hurt the skin.
 
Thanks for the feeback.

It makes me mad, since it was a dumb mistake, but like you said it won't be the last one....

I know it is hard to say without seeing, but how noticeable do you think it is going to be after I have the plane painted?

-Dan
 
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