Grove airfoil legs: to prime, or not to prime?

[N546RV]

So I ordered a pair of airfoil legs a couple months ago, and I anticipate getting them probably in a couple weeks here. From the reading I've done on the forums here, I've seen where a couple people had issues with corrosion on the unfinished legs, particularly while they were in storage. Obviously, I don't want corrosion, so I was considering just going ahead and shooting epoxy primer on the legs when I get them.

Is there any reason not to do this? The best one I can think of is that the gear legs will be painted eventually, and so the primer will presumably have to be removed. But that doesn't really bother me; yeah, the primer is "wasted," but it's better than worrying about/dealing with corrosion while the legs sit in storage. (I haven't started the fuselage yet)

Thoughts?

 

[SmilingJack]

I had the same concerns.

So I used Duplicolor Self Etching Primer from Advanced Auto Parts. About $5 a can and when it came to painting we just removed it and painted!

I had no issues or worries about corrosion while they were in storage.

 

[RBR]

Polished gear

For what it is worth I ended up with no corrosion on my Grove gear despite them sitting in my garage for 4.5 years before installation. They are now polished with the Nuvite process, and look spectacular! That was always the finish plan.

I would imagine the humidity and temperature range comparing Houston to Brisbane would be very similar. I did have them tightly wrapped in their original packing material.

YMMV

 

[drill_and_buck]

Keep in mind that primer alone will not provide protection.

I primed and top coated the areas of the gear that would be covered by the fuselage and wheel pants. The rest remained as is for about 5 years. I ended up with a little surface corrosion that was easily taken care of by the paint shop.