I've seen this discussed before, and the answer was "don't worry". Well, I'm new and I worry. So: what are people doing to protect the bare steel after drilling out holes in powder-coated steel parts, e.g. the empennage hinge brackets?
I figure the ones for rivets may be OK. The expanded rivet will seal out any moisture and the rivet is passivated. I can also prime them.
How about the bolt holes? Can't really prime without affecting the close tolerance for the bolt. I saw a suggestion in the Matronics archives to use gun bluing. Seems like a great idea - a conversion coating for steel with no thickness, similar to what Alodine does for aluminum. But, like Alodine, it doesn't provide significant protection by itself.
Maybe spray some WD-40 or similar lubricant in the hole? I think AN bolts are supposed to be dry, but as long as I clean the threads before torquing, any reason why I shouldn't oil the hole?
Thanks,
Boris
-7 empennage
I figure the ones for rivets may be OK. The expanded rivet will seal out any moisture and the rivet is passivated. I can also prime them.
How about the bolt holes? Can't really prime without affecting the close tolerance for the bolt. I saw a suggestion in the Matronics archives to use gun bluing. Seems like a great idea - a conversion coating for steel with no thickness, similar to what Alodine does for aluminum. But, like Alodine, it doesn't provide significant protection by itself.
Maybe spray some WD-40 or similar lubricant in the hole? I think AN bolts are supposed to be dry, but as long as I clean the threads before torquing, any reason why I shouldn't oil the hole?
Thanks,
Boris
-7 empennage