Jkkinz
Well Known Member
Finally got around to working on my right tank after a real hot, minimal build summer. Since I hated dealing with the mess of sealing the left tank, I thought I would try the less messy technique described a while back on the forum. It went so well, I figured I would give the future tank builders a brief description of how it went.
My buddy Mark and I got the ribs and skin cleaned with MEK per the plans. We also dry assembled the tank per the plans. The middle rib was the first to get prosealed followed by all of the rivet holes getting clecos. The clecos did a nice job of holding the skin tight against the flange. The proseal squeezed out each side making it easy to use a popsicle stick and gloved finger to fillet the edges of the rib. The process was used on all but the inboard rib since I still needed to install the vent line. END OF DAY ONE.
The next day we went out to a partially cured proseal that was not sticky at all. Here is where the learning curve began. I found it necessary to clean all of the Proseal out of the rivet holes and especially the dimpled portion of the skin because the partially cured proseal caused the rivet head to stand proud after riveting. Once the hole was clean we used a pointed popsicle stick to dobb proseal in the dimple and follow up with inserting the rivet. Riveting went as usual with minimal mess. We mostly got proseal on the fingertips from inserting the rivet in a hole filled with proseal. After all the ribs were riveted I made another batch of proseal and covered the shop heads to complete the sealing process.
All in all, the method was straight forward. We went through lots of gloves but there was none to minimal proseal on the arms, shirt, face, sides of the ribs or on the tank skin. Overall cleanup was easy, mainly wiping down the outer skin with MEK. If there is any disadvantage to this method, it is that it takes a little longer to rivet the ribs due to the need to clean the partially cured proseal out of the rivet holes and having to clean proseal off of "ALL" of my silver clecos.
Would I use this method again over the plans method?..Definitely Yes!
Jim Kinsey
RV7A Tanks almost done
My buddy Mark and I got the ribs and skin cleaned with MEK per the plans. We also dry assembled the tank per the plans. The middle rib was the first to get prosealed followed by all of the rivet holes getting clecos. The clecos did a nice job of holding the skin tight against the flange. The proseal squeezed out each side making it easy to use a popsicle stick and gloved finger to fillet the edges of the rib. The process was used on all but the inboard rib since I still needed to install the vent line. END OF DAY ONE.
The next day we went out to a partially cured proseal that was not sticky at all. Here is where the learning curve began. I found it necessary to clean all of the Proseal out of the rivet holes and especially the dimpled portion of the skin because the partially cured proseal caused the rivet head to stand proud after riveting. Once the hole was clean we used a pointed popsicle stick to dobb proseal in the dimple and follow up with inserting the rivet. Riveting went as usual with minimal mess. We mostly got proseal on the fingertips from inserting the rivet in a hole filled with proseal. After all the ribs were riveted I made another batch of proseal and covered the shop heads to complete the sealing process.
All in all, the method was straight forward. We went through lots of gloves but there was none to minimal proseal on the arms, shirt, face, sides of the ribs or on the tank skin. Overall cleanup was easy, mainly wiping down the outer skin with MEK. If there is any disadvantage to this method, it is that it takes a little longer to rivet the ribs due to the need to clean the partially cured proseal out of the rivet holes and having to clean proseal off of "ALL" of my silver clecos.
Would I use this method again over the plans method?..Definitely Yes!
Jim Kinsey
RV7A Tanks almost done
