I have been having the local maintenance shop prime my interior parts. They use Super Koropon and I've been very satisfied with the results. Originally, one of the maintenance techs was doing the painting and he was my metal work and painting guru...until he was killed in a very tragic accident. Based on guidance from a mechanic who used to work in our hangar, I had been prepping my parts by scuffing them lightly with Scotch-Brite and then wiping with MEK. After a while, I forgot to do that last step, or quit for some reason I don't recall. Since the accident, the only techs in the shop with any painting experience are a couple of avionics techs who are very busy, but one of them is a friend (who happens to drive an RV-6).
I was talking the other day with another mechanic in our company hangar. When I told him that I usually scuffed my parts for priming, he asked why. My presumption was that it was to aid in adhesion but I had to admit that I didn't know. He didn't think that there could be any good reason to do that. He believed that the proper prep was a dip in alodine and then spraying the Super Koropon. Since then, I checked with my friend to see just what they did. They clean the parts with DuPont Centari 8022S reducer and then spray. They don't use any AlumiPrep or alodine.
Now, mind you, it's becoming a mute point how I prep my parts because I have so few parts remaining. The interior bulkheads for my -14 tail cone are already primed and only the tail cone skins, stiffeners and longerons remain. Then I'm on to the QB fuselage and QB wings.
So, let me say first of all that I'm not asking if they're cleaning or spraying my parts correctly. I'm satisfied that the parts are, at the very least, adequately protected. My only question is whether there is any good reason to scuff the parts or wipe them with a solvent such as MEK.
I was talking the other day with another mechanic in our company hangar. When I told him that I usually scuffed my parts for priming, he asked why. My presumption was that it was to aid in adhesion but I had to admit that I didn't know. He didn't think that there could be any good reason to do that. He believed that the proper prep was a dip in alodine and then spraying the Super Koropon. Since then, I checked with my friend to see just what they did. They clean the parts with DuPont Centari 8022S reducer and then spray. They don't use any AlumiPrep or alodine.
Now, mind you, it's becoming a mute point how I prep my parts because I have so few parts remaining. The interior bulkheads for my -14 tail cone are already primed and only the tail cone skins, stiffeners and longerons remain. Then I'm on to the QB fuselage and QB wings.
So, let me say first of all that I'm not asking if they're cleaning or spraying my parts correctly. I'm satisfied that the parts are, at the very least, adequately protected. My only question is whether there is any good reason to scuff the parts or wipe them with a solvent such as MEK.