Filling Rivets

[Paul Johnson]

As I have built a couple of solid flush riveted aircraft of brand V my heart is leaning towards flush pulled rivets, on the other side my head is saying just follow the plans especially now as Sonex supplies CCP 41 dome rivets which have a grip range up to .062 which is far more suitable for riveting .025 skins to ribs than the CCC 42 countersunk rivets or the CCP 42 dome rivets with a grip from .062 to .125.
On my Bristell NG5 I filled all of the dome head aluminium rivets, I know this sounds like a lot of work but it did not take as much time as one would think and after painting, it dramatically improved the finish. Filling the rivets was a two step process using a cocktail stick firstly with etch primer and then secondly a high build primer, after two years none of the fillings have fallen out. Has anyone tried filling the stainless rivets on a Sonex and if so what did they use? I am going to paint the aircraft.

[mike.smith]

From a friend's blog, building a Sling 4, go down about a dozen photos and start reading

http://craigsling4.blogspot.com/

[peter anson]

I used the same paint that I used for painting the aircraft. I bought some disposable syringes which worked pretty well - I only used one. It would have been better to use a syringe with a needle, or at least a smaller point, as that would have pushed the paint right into the hole but I didn't know where to buy them and there isn'e much drug dealing in Mount Macedon, well not that I know of anyway. It was pretty quick to do.

Peter

[Paul Johnson]

Peter,

Did you use a etch primer first or just the paint on it's own? Was the paint 2K and if so how did you stop it going hard in the syringe? lastly have you had any fillings fall out.

Paul.

[peter anson]

Hi Paul, the paint was the same 2-pack paint that I used as my final coat - no primer. None has come out. I did buy a couple of syringes but only used one. The process used very little paint and was pretty fast. I would guess that many of the rivets just ended up with a little blob of paint in the hole with a tiny air bubble underneath. That's why a smaller tip or needle would be good - it would push paint to the bottom of the hole. I think the syringe was molded in polyethylene which the paint didn't stick to so clean-up wasn't difficult.

Peter

[OneTallShort]

Those of you looking for syringe and tips, try your local large animal vet or supply place. You can also get stuff through McMaster Carr.