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The welding is done- I think !

Beaverpilot

Registered User
Manitoba Canada
So I have a dilemma and am looking or someone’s 2cents.

It is now time to sandblast my airframe. The shop that I’m going to use is about 15 miles from my garage and is not heated. Once it is cleaned it will be transported back home and be epoxy primed. I am not going to be able to paint it the day it gets back home from being blasted. How worried should I be on flash rusting? What can I do to minimize it or should I not worry??


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Can you heat your garage until you can prime it? There are products you can spray on with a pump up sprayer to keep it from flash rusting.
 
https://www.theruststore.com/Pickle...GvHRtldAlRpbOOUP9JrPuVfric0ZBT14aAk6BEALw_wcB




So I have a dilemma and am looking or someone’s 2cents.

It is now time to sandblast my airframe. The shop that I’m going to use is about 15 miles from my garage and is not heated. Once it is cleaned it will be transported back home and be epoxy primed. I am not going to be able to paint it the day it gets back home from being blasted. How worried should I be on flash rusting? What can I do to minimize it or should I not worry??


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my shop has heat and the weather here now is cold and dry


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Soda Blasting

It is my understanding that if you have it dry "Sodablasted" then you have a fair amount of time between completion of the blast process and application of the two pack.

The soda bicarbonate is a natural rust inhibitor and does offer significant protection in the short to medium term and does not "pit" the surface like a more abrasive media. It will remove light rust but you will have to pressure wash the fuselage with plain water just before you start the painting process to remove the soda deposit. You can enhance this process by adding something like HoldTight 102 to the pressure washer which will deal with any salts, chlorides and contaminates on the metal.

https://www.holdtight.com/
 
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If the humidity and temp are low, flash rusting is not a huge problem. Don't handle it with your bare hands.

In South Florida--Fugedaboutit!
 
Thanks Eddie, my experimental pieces of tubing have been showing me this over the past week. Blasted and let sit outside in the bare metal touched a few spots with barehands and brought in to the heated shop. So far I found one little spot of rust and a scotch bright pad would definitely take care of that.


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From my days as a Steel Structures Painting Council qualified inspector I say NO! But in practicality, I say it depends on the conditions and duration (don't wait a week) and as Eddie points out no bare hands is critical and then be very careful with the potential for condensation forming as you get cold steel in into a warm place so you can paint it and if that happens (say your glasses fog over when you carry it in) it is best to start over but be very careful of how deep of an anchor pattern you cut into the steel with the blasting as it can exceed the dry film thickness of the primer (not as bad with epoxy as they don't shrink much) and then you can get surface rusting on the peaks.

One of the temp inhibitor coatings will likely buy some time but make sure it is compatible with the final coating and the type of steel.

Any chance of finding a shop that will blast and prime for you, could be money well spent?

OC

Ps, remember it's not just the rust you can see that's the long term problem.
 
From my days as a Steel Structures Painting Council qualified inspector I say NO! But in practicality, I say it depends on the conditions and duration (don't wait a week) and as Eddie points out no bare hands is critical and then be very careful with the potential for condensation forming as you get cold steel in into a warm place so you can paint it and if that happens (say your glasses fog over when you carry it in) it is best to start over but be very careful of how deep of an anchor pattern you cut into the steel with the blasting as it can exceed the dry film thickness of the primer (not as bad with epoxy as they don't shrink much) and then you can get surface rusting on the peaks.

One of the temp inhibitor coatings will likely buy some time but make sure it is compatible with the final coating and the type of steel.

Any chance of finding a shop that will blast and prime for you, could be money well spent?

OC

Ps, remember it's not just the rust you can see that's the long term problem.

I’m looking at 48hours or less. I figure one day to blast the airframe and bring it home and the next to set up the spray booth and paint.


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Sounds like you’re building a temp booth, if possible pre-build and leave the end open so you can push it in, seal it up and start the warm up. With luck you might get it done pretty quickly.
 
That was the plan. I’m doing this all on my own. The blasting and painting. I have help moving, hauling and lifting the airframe.


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I have always been able to get to a fuselage right away after media blast but a friend of mine was in your shoes and supplied all the helpers with new cotton gloves to help him load and unload. I think he had some rusty palm prints on something one time so he wasn't taking any chances.
 
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