Factory rivet vs. repair rivet

[74Argosy24MH]

FWIW-bucked rivets are the best fasteners, better than Olympics, bolts, screws, etc. They not only compress to hold the panels together, but the shank expands to fill the holes and prevent lateral movement. You have a new trailer, I would go for the strongest repair possible. The factory should have enough experience to remove and reassemble the interior without damaging it.

John

[WayWard Wind]

We also have a 02 Bambi, so I was surprised by your comment " the clearcoat was peeling in strips". When I talked to A/S regarding the coating on our trailer, they said A/S was no longer using clearcoat (late 90's), as the panels came painted from Alcoa. I'll check my trailer info again, but I'm sure it also says the same thing in the booklet. I would be interested to know if A/S told you the clearcoat was peeling. If so, I would for sure ask them this when we get to the Homecoming this Fall.
Best,

[JPAIRSTREAM]

If you are looking for shavers adn rivets Airstream has them on there site.

I also noticed Caulking there as well.


Airstream site

[yukionna]

InsideOut -- thanks for the pics! I looked at some examples of Olympic rivets while I was at the factory last week and they look just like your first photo, "Left: Good shaved Olympic Rivet ". Unfortunately, the factory can't hide the center post "circle" even with the special shaving tool. I was hoping the center post "circle" would disappear but it looked just like your photo.

[InsideOut]

Did you get them to commit to bucked rivets?

Shari

[yukionna]

Shari, Airstream will implement either rivet option -- it is my choice and I have chosen bucked rivets.

[InsideOut]

Good ~

Shari

[markdoane]

For a little bit more money than a rivet shaver, you can buy a full set of tools for installing factory rivets. I'm thinking about it.Rivet

[dinoburb]

Rivet installation tools are reasonably priced and, with practice, produce an excellent product. (make double sure the air riveter is a real rivet tool not an air chisel) I believe the reason most owners, and probably many repair facilities choose Olympic rivets is the reduced manhours necessary to complete most repairs.

With a true 'bucked' rivet full access to both sides of the rivet is required. This generally means the interior must be removed to repair any exterior items. That level of disassembly is not generally required with Olympic 'blind' rivets. Simple one-side access is the prime requirement.

There are better blind rivets available which will do a superb job of repairing the A/S aluminum, however, the tools necessary to install are cost prohibitave. Huck and Cherry are rivet brands that make high strength, aluminum binding rivets suitable for any A/S repair. Their cost and the cost of the tools put them in the professional category. Olympic, on the other hand, is owner installable, low cost, effective, and, with the shaver tool, nearly impossible to tell from bucked rivets.

If the facroty is doing the repair let 'em buck the rivets, if you're doing the job, become an Olympic champion and shave after every installation!

If you want to see some alternative tools (and sources of aluminum) and rivets click on this: http://www.wicksaircraft.com/ or this: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/

Hope this helps. 20 years of flying and maintaining Navy Aircraft as well as constructing two experimental aircraft have given me plenty of time to learn the trade.

Take care,

Sean

[flyfshr]

Shari and all - here's a photo of a just shaved Olympic rivet. Notice the black circle is missing. Once this is hit with the polish, it will look great. When shaving Olympics, trim them until the circle is gone. Take your time and you'll get a great looking factory look alike.

FF

[markdoane]

Dinoburb: thanks for the input. I have two nephews, one West Pointer and one Annapolis (still active duty). Go Navy.

[yukionna]

flyfisherman -- your shaved rivet looks great! Maybe you should give lessons to the Airstream factory staff as their Olympic rivet installations leave the telltale rivet-stem circle!

[yukionna]