You should not have to enlarge the hole if you drill out the original rivets correctly - what you need to do is drill the rivet part way and then "pop" it out with a center punch - that way you don' enlarge the hole.
Ken J.
Understood...but there are always a couple! We used 99% 1/8" but we have some 5/32" on hand for those few "oopsies", it's not the end of the world.
Also, on our GT where the PO replaced a panel with Olympics...the overlapping holes on the good panels adjacent that are to remain are now oversized. I would think, it's always better to have the holes on the front & back panel the same size - less chance for "wrinkles" in that new skin.
Shari
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Vintage Airstream Club - Past President 2007/2008
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Yea - on a replaced panel that has been drilled out, I don't thing two size holes would work well at all - when the rivets expand they fill the hole - but not one that has two sized holes.
I remember that panel - did you ever replace it?
As I understand the gold is just a protective coating they put on to protect them in the bins - comes right off.
The one's I got (and yes they were 1/8) had that coating on them - came right off.
I did a whole side of my Tradewind. I agree with Shari, you might be able to punch the tail out of some of the drilled out rivets, but you'll always end up with more then a few that need to be reamed out to 5/32". I used 5/32 for the whole side.
I didn't see any evidence of triangular holes. That only happens to me when I try to drill a large hole in sheet stock with too big a step between drill sizes. If you're just upsizing from 1/8 to 5/32 you won't have any triangularity.
The gold coating is just alodine; most of it rubbed off during the rivet setting. It certainly doesn't look like gold polka dots.
I perfectly happy with the end result. Only complaint is that the replacement panel is a lot more shiny than the surrounding panels.
Guess I got lucky or something - when I replaced the rivets all along the bottom of the trailer - I used 1/8" and they seemed to fill very well - that was 2 years ago or so and they are still there, no leaks.
I didn't see anything on there web site except the Universal and Countersunk rivets. Did you have to call them to get the Brazier Head rivets, and were they special order?
Gosh - that was a couple of years ago - don't remember if I got their catalog or on line. I get a couple of those guys mixed up - they are the one's in California - not the folks in Kansas City where I bought my Aluminum
Hi! I ordered rivets - Universal Head, AD, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5 and 4-6's. I got them today. I noticed right away that the head size is alot smaller than what is on the Airstream now.
We went out and measured the heads and they are about 1/4' across. So what is that about? Did I order the wrong rivets?
And these are NOT Olympic rivets on the AS. They are solid rivets.
The original rivets were 1/8" Brazier head rivets. Head diameter is .312"
You can replace with 5/32" Universal head rivets. Head diameter is .312". Head is just slightly more dome shaped than the Brazier head, hardly noticable. 1/8" Universal head is too small, as you discovered.
You can also replace with 5/32" Modified Brazier head rivets. Head is the same size as the regular Brazier head, but the stem is 5/32".
So I would suggest, that you drill them out to 5/32" and use the very easy to get Universal head rivet, or you can also use Olympic rivets which are also 5/32" stem size. If you're a perfectionist, use 5/32" Modified Brazier heads.
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