Skin replacement

[greg176]

If you do not want to practice with the bucked rivets till you can do a good job use Olympics.Bucked rivets are a lot cheaper.Bucked rivets are a lot stronger but the strength of the Olympics is not an issue.
Dmac is right we replace solid rivets with solid rivets only on aircraft.We go the next size up to get a clean round hole.Another issue that almost drove me to ues Olympics is the noise of bucking rivets.In the end I figured I made enough noise in the prep I might as well carry on.

[uwe]

Greg,
My rivets came in a gold color. What's up with that?
The company ( Aircraft Spruce) says that's all they have. Why the gold color? Corrosion coating?
I will get some aluminum colored rivets elewhere, but am still wondering.
Which sizes did you use, btw?

[Ken J]

Don

You are the man - where do you get this stuff - I looked all over the internet this past weekend researching this stuff and did not find your two outstanding sites. Thank you very much.

Ok ok I'm convinced - guess I'm going to learn another new skill - oh boy! Gonna finish my floor, then I'll buy some rivets and play with them till I get comfortable.

As far as the noise goes, figure I'll just wear my ear muffs. I use them a lot anyway because my ears already ring constantly (too many rock concerts )

Ken

[markdoane]

Ken,
It still boils down to economics, schedule, and available skill set. If I didn't have the interior panels off, and only needed to replace a few dozen-there's not question I'd be using blind rivets.
But if you're talking a couple hundred or a thousand rivets, then the economics drive me toward solid rivets.
And then there's the 'head shaving' issue.

[Ken J]

I am a pretty handy kind of guy so hopefully I can pull it off. The price of olympics was not a deal breaker for me, schedule - thats another story - really want to get the trailer buttoned up before it gets too cold here. Speaking of which - can you use Vulcem in cold weather? I figure its ok if I start out with a warm tube.

I'm still going to have to do some olympics, because I've got some old screw holes here and there that need to be filled where I don't have the inside skin off, sooo guess I'll be buying a shaver anyway - figure that over time, it will come in handy.

Ken

[greg176]

Uwe
Most of the rivets I used were gold coloured.It is just a thin conversion coating and comes off with a rag.It is there for corrosion prevention and for paint adhesion.I am polishing so they come clean pretty quick.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by greg176

Uwe
Most of the rivets I used were gold coloured.It is just a thin conversion coating and comes off with a rag.It is there for corrosion prevention and for paint adhesion.I am polishing so they come clean pretty quick.

Greg,
I noticed the 5x6 were a really nice gold color, but the 5x5 were more of a goldy-silver. Maybe they're color coded?

[till]

You have to shave standard rivets?? Is there a 5 o'clock shadow issue I didn't know about???

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by markdoane

. . . . . then the economics drive me toward solid rivets.
And then there's the 'head shaving' issue.

Ted, If your question is in regard to the statement above, the answer is no. I was just drawing a comparison between the blind rivets (shaved) and the solid rivets (no shaving required).

[till]

Don,

You called it. I thought that I would have to add one more tool to the collection. As it is I'm learning all kinds of new "jobs" with my many hobbies. Riveting, wood working, interoir design and how to use a paint gun...... I might learn welding before this is all over.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by till

Don,
As it is I'm learning all kinds of new "jobs" with my many hobbies. Riveting, wood working, interoir design and how to use a paint gun...... I might learn welding before this is all over.

Tedd,
Fun, isn't it. Do you have a vocational school near you? I took an auto-body painting class several years ago. I was the oldest guy there by a couple of decades. Sure is fun to hang out with the young hot-shot cowboys once in awhile.

[uwe]

Originally Posted by till

Don,
...... I might learn welding before this is all over.

When and if you do, Make sure you somehow get a hold of a pro mig welder. Don't waste your money on a toy welder, or hobby grade. They simply do not have the power to make a nice continuous weld. Just fyi.

[greg176]

The gold on the rivets is not a color coding. The difference is just from the difference in the strength of the solution when the batches were processed.See:
http://www.poly-metal.com/alodine.shtml

[till]

As long as I can learn something I know I'm doing OK.

I do not know if I will ever own a welder, but the ones here atr work are high end Miller rigs. I have learned that you get what you pay for when it comes to tools.