Today was my first time performing the corrosion protection process. Although Sonex does not require corrosion protection, many builders are choosing to add an extra level of protection. I've decided to apply an aviation zinc oxide primer to all enclosed and mating surfaces.
The process is as follows:
1) Clean with Acetone 2) Spray, dip, or brush part with phosphoric acid etch solution and let set a few minutes 3) Rinse 4) Dry 5) Spray on zinc oxide
Some builders add a wash with dishwashing detergent step after the acetone step. I haven't read that this is necessary, and the process takes long enough.
After priming the parts, I decided I'd finally open the Pneumatic/Hydaulic riveter I bought a couple months ago. I found that setting the air pressure to 50 PSI works very well. This will come very handy since I found that the stainless steel rivets are much harder to pull than the aluminum ones, and I have several thousands to do.
