Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

[Armstrong]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

Jerry , never heard of it, but it sounds great! Can you use regular sand blasting equipment. I want to blast it myself , but might consider having it done if I can find someone who uses that method. I will do a search and see what I can find. They do sell 12 pound bags of baking soda at Costco fairly cheap. I found this: http://www.ace-sandblasting.com/soda...g-article.html Thanks, Rob

[mhorowit]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

Here are some pictures of my rear fuse. It looks clean ,no rust or damage.

Hope I'm that lucky but I'm not holding my breath - Mike

[Armstrong]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

Mike, so far so good, but I know theres corrosion and/or damage someplace.
The wings look ok , but I can only see through the inspection holes. During the last rebuild the ribs were zinc chromated so they look good( what I can see).Wing tip bows are a little bit bent up. Spars, who knows, thats the real reason for the rebuild. I like to do loops ,rolls, wing overs ,whatever.
Like I said before, my champ, which I only rebuilt through primer , was a rust bucket,so I was expecting the worst.
Mike have you started to blast/ repair your parts?
Rob

[jdoran]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

I used to be in the construction equipment rental business. "Soda blasting" came out in the early 90's, and is baking soda in a pressurized "pot" with water injection at the nozzle. We used to rent it a lot.

You can buy the equipment from Schmidt Manufacturing (I think Houston Texas area) They make big ones and little ones.

I once saw a demo where they blasted grafitti that was spray painted on glass, and the soda removed the paint without frosting the glass. In fact it sort of cleaned the glass making it more transparent!!

John

[mhorowit]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

Mike have you started to blast/ repair your parts? Rob

I took my rudder to my A&P, proposed a course of action on how to repair it, and asked a question "Is the rust on this Leading edge (the area at the bottom) 10% of the thickness of the tubing wall?", knowing that if the rust is greater than 10% then I have to reinforce that tube. He said he couldn't determine that until the piece had been sandblasted. I told him I"d get that done and get back to him. Now I'm looking at EAA Members who have the equipment. Found one. Today I'm going to review what the Forum has said about what abrasive to use, locate a source and go visit my buddy. Oh, I also need to buy a respirator.

By the way, my order from Dillsburg for tubing and sheetmetal came in the day after I ordered it. I built the bending template last night and hope to do the actually bending tonight. This is for the trailing edge below the light fixture on the rudder. - Mike

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

I have blasted several fuselages myself, and I would recommend taking it to someone to have done. Besides the mess, it is one job I would rather pay to have done. Once blasted, it needs to be primed immediately. Oxidation starts as soon as the blasting stops. Stits epoxy is an excellent product. As previously mentioned, once you pick a product, use it through out.

Mike

[high time cub]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

http://www.osha.gov/Silica/IT69D_1.html

[Armstrong]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

High time cub and Rag wing nut, thanks for the information, I read the article carefully. I would rather not use sand, and I am looking into a small soda blaster. If I cant find a soda blaster for a reasonable price then I will use a blasting medium besides sand.

I have sand blasted an airplane before, and yes it is a mess and at the time I did not know the hazards involved. I do have a remote breathing set up now , but keeping the dust contained( dont want to kill the neighbors) would also be a problem if I decide to use sand. Rob

[bloper]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

My airplane was covered in cotton 30 years ago and I would like to recover it myself. I never even thought about it and wonder if it's too much of a task. Any opinions? should I have it professionally done? I have a two car garage to work in, nights and weekends and an AP nearby. Any help or opinions are appreciated.

[mhorowit]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

From my very limited experience:
1. depending on how it was stored you may run into rust, so be prepared to address it. Could mean dissassemble could be a problem
2. to recover means to take it apart - do you have that skill or determination?
The Forum can help you with the dissassembly/assembly.
3. Be prepared to replace coat with a modern primer; that will increase it's value
4. purchase all new nuts/bolts/hardware.
5. attend an EAA workshop on fabric covering.
6. you will have to wrestle about which covering method you want to use.

I'm told covering is easy, just time consuming. See the local EAA chapter; someone may have just done theirs and can advise.

It really is fun if you like to tinker. Of course, the a/c will be out of the air as long as it's on the ground - Mike

PS - there are probably more concerns, but this should keep you until everyone wakes up!

[crispy critter]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

In all reality,if you have a complete airplane that is flying and you want to do a very nice,basic restore on it you might want to consider the cost as well. You can buy a fairly nice t-craft with 5-10 year old fabric and less then 500 hours on the engine that was overhauled during the restore for about the same more or less then it will cost you to restore the one you have(counting if you do an engine overhaul too).Then plan on spending at least 1-2 years and every minute of your spare time to get it finished in that time frame. It takes lots of detemination,lots of time,lots of dedication,lots of money,and lots of help. It is worth it if you enjoy doing stuff like that but you have to like working on them as much if not more then you love flying them. It is very rewarding once completed and the bragging rights are great but make sure you consider all of this before you jump into a project that may be more then you bargined for.

[mulwyk]

Re: Recovering/Rebuilding 43222

The question of do-it-yourself vs. hire-someone is an economic no brainer.

Recovering is a low skill, labor intensive job that you can easily do yourself...but costs LOTS if you hire it done. Paying an A&P to recover your plane is like paying a surgeon to trim your fingernails.

But then I know a guy that hires Mexicans to mow his lawn while he drives to the gym and walks on a treadmill. Just depends on how you want to spend your time.

Bob Gustafson