storage outside?

[mhorowit]

I'm running our of room in my storage facility.
I've got the wing mounted on a rotatable jig, but
when the wing is horizontal, there is no room for
the fuselege (which is on wheels).
I'd like to cart the fuselage home, but will need
someway to protect it. No garage. and I"d prefer
not building hardstand. I could build a poly-film
shed, supported by PVC pipes. Just don't want it
to rust to death while it waits, probably a year,
in my back yard. Open to suggestions on how to proceed.

- MikeH

[Forrest Barber]

Re: storage outside?

I sell an all metal building from American Steel, they are 18 x 21 and up; the small one is $795.00 US till 5-31-08. You ahve sat under one at 2D1 .... NOW how do we get my crew & building over there?

[astjp2]

Re: storage outside?

Make sure it can breathe or you will have condensation and therefore rust in a short order if you cover it. Tim

[VictorBravo]

Re: storage outside?

Mike, if your fuselage is already blasted and properly primed then put it inside a poly film or steel shed and you should be OK. Make sure the shed or poly film cover is vented and has no condensation inside as mentioned.

If your fuselage is not yet blasted and primed then slobber a thick hand-painted coat of LIQUID zinc chromate primer on, dripping and running into all the corners, etc. before you store it.

Bill

[KewFlyer]

Re: storage outside?

Mike:

Would you consider bringing the Tcraft, or parts thereof, to the Warrenton air park grass strip? I'm sure that accomodations can be made. New T hangars should be ready in a few weeks. You could consider keeping the completed parts there and just take home the ones you would like to work on. Hope this solves your problem. My 2 cents.
If you need further info, send me a PM.
Regards,
Ralph

[mhorowit]

Re: storage outside?

Mike:

Would you consider bringing the Tcraft, or parts thereof, to the Warrenton air park grass strip? I'm sure that accomodations can be made. New T hangars should be ready in a few weeks. You could consider keeping the completed parts there and just take home the ones you would like to work on. Hope this solves your problem. My 2 cents.
If you need further info, send me a PM.
Regards,
Ralph

RAlph - I do have a deposit on a hanger (from before Tom sank the first telephone poles up on the hill) so that's not a bad idea; when I'm storing just a bare fuselage, that's not too much of a problem (except driving out there). - Mike

[mhorowit]

Re: storage outside?

Mike, if your fuselage is already blasted and properly primed then put it inside a poly film or steel shed and you should be OK. Make sure the shed or poly film cover is vented and has no condensation inside as mentioned.

If your fuselage is not yet blasted and primed then slobber a thick hand-painted coat of LIQUID zinc chromate primer on, dripping and running into all the corners, etc. before you store it.

Bill

Bill - in the place of ZC, someone in the office suggested a coating of WD-40, hand-wiped; when time to remove, use brake fluid. Does that sound reasonable? ZC is a bit hazardous and it would have to be removed prior to priming, which means ZC dust.

Anyone know of something between WD-40 and cosmoline? - Mike

[Larry Lyons]

Re: storage outside?

WD-40 will evaporate in a very short time, don't ask me how I know. "Jetlube" makes a spray on protectant that works very well and lasts for years, however I do not know how much trouble it would be to remove. It does not really dry out. We use it to protect precision parts in storage like gears and shafts but we do not want to paint them later. You can Google Jetlube to find a near by supplier, they provide stuff for the drilling industry. Especially the oil fields and all their stuff is top notch, we have used it for over 40 years.
Larry

[mhorowit]

Re: storage outside?

WD-40 will evaporate in a very short time, don't ask me how I know. "Jetlube" makes a spray on protectant that works very well and lasts for years, however I do not know how much trouble it would be to remove. It does not really dry out. We use it to protect precision parts in storage like gears and shafts but we do not want to paint them later. You can Google Jetlube to find a near by supplier, they provide stuff for the drilling industry. Especially the oil fields and all their stuff is top notch, we have used it for over 40 years.
Larry

Could you share your opinion on diluting axle grease with mineral oil and slathering it on as a preservative? or simply a thick layer of axle grease? motor oil? - Mike

[high time cub]

Re: storage outside?

http://www.maximausa.com/products/chainlubes/chainwax.asp

OR....

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=37

HT

[Guest]

Re: storage outside?

I'm running our of room in my storage facility.
I've got the wing mounted on a rotatable jig, but
when the wing is horizontal, there is no room for
the fuselege (which is on wheels).
I'd like to cart the fuselage home, but will need
someway to protect it. No garage. and I"d prefer
not building hardstand. I could build a poly-film
shed, supported by PVC pipes. Just don't want it
to rust to death while it waits, probably a year,
in my back yard. Open to suggestions on how to proceed.

- MikeH

When I had mine ready to go I wrapped it in tarps. Not merely covered but wrapped sort like the fabric would lay on it and held it in place with ropes that were wrapped and tied around it forming a sort of net.

It sat in side & back back yard like that for a year or two. It was primed and painted at that point. I checked it every once in a while and I placed terry cloth towels over windows for protection from scratching.

Many of them sit outside after they are in service and the insides of fuselages and wings will get damp & hot. Water leaks in during rain and after thaws and these parts are not well ventilated while sitting still.

I wrapped the Aeronca with that clear plastic pallet wrapping stuff that I got at Lowes for its trailer ride to NC. It stretchs and sticks to itself. I also taped it down with packing tape. Not sure if I would leave it outside like that, I might.

I would use either of these methods to store them prior to blasting and painting.

Dave

and that is an and

[mhorowit]

Re: storage outside?

Well, I had a very profitable visit to my storage facility - My immediate objective is to get the fabric off the wings so an IA can tell me what has to be done; of course before I could do that there was build a rotating jig to hold the wing, then build a cradle to hold both wings, then the discovery I was running out of storage room, then this thread about storing the fuselage outside.

Anyway, I'm sucking on my coffee using this previously refered to very valuable tool (picture attached) and looking at the fuselage. You know, thinks I, one could replace the landing gear with an axle and 8" wheels at the landing gear attach point and the overall height would drop by 4'. and the width would shrink from a 7' wheelbase down to 4'. And now, if I didn't need to work in it, I could build a 20' long cocoon 5'x5' with maybe wooden pallets to keep the wheels out of the grass; use PVC as a frame at three locations and perhaps a blue tarp or simply Heavy duty PVC film; and I could use any of the afore mentioned methods for preserving it . And not only does this get the fuselage out of the way, it gets it home where I can start the easy rust removal and simple welding - just roll her out of her cocoon, degrease the area to be worked on and do my work.

I also got one wing uncovered, so I need to think seriously about moving the fuselage.

But first I have to buy my wife a laptop so she'll be amenable to me building a cocoon on the side of the house!

Anyone want to chime in with suggestions for keeping that cocoon as dry as possible, fire away (any ground prep to keep moisture down?) - Mike

[fearofpavement]

Re: storage outside?

Tax issues:

For those of you that have to pay property taxes, you may want to do some investigation prior to doing any construction. (not talking about building permits here but the annual taxes they assess on your property improvements)

I was squabling with the tax assessors regarding value of outbuildings and found out something very interesting. I inquired as to how they valued a "lean to" or shed roof off an existing structure and they said they assessed those at $4.00 per square foot. I inquired about a "car port" specifically thinking about those two car tin prefab ones they sell for $695.00 installed. (more expensive in some regions). Well, they assess "car ports" at $2.50 per square foot. I asked why the difference as they are both only roof structure? The tax person had no idea, that's just how it is. I said "Is it because a lean to has one wall?" They said perhaps, but then they had no adequate response to "Aren't I already being taxed on that wall?"

Anyway, this is the situation in my county of Georgia. Your situation may be different. I just posted this as a suggestion to ask a few questions prior to building something. Also, in these days of google earth don't expect to build something "out behind" without the assessors noticing it. So go ahead and pull a permit too. Forgiveness isn't always easier to get than permission. (but sometimes it is...)

[vetdrem]

Re: storage outside?

In northern Michigan, boats are stored outside for the winter by covering them with "shrink wrap". It is a heavy plastic that is heated and shrinks to form a weather-tight seal.

I had a friend that does shrink-wrapping seal up some furniture that I was going to store in a damp hanger for a couple years, and it protected everything perfectly.

I'm sure that it would work great for this purpose. If you built the frame that you are talking about, and covering it with the shrinkwrap, you would have a nice little hanger that would keep everything dry, and if you had a removable door, you could roll it in and out and seal it back up later.

[astjp2]

Re: storage outside?

Ok I should make onething clear, if you just primer it, it will rust! primer is pourous until it is sealed with paint. You can buy a sealer that covers primer but to go through that you might as well paint it. I would only cover the top so it does not get rained on, if you wrap it, then it will not breathe. Then the water will condensate. If you have to just hang it from a ceiling somewhere like a garage or the loft of a shed. I had mine hangin from a beam in a friends hanger for over a year, it only weighs about 100# so it was no big deal. Thats my 2 pennies worth. Tim