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Sweat VS. aluminum

Mark33

Mark33

Well Known Member
Are there any recommendations to prevent/clean up surface oxidation on the aluminum skins while you're building your airplane? Naturally, while you're working on it you're going to break a sweat and that sweat gets rubbed off on the airplane. Then, a day or two later a film of what appears to be oxidation forms on any place where sweat was left behind. I have rubbed and tried to polish the aluminum back up with a soft dry shop rag but it looks like the sweat has actually penetrated the alclad and has discolored the aluminum. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this?

Mark
 
Mark33 said:
Are there any recommendations to prevent/clean up surface oxidation on the aluminum skins while you're building your airplane? Naturally, while you're working on it you're going to break a sweat and that sweat gets rubbed off on the airplane. Then, a day or two later a film of what appears to be oxidation forms on any place where sweat was left behind. I have rubbed and tried to polish the aluminum back up with a soft dry shop rag but it looks like the sweat has actually penetrated the alclad and has discolored the aluminum. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this?
Mark
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No. 1 piece of advice (and I'm sure you know this already) NEVER let the sweat sit on the aluminum overnight. Clean everything immediately after each work session.
If you are going to paint, clean it the best you can and build on. If you are planning to polish, good luck.
 
Thanks Mel. I guess I'll have an hours worth of wiping down each day. Fortunately, I'm planning on painting but I'd still like to keep the aluminum as pretty as I can.

Mark
 
I’ve experienced the same problem. I haven’t found a way to remove the oxidation after it forms, but I recently tried an experiment to prevent it. After I was done working on some large parts on a hot day, I used isopropyl alcohol to remove any sweat, smudges, and smears where I had touched the parts. It’s been a few weeks since I did this, and I don’t see any signs of corrosion.

Does anybody know if isopropyl alcohol is bad for Alclad? I figured it was less toxic than lacquer thinner or MEK.
 
OK, we've covered the "sweat" issue. Now, how about the "blood" and "tears" aspect?
 
RV DNA

DHeal said:
OK, we've covered the "sweat" issue. Now, how about the "blood" and "tears" aspect?
Click to expand...

"Blood" is not readily available unlike sweat. It also has a color which helps it clearing asap. "Tears" are mostly virtual and do not affect alclad. Unless a crying partner takes a chainsaw ...

Sweat is bad. Ten years later I still see spots when we were fitting wings in July heat :D


 
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Oh man I have sweat all over this plane that probably hasn't been wiped up. Especially since working Avionics and crawling under the panel.
 
AviatorJ said:
Oh man I have sweat all over this plane that probably hasn't been wiped up. Especially since working Avionics and crawling under the panel.
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Right, this isn't something I've even remotely accounted for. If my wing disintegrates mid-flight we'll know why now...
 
It doesn?t matter if...

If painting, it isn?t going to matter as the surface prep will definitely take care of it...
 
Scrap

Whewww. Good. I was getting ready to scrap this thing that I?ve been sweating on for 2 1/2 yrs. I always wiped the blood off though.
 
Mark33 said:
Are there any recommendations to prevent/clean up surface oxidation on the aluminum skins while you're building your airplane? Naturally, while you're working on it you're going to break a sweat and that sweat gets rubbed off on the airplane. Then, a day or two later a film of what appears to be oxidation forms on any place where sweat was left behind. I have rubbed and tried to polish the aluminum back up with a soft dry shop rag but it looks like the sweat has actually penetrated the alclad and has discolored the aluminum. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this?

Mark
Click to expand...

Disposable nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight or Costco, and build in winter. :D
 
Blood

Yeah, how corrosive is blood? :D

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