Dimple or Prime

Hi,
I?m in the early stages of a build and always thought that you primed then dimpled, not sure where I got it from. But I?ve seen a few people doing the dimpling first followed by priming. Any views on what is right or best?
Cheers

Priming was usually my last step before assembling any parts.

That being said, the parts that I primed prior to dimpling, or (gasp!) didn't prime at all, look just as good today as when I built it.

Chris

Hi Mikeandmaz,
No right answer here. I typically prime then dimple. I find that prepping/scuffing,..and deburring after dimpling is a little more difficult, and harder on scorchbrite pads. I also have a personal unproven theory that I get a full dimple if I wait until after priming. I'm using akzo, and never had any issues with primer separation.
Have fun!

If you scratch it up while dimpling before you prime, the scratches will come out when you prep for priming. If you scratch it while dimpling AFTER you prime, you'll have to touch it up.

Many thanks for the replies
Mike

my take

I am priming with Sherwin Williams P60G and am priming before dimpling. if I let the primer cure 3 days before dimpling, I don't recall a scratch problem that I needed to touch up.

Prime before dimple for me. I find it very time consuming to scuff after dimpling. Seems there's always a shinny "shadow" if I dimple fist. This shadow is probably OK, but I like to see a nice uniform gray color before I wipe down and prime.

IMO if your primer won't hold up to dimpling,you may not have adequate adhesion or perhaps may want to look at a different primer.

I'm in the "Prime before dimpling" camp here. I tried both ways. When I dimpled before priming, I had a hard time scuffing my parts with scotchbrite pads over the backs of the dimples. They would eat away at my pads and I'd burn through them quickly. Also, scuffing flanges with dimples was a pain in the rear.

SO, I switched over to priming before dimpling and, to me, it was SOOO much easier. I don't go through as many scotchbrite pads, and being able to scuff without having to worry about the backs of dimples made it much less of a chore.

Then when I dimple, the dimple die helps clear out any primer that's too thick in the hole for a rivet.

It's worked out great for me.

Etch, chromate covert (Alodine) in the flat. (less wear on the abrasive pads)
Dimple.
Prime.

I?m kind of pleased the prime first camp is coming out on top, thanks again for the info.

fl-mike said:

Etch, chromate covert (Alodine) in the flat. (less wear on the abrasive pads)
Dimple.
Prime.

Click to expand...

I am seriously considering doing something like this on my wing ribs though. The reason being is because of all the flutes.

I am thinking I may want to do the wing ribs in this order:

1. Get them finished: fluted, drilled, and dimpled
2. Clean with a simple cleaner like Bon Ami and gentle scrubbing with scotchbrite to get rid of major oil and grime
3. Dip them in alumaprep to do the surface etching
4. Dip in alodine
5. Prime with AKZO.