In Part 1, the CS-00012 Torque Tubes and VA-11 Threaded Rob Ends were prepared and ready to be Akzo Primed. I did not treat the Torque Tubes with Alumiprep or Alodine (no particular reason, just didn’t); however, I did scuff the interior and exterior of the Tubes with grey Scotchbrite. To scuff the inside of the Tubes:
1. I grabed the Scotchbrite pad with mechanical fingers and taped a long wooden dowel to the end of the mechanical fingers
2. Inserted the “assembly” into the Tube
3. Rotated the dowel, which in turn, rotated the Scotchbrite pad
4. Repeated this process until I was comfortable with the amount of scuffing inside the Tubes
To Akzo Prime the inside of the Tube:
1. I tapped off one end of the tube
2. Poured a generous amount of Akzo Primer in the opposite end
3. Rotated and “twirled” the primer inside the tube until I was comfortable it was completely coated
4. Poured out the excess primer (if any) and removed the tape
The outside of the Tubes were Akzo Primed simply by holding the middle of the Tubes with my hand and priming the areas I wasn’t holding. After those sections were hung up and dried, I then primed the areas I was previously holding. It worked okay, but I’m sure there is a better way.
Also in the previous session, each end of the Tubes were marked with a number and the corresponding Threaded Rod End was numbered with the same number. This was done to ensure the pieces went togher the same way as they were match-drilled. After the primer was completely dry, I inserted the Threaded Rod Ends into their corresponding Torque Tubes (with a little sanding with 220) and riveted them into place using MSP-42 blind rivets. Each Tube/Threaded Rod End received six rivets.
Shown below, in order one through four, are the completed assemblies:
The next time I have primer mixed up, I will use my airbrush to prime the exposed ends of the Threaded Rob Ends.