Last Sunday my wife and I primed the remaining parts for the horizontal stabilizer:
The parts (the ones on top after PreKote)
My awesome helper, applying PreKote :)
Having so many identical parts poses its own challenge when you want to transfer the markings from the vinyl to the metal (since scrubbing with PreKote/scotchbrite removes them). My solution is to put number the parts (writing the number next to them on the paper that covers the workbench), take pictures of all the marks with the number, then ensuring that my wife returns each part to the same place she took them from - after they're dry, I just go through the pictures and redo the markings:
How I keep track of the markings
The final result was great:
Final results
I had previously riveted the stringers together, but now I can continue on to dimpling and riveting the whole HS! (and trying to figure out how to store this - it's big once assembled)
One way to mark aluminum parts without adding stress risers is to use patterns of punched dots. You can use a spring-loaded punch for this: http://goo.gl/AkqbZs. There are actually letter punch sets for aircraft and nuclear power that are "dot matrix", for the same reason: http://goo.gl/p7oDwt. If you do choose to do that, set your punch to a low setting, and back up your sheet metal with a rigid block so it does not distort.
One way to mark aluminum parts without adding stress risers is to use patterns of punched dots. You can use a spring-loaded punch for this: http://goo.gl/AkqbZs. There are actually letter punch sets for aircraft and nuclear power that are "dot matrix", for the same reason: http://goo.gl/p7oDwt. If you do choose to do that, set your punch to a low setting, and back up your sheet metal with a rigid block so it does not distort.
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