Panchito damaged at Sun N Fun

[Jerry O'Neill]

Ya gotta love WIX. 5+ page thread about a scratch, and it's just warming up....

Chuck, you're funny.
Jerry

[Richard W.]

Problem solved-

[mustanglover]

Scratches like that, as long as they meet depth x length x metal thickness criteria can be blended by a good skin quality man. Deep scratches and skin gouges get blended in the factory by Boeing every day and 99+% of the time you can't find it after it's been reworked. Even with spraylat on the metal, skins get dinged all the time during assembly and the skin blend guys stay pretty busy.
basically the cladding is worked back into the scratch void area with a blending spoon since it stays pretty soft (shiny clad is 99% pure aluminum floated onto the sheet when the skin is made), then carefully blended and buffed out, it most definitely is an art and requires a very deft touch but it can be done.

But in many instances if the scratch is too deep, then it will still get blended and then a doubler installed on the inside of the skin.

[mike furline]

Back during the war, this type of damage would have grounded the aircraft. Luckily today we have the technology and money to fix this sort of thing.

[The Inspector]

Back during the war, this type of damage would have grounded the aircraft. Luckily today we have the technology and money to fix this sort of thing.

Don't you go near aluminum with that graphite writing stick!!!!!! SHARPIE Fine Line on tape is best. and take that wood rasp and claw hammer home, along with your 6 point wrenches and tape measure marked in 1/32nds, 32nds builds houses, 1/100ths builds airplanes-

[hang the expense]

We don't call them hammers in aviation we call them lateral vibrometers.

[Glenn Wegman]

and tape measure marked in 1/32nds, 32nds builds houses, 1/100ths builds airplanes-

I hope you are an IA and not in the inspection department where Metrology is involved...

[The Inspector]

and tape measure marked in 1/32nds, 32nds builds houses, 1/100ths builds airplanes-

I hope you are an IA and not in the inspection department where Metrology is involved...

NAH! I couldn't stand a constant 72f, adequate lighting, an inside desk job within 10 steps of the coffee pot and a radio softly playing on my work station

[Rossco]

We don't call them hammers in aviation we call them lateral vibrometers.

Airframe fitters...Knockometer...Structures...Hittin stick

[groundpounder]

In the heavy equipment trade we call them " lineal torque applicators ".

[andyman64]

i prefer swing press !!!

[Hemiman]

[PropsRule]

Hemiman, is that a burnishing tool? I've only seen the kind that looks like spoon, as the Inspector mentioned earlier.

Six pages of discussion for a scratch may seem absurd to some, but hopefully other people would be interested to know the possible repairs for something like this. Everything from a "leave as-is" disposition to a full-on skin replacement has been discussed.

Big or small, a skin scratch is always worth at least a quick look. Apparently the airplane is back flying, so fortunately this one wasn't so bad.

[Hemiman]

[quote="PropsRule"]Hemiman, is that a burnishing tool? I've only seen the kind that looks like spoon, as the Inspector mentioned earlier.

Yep..