Plastic film - remove or not?

[Chewie]

Sorry if this is a repeated topic, but is there any reason one must remove the blue plastic film from sheet aluminum before priming or assembly?

[N3UW]

Mark, It is good to keep the plastic film on as long as you can. it helps prevent scratches. I did take if off my spars earlier because it was pulling off the inside corners and made it hard to measure. when you get to the outside of the skins you should keep it on the outside during assembly. Take a soldering iron with a rounded tip and drag it on the surface so you can remove a 1" strip along the rivet lines. This is also a method you an use on any part.

[Enewton57]

You should remove it before priming and assembly. Leaving it on will promote corrosion and you will not get proper surface friction of rivetted parts. They need to be metal to metal.

[dedgemon]

Just get rid of it as soon as you start to use a part. If you insist on polishing your aluminum then you might make a case for keeping it, otherwise I think the downside is worse than the upside. I saw an entire RV6 fuse a few years ago that was completely riveted with the "clear" vinyl still on the surface. It basically was junk at that point. Thats why Vans switched to blue, so that builders could see it easier. YMMV of course! :-)

[Chewie]

I would certainly remove the film before prime or assembly. Edit - I see now my question was poorly phrased. I meant should I remove the film during the intermediate steps before I get to the priming step, such as flanging and deburring, or can I leave the film on, deburr and beat the snot out of my precious aluminum, and then remove the film when I'm ready to prime. Sorry for the confusion. I only ask because I see all these pics and videos and they sure look like the film was removed early, unless it was clear and I just could not see it.

[bestbearhawk1231]

I left the plastic on until I got to the actual frame up stage where you start laying out and drilling rivet holes. If you are painting, you will most likely be scuffing each piece with a scotchbrite anyway to make sure the primer gets enough "tooth" to adhere properly.

[jaredyates]

I had a hard time deburring satisfactorily when the plastic was still on.