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Removing the blue plastic film

RScott

Well Known Member
At our builder's group Thursday night I demonstrated how to remove the plastic from the skins the easy way. Everybody was impressed & you should have seen the jaws drop when they saw how easy it is.

Peel back about an inch of plastic. Tape that plastic to a pipe, broomstick, or whatever you have that's round. Be sure to leave a couple inches of the pipe exposed at each end. Add a lever of some sort to the pipe--I clamp on some vise grips. Start turning the pipe. You can peel the plastic off with one finger on the vise grips. When it is off, hook one end of the pipe under a corner of a workbench or anything handy, hold the other end in one hand & unroll it from the pipe.

It's not my idea; I saw it mentioned once on a forum recently. Since it worked out so well & I saw nothing more said about it, I thought I would spread the word some more.
 
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Added tip

RScott said:
At our builder's group Thursday night I demonstrated how to remove the plastic from the skins the easy way. Everybody was impressed & you should have seen the jaws drop when they saw how easy it is.

Peel back about an inch of plastic. Tape that plastic to a pipe, broomstick, or whatever you have that's round. Be sure to leave a couple inches of the pipe exposed at each end. Add a lever of some sort to the pipe--I clamp on some vise grips. Start turning the pipe. You can peel the plastic off with one finger on the vise grips. When it is off, hook one end of the pipe under a corner of a workbench or anything handy, hold the other end in one hand & unroll it from the pipe.

It's not my idea; I saw it mentioned once on a forum recently. Since it worked out so well & I saw nothing more said about it, I thought I would spread the word some more.

It is a great idea.
A couple of additions I can make.
If you use a pipe approx 1 inch in diam. and you pull a couple of inches of plastic loose, you can skip using the tape. It easily wraps around the pipe enough to get it started.

Once you have wrapped a piece on the pipe, it is sticky on the outside and you can easily start more pieces. I just keep wrapping until the pipe gets too full...then use a razor knife to cut the plastic length wise on the pipe and peel the whole thing off. The side benefit is that it now wont take up much room in the trash.
 
Avoiding Glue Dots

I'm using this roll bar method to remove the blue plastic from my skins. On some of them as the plastic separates it leaves behind dots of glue on the skin. I've read that this is more likely to happen the longer the plastic is left on. At any rate, it is tedious to remove.

I discovered that if I wet the separation "seam" with mineral spirits, the glue comes off with the plastic. The mineral spirits evaporate and the skin is clean. Just dash a bit of mineral spirits on the seam after you get the roll started, and work your roll bar up and down a bit to make it flow along the seam to keep it wet. Add more as necessary.

Joe Lofton
Huntsville, AL
RV-9A wings
 
I saw this trick a while back as well. It works great. One caution is to be careful right at the end. The leverage of the vise grip + broom handle might put a slight bend in a thin skin at the edge.
 
I have seen on several sites that people are removing the blue film on the alclad, but only at rivet lines. How do you do that without scratching the alclad? :confused:

Thanks
 
soldering iron

Round and smooth the tip of a soldering iron, and melt the plastic in a line along the rivet line. You still need to be careful not to push too hard.
 
I use a straight edge and a soldering gun to melt a line through the plastic. Then just peel it off.

Hope this helps.
 
A dull soldering iron

Take a cheap Radio Shack soldering iron, and work it on a ScotchBrite wheel until it's round and dull. Then run it over a scrap sheet of aluminum until you're sure it won't leave a mark on the skin.

13.jpg


You didn't ask, but in case you're curious: if you want to cut straight lines -- there's not much point, but if you do -- use a wooden straight edge. A metal straight edge, like I'm using in the above photo, draws too much heat from the soldering iron and makes it harder to melt the plastic.

At the risk of igniting a primer debate, I used the blue stuff as a mask for spraying primer on my joints. My theory (half-baked, admittedly) is that I want to prime the areas where moisture can get trapped. The joint between skins and rib flanges is one such place, so I primed just that:

4.jpg
 
Also, on the flat pieces, unroll a couple inches of the film, duct tape it to a pipe or broom handle, then roll it off, being careful to not bend the metal. Works slick & much faster than working it off with your fingers.

Richard Scott
RV-9A
 
40Watt

From experience, you need at least a 40W soldering iron. Anything lower just don't cut it.
 
Where it all begins

And, just in case you're curious how they get the plastic on there, I snapped this picture when I was at Van's this summer.

plastic_monster.jpg
 
Why all of the plasic

Stephen L,

Just curious why you would remove all of the blue plastic? Did you have a corrosion problem with parts stored for a long time with the plastic on the part? The reason I ask is that someone at Van's basically told me to do this, but I see so many sites where people leave the plastic on the parts and just cut off the rivet zone.

Cheers
 
FWIW, if I ever build another RV, I will remove all of the blue plastic right out of the crate, done, finiti.

Stephen L,

Just curious why you would remove all of the blue plastic? Did you have a corrosion problem with parts stored for a long time with the plastic on the part? The reason I ask is that someone at Van's basically told me to do this, but I see so many sites where people leave the plastic on the parts and just cut off the rivet zone.

The only reasons I have seen for not removing all the plastic as soon as the parts hit the worktable:

1) So the project will look all purty and shiny when the DAR visits the shop....wait, he couldn't care less how shiny the plane looks...and your painter is going to hate the shiny look so much the first thing they will do is attack your purty plane with a bunch of ScotchBrite pads!

2) If the plane is going to be polished instead of painted.

3) If you want to be obsessive and spend (waste??) time running around your project with a dull soldering iron.... ;)

4) Uh...can't think of any other good reasons :D
 
The purpose of the film is to reduce scratches during packing and shipping. Back when we built, there was no such thing. There is no good reason to leave it on.
The afore mentioned is my opinion, and worth just what you paid for it.
 
Another never-ending debate!

Sounds like we should ask Doug to create a new category of Never-Ending Debate:

The Blue Film Wars!
 
The purpose of the film is to reduce scratches during packing and shipping. Back when we built, there was no such thing. There is no good reason to leave it on.
The afore mentioned is my opinion, and worth just what you paid for it.
Actually, I disagree with Sam and Mel here for maybe the first time ever.

I have left most of the blue plastic on, primarily so that my kids could draw on it. However, the more important added benefit is that a couple times I have dropped things (like my canopy frame with sharp edges on the bottom of the recently cut fwd tubes) onto my fuselage. Where there was no blue plastic, the frame dug a pretty nice (read deep) scratch into the aft fuselage skin. Where the blue plastic was it gouged the plastic and left the skin in great shape. I've found this to be true elsewhere as well.

In a high humidity environment, yeah, I'd take the blue plastic off. Where humidity is not an issue, I would argue that there's no reason to take the blue plastic off. Just don't waste your time with a straight edge... just use the solder iron by hand and it won't take you much time at all.

My .02 on this debate.
 
I left my blue plastic on. I don't have a big hangar (or didn't at the time) to store stuff in, I don't have a workshop that looks like it came out of a Craftsman Tools catalog. I have a small garage and very little storage space. I've moved parts out of the way a thousand time to get to the parts I needed. I've carried skins into the house and down to the basement, back out again, and then moved them somewhere else, all the while rubbing up against stuff. I've stored them under a workbench on a shelf, and put other stuff on top of them..and then pulled the stuff on the bottom out.

And my plane is being built in a garage where kids bikes were stored, and other stuff was moved up against the plane in a pinch etc.

I don't know how it would look if I'd taken the plastic off...how many dings and gouges and whatnot...

As with most never-ending debates; there's no "right" or "wrong" answer; only the one that works for you. Make your decision and then don't waste time apologizing. :p
 
Well, I'll make one more observation then leave this topic for further discussion. ;)

Yes, it really is a personal decision as to whether you want to leave the blue stuff on the project. My thinking is that if you drop something on a part with enough force to dent or gouge the surface, it probably won't matter whether or not the thin plastic film is on the metal. And if the projectile doesn't hit hard enough to cause a dent, it won't permanently damage the skin....unless you are building in an open shed on a beach...

And....in times past, and I don't know if this applies to the blue stuff now used, many builders have had real problems removing plastic that was on a part for a long time. Guess I rather just get rid of the stuff first thing and not have to worry about getting it off later. And if someone wants to draw on my project with a Sharpie, that's fine since lacquer thinner will take it right off. :)

One of the final tasks on the project is going around the plane and filling the minor boo-boos that are inevitable during the build process. It matters not whether or not the plane was blue during the build, it will have developed some character lines by the time it gets to the paint shop.

But...blue or shiny, enjoy the journey, the result is certainly worth the effort! (just got back from flying the length of the state and back to see the kid, three hours in the air instead of ten hours on the interstate!)
 
Simplify your life

Stephen L,

Just curious why you would remove all of the blue plastic? Did you have a corrosion problem with parts stored for a long time with the plastic on the part? The reason I ask is that someone at Van's basically told me to do this, but I see so many sites where people leave the plastic on the parts and just cut off the rivet zone.

Cheers

Just because removing it in little strips is such a fantastic waste of time, no other reason. Hey! We must be neighbors. Give me a call, Nemo.
 
Yet another problem

I have left most of the blue plastic on, primarily so that my kids could draw on it.

I've seen the artwork by Steve Moore's darling daughters. Without question it should be preserved, it is that good. Now Steve has another problem to solve: how to remove the blue plastic AND preserve the artwork. BTW, equally nice job on your portion of the airplane, Steve.:D (He and I are at about the same stage of construction.)
 
I've seen the artwork by Steve Moore's darling daughters. Without question it should be preserved, it is that good. Now Steve has another problem to solve: how to remove the blue plastic AND preserve the artwork. BTW, equally nice job on your portion of the airplane, Steve.:D (He and I are at about the same stage of construction.)
Yes, that is my biggest problem, Steve! I'm not going to be a happy camper the day I have to take them all off! :( I've decided to take the plane outside where I don't need to use the flash and take a picture of every blue panel with drawing on it! Maybe I can put it into a slide show someday.
BTW--I still have my fiberglass canopy experience to share with you. Make sure you remind me before you get there if you bag the alum. skirt idea.
 
Blue Stuff

I have heard stories that the blue film, over time (years?) will become very difficult to remove. I think there was a post(s) concerning this issue where someone was asking advice how to remove the film as it had "bonded" to the parts it was covering. I sure that heat, humidity, and time all played a part in this.

We take it off as soon as we get to the part we are working on.
 
Blue Film

For what it's worth (probably not much), I am removing the blue film completely as I go. To me it's just extra work to remove the strips for the rivet lines. And I plan to paint the airplane when the time is right.
Don
 
Rainy Day Boost

I like keeping it on during construction to reduce the number of scratches even if it's really just a placeebo. But the main reason I like keeping it on is I've found my emotional lows of making seemingly no progress on one part are bouyed when I pull the plastic off the completed, preceeding part. It's like Christmas!

I'm starting to question my sanity because these tricks I play on myself...work.

As I finished dimpling my upper wing skin last night I discovered a few aft spar holes I didn't drill. I've decided to not make any more mistakes.
 
I made a double-tipped attachment for my soldering gun (100W) and thought it so cool to make one pass and pull off a strip of film! Wow, it probably saved me almost as much time as making the darn thing. Anyway, if (when) I build again, I'll pull off everything and be done with it. BTW, had no problems pulling off film almost two years old.

Bob Kelly
 
If there was no protection offered by the blue plastic, then Van would not spend the money applying it. Therefore, it must provide some protection. I've had a few dings over the past 4 years, and I am positive that the plastic has protected some of those parts from being gouged.

As far as having a problem getting the plastic off, I don't understand why people make such a big deal out of this. A heat gun makes this a non-event. After 4 years the plastic comes right off.

Cheers,
Tracy.
 
....I don't understand why people make such a big deal out of this........
Afreakingmen! Count me as totally dismissive of the naysayer's opinion or even the slightest bit worried about removal when the time comes. Besides, I happen to LIKE the blue vinyl look.
If my kit was 6 years old instead of 6 months old I *might* reconsider.....but then again.....I doubt it. Nuf said. :rolleyes:

 
My kit is 6 years old (and then some). I've never had trouble getting the blue plastic off. I always check to make sure there's no corrosion along the edges. The one time I found some, was on a piece that had just arrived.

I'm not worried. Besides, what's so bad about liking the shiny look when you take it off? (g)
 
I asked the Vans guys about this a year ago. They said remove the blue stuff ..."don't waste your time doing the soldering iron thing". Their experience is the plastic CAN become very hard to remove as it ages. They said the plastic was only to reduce the likelihood of scratches or abrasion during shipping. Some folks don't want to spend x thousand $$ to get a box full of scratched aluminum. They also pointed out that if you paint your RV, the last thing you'll do before painting is to scotchbrite the entire airplane. Given that, why keep it mirror-like during the build process?

Terry Ruprecht
RV-9A, QB fuse
 
Removing The Blue Plastic

On small parts removing the plastic is pretty straight forward. Heat it up with a hair dryer and pull it off. On wing skins and larger areas I found a trick I want to pass on. I wrap the blue plastic around a 1" x 3" x 4' piece of wood and twist it off still using the hair dryer to get it soft. This way I don't have to bend over and pull it off in pieces.

Take it easy! The force you can create with the leverage of the clap handle can deform the skin. Make sure you heat it up a little with a hairdryer. Room temp is 70F.

Leave the plastic on the wood until you are completely done removing the plastic from the skins. It is much easier to get the plastic started if there is plastic on the wood. It graps pretty easy then.

Blue_death.JPG




Any other trick you guys use to get the "blue death" off?
 
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I haven't had any issues removing it, yet. I remove the plastic from each piece as I pick it up to work with it for the first time, the longest I've had plastic on any part so far before removing it would be my left aileron (last week), the kit was delivered May 23 of 2008, so figure 8 months?

I have noticed a trend that the plastic is more difficult to remove off the larger pieces now, but I chalked that up to cold weather rather than age.
 
I just take it slow and peel it off by hand. I've left most of it on the outside, and will have a plastic removal party when the airplane is mostly done! :D
 
Just removed the last pieces of plastic from the underside of the fuse yesterday. Believe it or not my plastic was the clear colorless. I left the plastic on to the very last as I have polished my plane.
The clear always came off in one piece, nevery really hard to peel. One thing I will caution is "never" use a razor to cut away rivit areas. It will leave a very fine scratch. The fellow that had started my plane did this and in some areas I really had to compound buff to remove. Use a sodering iron blunt point. No razor.

I found it really doesn't hurt to leave it on until you need to take it off, my plane is just about ready for taxi testing.
 
I use a broom stick with vise grips for the handle, which aren't so long as to create excessive leverage. No need for any heat; it just rolls onto the broomstick. I suspect round is better than square for this use.
 
I use a broom stick with vise grips for the handle, which aren't so long as to create excessive leverage. No need for any heat; it just rolls onto the broomstick. I suspect round is better than square for this use.

I agree, the 1x3 puts too much pressure on the metal. It was not deformed, but I felt it was getting close. Round would be much better by pulling more evenly.

Now all I need is a motor and a remote control! ;)
 
Any other trick you guys use to get the "blue death" off?
I have often heard the horror stories about corrosion and brittle, difficult removal if the blue protective plastic is left on the parts too long. Someone please define "too long" for me. Is it a week after the crate arrives? Is it 1 year, 2 years, 3? I realize Van's does recommend removing the covering as soon as possible but given he is addressing a worldwide audience, that's a prudent piece of advice to offer. Living in the Midwest, I have not observed any corrosion or experienced any difficulty when I do get around to removing the plastic. Recently, I broke down and peeled off the 2-2? year old blue protective covering from the control surfaces on my ready to fly -8 and the material came off in sheets just as cleanly as if I had just removed the skins from the shipping crate. No broom sticks, no heat guns needed. I suppose a lot has to do with the age of the parts, area of the country, ambient temperature and local environment the project is subjected to. Because most of the airframe on the -8 will eventually be polished, I prefer to leave the blue plastic on just as long as possible. Anybody who's ever built a plane knows full well how easy it is to scratch that aluminum once its protective factory covering is peeled off.

2qsnwd3.jpg

I found it really doesn't hurt to leave it on until you need to take it off, my plane is just about ready for taxi testing.
I agree with Chuck on this point. One size does not fit all. It is always best to assess your own particular situation. I might well feel differently about the whole subject of vinyl removal if I were planning a full-on paint job, lived near salt water or took years and years to finish a project but none of these scenarios apply to me. As always, YMMV
 
Rick - how did you remove the plastic in the area of the dimples for your skin rivets?
 
Blue Plastic Removal

I've ordered the empennage, wings and fuselage kits together for shipping convenience, so consequently it's likely to be six months to a year before I'm ready to start the fuselage if I do the other kits first. I think I read somewhere that the blue pastic adhesive gradually hardens, and may make removal difficult if the parts will be stored for a long time.

Has anyone had any problems removing the plastic after a year or so?

Robert
 
Thanks for the reply ...

I just did a search and found some more good information on plastic removal and corrosion. Should have done that before posting my question!
Robert
 
Removing blue plastic ...

...removing after one year is not a problem. The only tough stuff I've encountered was after nearly 3 years in a few spots I forgot to remove. After that long it seems to "embrittle" a bit.
 
I had many sheets of alclad have filiform corrosion where the blue ink printed on the alclad during manufacturing was covered by the blue plastic. I supposed the ink was still a little wet when the blue plastic when on. Not sure if the corrosion formed after I had the alclad in my possession or if it was there before I received it. Some of the pieces sat in my workshop for a couple/few years with the plastic on them.
 
I'm up to about 10 years on some parts, blue plastic still in place, no corrosion, and the plastic still peels just fine (I check it occasionally). These have been stored in an unheated, but dry, garage.
 
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