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Weird Alclad?

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12notes

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2014
Messages
1,286
Location
Louisville, KY
I finished buying all the sheet metal for my aircraft 2 years ago, and recently made some parts, including the turtledeck, trailing edges of the wings, and ailerons with the Alclad 2024-T3 .016" that I had bought. I only stripped the protective plastic where the rivets were at the time of installation, so I did not notice until now that the metal isn't shiny underneath the plastic, but has a dull, brushed finish, which does not match the alclad on the rest of the plane. I double checked the packing list and order from Aircraft Spruce, Alclad 2024-T3 .016 was what I ordered and what they said they shipped.

Is this a weird form of alclad I'm not familar with, or, as I really expect, did I just make a large chunk of my plane (also trailing edges of wings, possibly ailerons(haven't checked yet)) with non-alclad aluminum? The plastic says 2024-T3, so at least the base metal is correct.

And how do I deal with it? Turtledeck would not be simple to change, I can't fit in the fuselage to back drill holes onto a new turtledeck. I didn't want to paint the plane, but I assume I need to paint these pieces now? Would a vinyl wrap be any lighter than paint?

I haven't yet contacted Aircraft Spruce, as I'm not sure I can be civil about it at this time.
 
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