elevator decision to derivet entirely and reprime

The rivets were originally placed according to the thin-to-thick rule. This rule is over-ridden for rivets on an external surface, according to a MIL-spec. The rivets holding the hinges are all pretty much external, so should be placed head side on the hinges. Accordingly a decision was taken to de-rivet (about 20 4mm rivets, mostly). The centre hinge structure had already been de-riveted.

On inspection, all 3.2mm and all 4mm rivet holes were within tolerance for reuse, on all relevant elements.

Also, the elevator components were all excessively primed, with too high a build. This was evident in the imprint made by rivet heads. The outer edge of the rivet head was seen to press through the primer while the inner parts of the head rested on the primer. These rivets were set with a hand riveter, so this aspect could be a by-product of this particular rivet gun.

So a decision was taken to strip down all spars and remaining componemt of the elevator system, with the exception of the outer ribs holding the flutter-damping masses. These components will be re-sprayed with 10% diluted EkoPrime for a much smaller build.