Progressing Slowly On Fuel Lines

I received a call from a Vans engineer today regarding my response and photos I submitted yesterday in response to the email Vans had sent. They requesting inspections for inadequate primer application for certain QB kits. He said approximately 50 aircraft were effected of various models. It sounds line Vans is standing up for their products up to and including exchanging already delivered QB kits if the situation warrants. For others less affected they were offering a $1000 refund. Apparently due to COVID the facility in the Philippines applied the primer in a substandard way. The humidity there acerbated the situation so if workers dripped sweat on the scuffed prepped aluminum prior to priming spots or thin runs of corrosion were developing on some planes. Another email is forthcoming from Vans with more details. I'm not too concerned about corrosion living in AZ. The wipe test they has us do was to ascertain how well the primer was adhering. Although I had a small amount transfer to the rag it seems to adhere to the surface OK. He said others can wipe the primer clean off. I suggested it would be very helpful if Vans could provide photos of exactly what to look for regarding primer appearance and types of corrosion. It was difficult doing that yesterday based on a written description. For example, what does a "granular appearance of the primer" really look like? He agreed that was a good idea and would forward to their comm team. From my inspection I only found one small area that definitely looked like corrosion. Its easily accessible and correctable. I just need to scuff it out with a Scotchbrite pad and re-apply some primer. I do have some concerns about painting the visible cockpit areas in the near future and what I'll need to do for that. For now I'm standing by for further words from Vans.

I continued on with securing the fuel lines. Progress was slow attaching the fuel line clamps and torqueing the fasteners. The lower 6-32 machine screws and nuts were tough to thread and tougher to get tools on to torque. I found that my little used, very small ignition wrenches were the best option. Getting a stubby Philips head screwdriver on the lower hidden machine screw was a bitch too. After too much time and plenty of profanity I got it done, only to realize the fuel line was barely touching the F-1451 tunnel side access hole. This wasn't apparent during earlier fit checks with the B-nuts loose. More profanity as I removed the fuel line. I then slightly enlarged the access hole with my Dremel tool and re-installed the line. It went in quicker the second time and I now had good clearance on the access hole. I was forced to torque the 6-32 nuts by feel as access with both my torque screwdriver and torque wrench was impossible. They only require 9 in/lbs. which isn't much. Even so I managed to snap one. Lesson learned. For torqueing the B-nuts on the compression fittings I need an upsize 1/4" to 3/8" adapter for my torque wrench which will arrive tomorrow.