Firewall corrosion

How to keep the Cessna 170 flying and airworthy.

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FatTire
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Firewall corrosion

Post by FatTire »

Anyone have suggestions on best methods to remove surface corrosion from my firewall?
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cessnut
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Re: Firewall corrosion

Post by cessnut »

It kind of depends on what you plan to do with it. If you intend to coat the firewall with zinc chromate based epoxy primer, then any acceptable method of corrosion removal would provably be fine. If you want to try to preserve the aluminized finish, I would try a small area by hand with gray Scotchbrite using a lubricant such as Corrosion X.
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ghostflyer
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Re: Firewall corrosion

Post by ghostflyer »

I would be replacing it with a stainless steel firewall. When fitting the new firewall i also used a heat proof gray sealant. The sealant went down first and then the firewall was riveted in . That produces an oil and exhaust gas seal. Plus some structural integrity . It’s a days work but my original firewall had patches on patches and some were not sealing the cabin from fumes. So easy to clean too.
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FatTire
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Re: Firewall corrosion

Post by FatTire »

Thanks for the input. Decided the best path would be to paint. Here’s what Im planning: Alumiprep followed by alodine, epoxy primer and a VHT heat resistant top coat. Probably going to stick with a grey or aluminum color. Also changing out the tinnermans (5 or 6 are broken) for floating nutplates.
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GAHorn
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Re: Firewall corrosion

Post by GAHorn »

We need a “like” emoticon… :)
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
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