Removing Protective Coating From Rivet Lines

There are two schools of thought regarding the protective thin plastic coating Van’s has on all the parts. One group says take it all off and be done with it and the other feels leaving it on parts as long as possible prevents the Alclad factory coating on the aluminum from getting scratched and possibly leading to corrosion. I lean towards the second group even though it requires a little more work on the skins.

                                 Using a straight edge and a soldering iron to melt a cut line into the film coating.

                                                        Pealing the protective film away is now a snap.

Builder Tip:

Don’t drag the point (tip) of the soldering iron down the skin ... you will put a scratch in the aluminum. It is better to use a cone shaped tip and drag the side of the cone down the plastic coating or if you have spare tips, just round off the tip altogether.

                                                        Skin with plastic coating removed from rivet lines.