Sling Pilots Forum

I noticed some builders priming spars/ribs while the Sling facilities in Joburg and Torrence do not. I’ve also noticed older Cessnas at our local airport being worked on where the interior aluminum looks shiny and new after 50+ years of sitting out in the weather. Is it worth the extra effort to prime? Does TAF use the same aluminum as Cessna and Piper?

Is the aluminum quality identical with the Sling 2 and TSI?

The factory in South Africa does prime the mating surfaces and suggests to do so in the Kit assembly instructions.
On my Quickbuild wings and Fuselage from the Factory, all the mating surfaces have a green primer where the ribs touch the skins.

The aluminum used in the Sling is 6061 which has good corrosion protection. A lot of other airplanes use 2024, which is stronger, but is more prone to corrosion.

It's all a matter of regular inspection and mitigating or preventing corrosion if it occurs.
A lot of people use products like CorrosionX or ACF-50 which is applied regularly after planes are fully built to prevent corrosion. I believe that is what the folks in Torrance use on their build assists.
And even older certified airplanes are not immune to corrosion, it's all a matter of whether they are maintained well.

Whether it's worth it can depend on where you live, like salty beach or dry inland, whether you will keep the airplane in a hangar or not.

Many thanks Philip. Sorry, I didn’t see the previous posts on the subject.