Warning: I mixed up two sealant primers on a 737 flap track job

I was in a rush last Thursday and grabbed the wrong primer can, using the one for polysulfide on a spot that needed fuel tank sealant. The stuff just beaded up and refused to stick, which wasted about an hour of my shift. Has anyone else had a primer fail like that, and how do you keep your sealant materials straight in a busy hangar?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicecraig2mo ago

Yeah that'll do it... used to just grab whatever was closest until I watched a guy have to redo a whole panel. Now I keep a sharpie in my pocket and mark the cans right when they come in.

jamesf292mo ago

My first year on the job, I mixed up two cans of clear coat that looked the same. Cost me half a day of sanding and respraying. After reading what @alicecraig said, I finally got why marking them right away is the only safe move. Now my sharpie lives on the workbench, not in my pocket.

blake7922mo ago

Marking cans just adds another step to forget. I've never mixed them up by just keeping them in separate spots.