Aluminum sheet application

[Cottonhead]

I am using aluminum sheet that has a plastic film on it. how can I keep the protective sheeting on as long as possible and rivet.

[Mark]

You can remove the film locally where you want to rivet. The technique, common with RV builders, is to run a hot soldering iron along a straight edge where you want to tear. With a bit of practice, you will be able to peel off strips of film without marking the underlying metal.
The film gets more difficult to peel as it ages and some builders like to remove it as soon as possible to reduce the risk of filiform corrosion starting underneath.
If the surface is to be painted afterwards, you don't gain much by leaving the film on.

[Auburntsts]

You can remove the film locally where you want to rivet. The technique, common with RV builders, is to run a hot soldering iron along a straight edge where you want to tear. With a bit of practice, you will be able to peel off strips of film without marking the underlying metal.
The film gets more difficult to peel as it ages and some builders like to remove it as soon as possible to reduce the risk of filiform corrosion starting underneath.
If the surface is to be painted afterwards, you don't gain much by leaving the film on.

To avoid scratching the metal with the iron, the normal practice is to round off the edges of the tip to make it blunt. Works like a charm. What I did was laid out "rivet lines" with a straight edge & Sharpie and then went back and retraced the lines with the iron and peeled off the plastic. However, as Mark stated, it's really a waste of time if you plan to paint or prime as it's going to get scratched on purpose as part of pre-paint prep.