Corrosion problems with new Airstreams

[GregU]

I would not waste the money on this product. The other responses are correct. Try CorrosionX yourself, wipe off and cover AS with a good wax. I noticed that Airstream is covering the beltline of all new RVs with a beauty band that hides the beltline rivets and thus covers the prime place where Filliform started on my 2008 23'. I have moved my AS from a storage facility with a gravel floor that was always damp to a raised, sealed concrete storage facility that seems quite dry. This has greatly slowed the filiform corrosion but has not eliminated it. I guess our Houston climate has a lot to do with the corrosion.

As to your water leaks. I unfortunately had a number of leaks that the dealer spent a year trying to stop. It took a second dealer and a lot of time on my part resealing seams. The worst leak was under the Airconditioner where the electrical cables go through the top of the Airstream. There was an open hole with no sealent that was not readily visable when the AC cover was removed. Other leaks were along the seams. There are leak detectors used by members of the AS community and you can have those tests run for around $150-200. There is a machine that is run over every rivit and visable seam that detects leaks. AS will not pay for this test but it could save you a lot of trouble if leaks persist. Good Luck
Greg

[Moflash]

I always put a moisture barrier between the concrete floor and my Airstream as concrete is a wick for moisture.I buy black plastic sheeting at Lowes.The same stuff you would use to cover your crawl space.I completely cover the area that my Airstream will sit on for the winter for about $40 dollars.Cheap insurance.And I reuse it every year.

[David Logue]

Ive attached photos of a aluminum car. i dont believe they finished it with anything.
what is the purpose of clear coating if it causes such problems?
Help in Dallas

[ROBERT CROSS]

POI...the above vehicle is much easier to keep clean/polished/sealed and or waxed than an AS.
If left un-coated it will oxidize. You can bet the owner will not let that happen.

The clearcoat is not the cause of the filiform , it starts after the coating has been compromised.
AS uses pre-coated panels and every rivet hole/cut edge has the potential of being a source.
AS had much fewer problems when they coated the finished shells in house.

Bob

[Gene]

Bob's got it right.

Gene

[dkottum]

That's it Bob, but for whatever reason Airstream could no longer finish in-house, and Alcoa came up with the prefinished panels. So every new Airstream comes compromised wherever these panels are cut or drilled. The in-house clear coat method sprayed the entire trailer and left none of this exposed, although it would begin to peel off after a few years of sun exposure.

That's why many of us try to keep those exposed edges/rivet holes covered with a corrosion inhibitor, CorrosionX, Boeshield T9, or whatever. It certainly helps, and also penetrates existing filiform to prevent or slow its spread.

I have thought of taping a very thin line along those edges and spraying them with clear acrylic. But I think normal wear and weathering would cause it to fail in spots. So I'll stick with the wax-the-surface each year, CorrosionX-the-edges/rivet holes/fittings quarterly method.

doug k

[dkottum]

Of these two products sold in the Airstream store, CorrosionX and Boeshied T9, I don't like Boeshied on the shell because it dries leaving a paraffin wax coating that looks nasty and is hell to clean off the panels. But I sure like it under the trailer on frame and steel parts, and axles.

doug k

[ROBERT CROSS]

..........."but for whatever reason Airstream could no longer finish in-house"

True...but not quite. It probably has more to do with bottom line $$$$$$$.

A state of the art spray booth,(OSHA), is not cheep, just ask any new car dealer principal.
Plus the added cost of the labor to do a quality job.

It would be interesting to see JC's cost analysis on this....if one was ever done.

Bob

[dkottum]

There seems to be three finishes over the years of Airstream. None, which tarnishes. Clear coat, which peels. Prefinished panels, which get filiform at the edges.

I'm not convinced one is better than the other, they all need maintenance to look decent, and they all look better from a distance after time.

doug k

[David Logue]

Hey Guys,
I appreciate all the input. I guess whatever I do it is still going to cost time, elbow grease and of course $$$.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

..........."but for whatever reason Airstream could no longer finish in-house"

True...but not quite. It probably has more to do with bottom line $$$$$$$.

A state of the art spray booth,(OSHA), is not cheep, just ask any new car dealer principal.
Plus the added cost of the labor to do a quality job.

It would be interesting to see JC's cost analysis on this....if one was ever done.

Bob

The reason is EPA related. In trying to meet emission standards in the 90's they started changing the clear coat formulas, with some disastrous results. Some of those later 90's units had some bad cases of clear coat peel. Alcoa pre finished panels solved the issues, although not without today's problems.

Jack

[ROBERT CROSS]

Jack,

Granted the 90's clearcoat options left much to be desired and not a lot on the car's OR Airstreams.

Today's coatings are much improved, but they do need the proper equipment and personal that have been well schooled in their use.

Bob

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Jack,

Granted the 90's clearcoat options left much to be desired and not a lot on the car's OR Airstreams.

Today's coatings are much improved, but they do need the proper equipment and personal that have been well schooled in their use.

Bob

Bob, I do agree.

[Gene]

This issue keeps coming up—why doesn't Airstream treat the cut edges with some sort of coating to prevent corrosion? A sidelight is the question whether factory workers drag the panels along the floor wearing off the coating on uncut edges?

The latter is a QC issue and whether it has been addressed is unanswered.

Would the gov't regs require a spray booth or other expensive equipment to put something on the cut edges? A small amount is all that would be necessary. Maybe they could do it outside rather than inside the factory, though that may be a far fetched idea.

Company guys lurking—can you answer these questions?

Gene

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

This issue keeps coming up—why doesn't Airstream treat the cut edges with some sort of coating to prevent corrosion? A sidelight is the question whether factory workers drag the panels along the floor wearing off the coating on uncut edges?

Gene

Gene, it's not just the edges.....there are hundreds, if not thousands of cuts/holes in the sheet metal. Every rivet hole, every window cut, every vent opening is a possible source for the coating to be disturbed. The rivets are not themselves 100% water tight, they place caulk inside along the rivets to seal it from leaks (I think it's silkaflex), but that doesn't address the issue of the water getting behind the rivet head and to the hole they punched in the sheet metal with that big hole punching machine they use to create the rivet holes.

Though I don't disagree, something should be done. From a cost perspective, the belt line trim was their down and dirty answer for the belt line, but that doesn't IMHO address the multitude of other source points. Though mine in the end never got nearly as bad as the one's I saw, I had several rivets where the spiders grew out of.

I think what helped in my case is that it's stored indoors, somewhat climate controlled and it gets washed after every trip, and waxed 2x a season.

Since this all started (hard to believe it's been almost 10 years now), mum is the word. I doubt you'll get any public answers from the factory on this subject. Maybe some off line chatter, but that would be about it.

[iowaroots]

I see there are many posts and reading them all would be daunting.

Perhaps this has been addressed by you Airforum Veterans but could this be an electrical/electrolysis issue? I have seen it in other low voltage environments. You may have seen it too on wiring connections and such. I know that aluminum electrical connections are treated with some sort of anti-corrosion paste after they are made.

Any Electrical Engineers out there? My uneducated thought process asks the following questions:

What if the "battery kill switch" is always turned OFF when the coach is not in use?

What if an electrical cord is always plugged in when stored..... if able?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Earthcreeper

I see there are many posts and reading them all would be daunting.

Perhaps this has been addressed by you Airforum Veterans but could this be an electrical/electrolysis issue? I have seen it in other low voltage environments. You may have seen it too on wiring connections and such. I know that aluminum electrical connections are treated with some sort of anti-corrosion paste after they are made.

Any Electrical Engineers out there? My uneducated thought process asks the following questions:

What if the "battery kill switch" is always turned OFF when the coach is not in use?

What if an electrical cord is always plugged in when stored..... if able?

Click on the link in this post
for an explanation of our most troublesome corrosion concern.

Bob

[DMT]

Originally Posted by Earthcreeper

I see there are many posts and reading them all would be daunting.

Perhaps this has been addressed by you Airforum Veterans but could this be an electrical/electrolysis issue? I have seen it in other low voltage environments. You may have seen it too on wiring connections and such. I know that aluminum electrical connections are treated with some sort of anti-corrosion paste after they are made.

Any Electrical Engineers out there? My uneducated thought process asks the following questions:

What if the "battery kill switch" is always turned OFF when the coach is not in use?

What if an electrical cord is always plugged in when stored..... if able?

The trailer would need to effectively be immersed in a conductive liquid for this to be the cause - think of the stern drive or an outboard motor on a boat as an example. In such a case corrosion can be controlled by the use of a sacrificial anode (commonly a zinc bar attached to the submersed part) or an applied impressed current to counter-act the normal depletion of the weaker metal in the electrochemical reaction. The fad nowadays is to sell such devices for automobiles, but it only can work if the car is submerged. Good for boats, not so good for cars. My brother has one on his truck and swears by it. I rank it right up there with the Q-Ray, but that's just my opinion - no offense to any Q-Ray wearers out there. If you use both the Q-Ray and electric corrosion protection on your car maybe you will live to 150 still driving the same vehicle!

[iowaroots]

I think you are saying it cannot be anything electrical. In my case it's the battery box door frames and the aluminum mag wheels. Can't get my head around that. Spider web like corrosion on the wheels and white crusty corrosion on the battery door box frames.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Earthcreeper

I think you are saying it cannot be anything electrical. In my case it's the battery box door frames and the aluminum mag wheels. Can't get my head around that. Spider web like corrosion on the wheels and white crusty corrosion on the battery door box frames.

Very poor clearcoat application is the problem with the frames.
A combination of peeling & filiform on the wheels, bezels, panels and door hinges.

What I did....

Wet sandpaper, a good polish and sealer will take care of the battery door frames.




Thorough removal and sealing of the filiform will stop the progression.





Good old Aluminum paint for the door hinges.



Have fun...

Just realized how many times I've posted these pic's on this thread....oh well.

Bob