Visit our Popular Forums

Howard L. · 07-28-2013, 06:39 AM

It's obvious that if the filiform is still a small area, the slight scraping of the area and a Corrosion X repair is best as the end result shows least. But on larger areas, I just can't stand leaving it staring you in the face, even if Corrosion X or T9 shield puts a temporary stop to it. Seemed like over night (after a couple weeks at the S. Texas beach) I had the one panel show corrosion along one complete edge (repair shown below-bare metal with clear coat ). That is where I hope we can find a surface color match some way. The aluminum strip below is of several silver/aluminum paints I tried after clear coating. No real match and clear coating, does make every paint darker.

Gene · 07-28-2013, 01:10 PM

Dirt is the solution to unmatched paint. Being so busy this year, we haven't washed and polished the trailer. Dirt really helps. It also helps cover up the sloppy job I did of sealing with Acryl-r.

Gene

Howard L. · 07-28-2013, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

Dirt is the solution to unmatched paint. Being so busy this year, we haven't washed and polished the trailer. Dirt really helps. It also helps cover up the sloppy job I did of sealing with Acryl-r.

Gene

Gene, you're too much! Being one of the original 3 Musketeers, Bob, Doug and Gene, leading the Airstream Filiform crusade, you are probably right. It's when they are new and we want to keep them shinny and new looking it bothers us most. If we all owned plastic trailers with the gel coat already fading / delaminating, the stabilizer jacks rusting and the carpet filled with dirt, we probably would not sweat the little things. But hey, these are Airstreams, my neighbors all come over to visit when we stage it in the driveway for clean up after a trip. I crank up the surround sound, offer them a beer and hand out wash rags. They love the music and drink the beer. I'm doing something with the wash rags.

Gene · 07-29-2013, 12:34 PM

There were actually 4 Musketeers, D'Artagnon being the new guy. The first three were Huey, Dewey and Louie*.

Yeh, time cures old wounds. Our corrosion is still limited to the taillights and door hinges, at least as far as I can tell. I never did get the fixes to match using some clear coat touch up paint. I should have used 2,000 grit sandpaper but I only had 400 or 600 at the time, so the scratches from that show through. Then I found somewhere some 2,000 grit, but never went back to fix it. I saw 2,000 grit in one of the big box stores last week, but when I looked for it, I ended up at a body shop where they had some.

But my sealing around everything with Acryl-r is much more sloppy and I see it every time I open the door and look at the seam on the side of the door next to the awning support. Sloppy, yes, leaking no, so the important thing is no leaks. I need to put some mud on it. I have considered getting the slop over off with a solvent. Acetone works well, but can dissolve the clear coat if worked too hard. For that reason, I have learned to live with it.

Three months and the trailer will be 6. It has been dry for more than a year and some of the dirt is at least a year old. Trailer still looks pretty good and the interior modifications matter to us more. They all look good**.

Gene

*a/k/a Aramis, Athos and Porthos.

**I built a new dinette table out of maple 2 years ago—each winter one seam separates. Last year I braced it, but the winter's subzero temps and summer's 100+˚ heat foiled me. I'll fill the space with mud and no one will ever know. The floor seams also open and close—it is not glued down except with a weak glue so we can pull it up to look for water intrusion on the subfloor. The spaces between pieces are only noticeable to me because I installed it. Barb loves the floor even with imperfections, so we'll just sweep some dirt into any spaces. It is really hard to keep the floor clean anyway—not as bad as a tent, but it is camping and we track dirt in all the time. The expansion/contraction cycle is the trailer's worst enemy. It breaks the sealant bond in various places and leads to water problems. The junction of the bathroom sink countertop and wall to the right of the sink opens regularly too. It is time for more caulk, but it won't last. That space is more than 1/16", the table seam has opened to 1/32" and I can't stop looking at it, and the floor opens in places a bit less than 1/32". Some of this relieves stress on other, more important joints, so it is better in these places than others. Like corrosion, most of this does not lead to long term, worse problems. It gets better as you age because weak eyes make everything look good. Three cheers for cataracts!

Howard L. · 07-29-2013, 08:05 PM

Going with finer sandpaper does not help with the skin color match. Tried a spot with 1000, 2000 and finally 3000 grit. (yes there is 3000. It feels like smooth cloth and is adhered to a thin rubber backing.). Thought if I got the repaired skin as shiny as possible, it might match Alcoa's skin. Result was No difference than before. I did, after a number of calls today, obtain the phone # of the lady who is Alcoa sales rep to Airstream. Of course, could only leave her phone a message. Hopefully she will return call and get me with someone in tech. or engineering. If I stay in the pursuit mode, I may stumble on an answer. May not be a positive answer, but at least we would know if metal match is possible or not.
In the mean time, we're hitching the 30 to the Duramax and heading to the Mts. Of New Mexico next week, and I'm not going to care about aluminum skin repairs at all. Goodby San Antonio 100+ in the shade.

dkrug · 07-29-2013, 08:16 PM

Have fun, Howard, and keep us posted on your quest for the perfect color.
Debbie

dkottum · 07-29-2013, 08:26 PM

Howard, you are persistent, way to go. Have a great time in New Mexico, we spend some time there every year and enjoy it as well.

doug k

eheffa · 07-30-2013, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

There were actually 4 Musketeers, D'Artagnon being the new guy. The first three were Huey, Dewey and Louie*.

Yeh, time cures old wounds. Our corrosion is still limited to the taillights and door hinges, at least as far as I can tell....

Gene

*a/k/a Aramis, Athos and Porthos.

**.... The junction of the bathroom sink countertop and wall to the right of the sink opens regularly too. It is time for more caulk, but it won't last. That space is more than 1/16", ...Like corrosion, most of this does not lead to long term, worse problems. It gets better as you age because weak eyes make everything look good. Three cheers for cataracts!

Hi Gene,

I know it's off topic here but...

That countertop wall junction always bugged me. When I pulled the countertop out to do the floors & redo the laminate, I added an aluminum trim piece that does a nice job of eliminating that gap. There is caulk underneath it but not visible now.

-evan

eheffa · 07-30-2013, 06:48 AM

My tail lights were a mess of corrosion.

I took them off completely & attacked them with a belt sander then a finishing sander...

Clear coated them with Acrylic Spray.

Remounted them:

It was actually a pretty easy fix. I incidentally discovered that the original tail light assembly installation was letting in a lot of water so this was a good thing to do.

I remounted with lots of caulk backing and Acryl-R to finish the seams. This never seemed to fully set & remained tacky so had to clearcoat over the Acryl-R to eliminate the residual stickiness.

I also redid the grab handle by the door but forgot to take the 'before' pics. I did not remove the handle though - just used a Dremel wheel to remove the old corrosion & re-clear coat. Again, an easy fix setting my mind at ease a little more as to how I can deal with these cosmetic issues. These spots are fixable & not much more work than a wash & wax job.

-evan

TinShack · 07-30-2013, 09:28 AM

Nice job, Evan. That and the door handle are on my list of things to do too...along with filiform repair, repainting and caulking the wheelwells, eplacing the bathroom exhaust vent, and recalibrating my holding tanks. Always something to keep me from getting bored.

Gene · 07-30-2013, 11:04 AM

Nice job Evan.

You are pretty busy with the trailer even though you have a day job.

Gene

TowAir · 08-01-2013, 11:27 AM

So that I don't have to scan 104 pages, is there a consensus on how to handle the filiform corrosion? My '07 is showing some around the rivet lines and even on the front top caps.

Howard L. · 08-01-2013, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TowAir

So that I don't have to scan 104 pages, is there a consensus on how to handle the filiform corrosion? My '07 is showing some around the rivet lines and even on the front top caps.

Airstream customer service will email you their suggestions for dealing with the skin corrosion (Filiform). Pages here give you much more detail on how to make it look as good as possible, maintain after fixing, deal with the corrosion on the cast pieces, etc. Minimum fix, open the wound-treat with Corrosion X.

ROBERT CROSS · 08-02-2013, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard L.

Airstream customer service will email you their suggestions for dealing with the skin corrosion (Filiform). Pages here give you much more detail on how to make it look as good as possible, maintain after fixing, deal with the corrosion on the cast pieces, etc. Minimum fix, open the wound-treat with Corrosion X.

Plus....reading is fun here...Right?

Keep up the good work gang...reactive observance is the key.

Deal with the "small" areas as small, do not go overboard and make it werse than it need be.

Bob

dkrug · 08-03-2013, 05:30 PM

Sigh. After a 4 hour drive, taking the dog to the kennel, paying for a night at the campground the night before (so we could be at the dealer first thing in the morning), we had no work done. It would seem that the parts are back ordered. The dealer never bothered to call and Airstream never bothered to tell us. We still have filiform and no fix.

Howard L. · 08-06-2013, 02:35 PM

Robert, or anyone else, have you tried "Rust-oleum, Metallic" "#7271 Silver Metallic" on any repairs? I just sprayed the outside plastic shower door with the stuff and it looks very close to the skin. Now, I did not clear coat, and that may make a difference as it has with every other paint try except Thomas Stainless Steel. If clear coat does not darken, this might be the best match found yet. Don't know if they sell it in small liquid cans, but it could be small-brush-touch-up by just spraying a bit into the lid and applying from there. When spraying, I noticed it has a ton of metal fleck in it and can see that shooting out with the overspray. We are getting ready to head out tomorrow, so I'm not going to get involved redoing a repair, but wondered what you thought? Will test an actual skin match when we return, or anyone want to give it a try, let us know outcome.

Howard

Gene · 08-06-2013, 03:45 PM

Howard, have you tried it on the furnace and water heater doors? Perhaps you have the ones that match, but ours are a dull grey color.

Gene

Howard L. · 08-06-2013, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

Howard, have you tried it on the furnace and water heater doors? Perhaps you have the ones that match, but ours are a dull grey color.

Gene

Not on those doors ( great idea though as mine are the gray also). CA Streamer painted his with the Ace aluminum paint and they looked real nice, but did not match skin. I had bought the Metallic to spray the sheet metal covers for the holding tanks underneath. The top of the plastic outside shower door had lost its gray paint, so I used the leftover from that job for shower door today. I was taken back how well it matched the skin. Paint has so much metal in it that it reflects like the sides when in the sun--shows darker gray when in the shade, like the skin also. But true test is touch up a spot on the skin itself and seal with clear coat.
I've still not heard from the Roll division of Alcoa in Pittsburg. My first calls went to the wheel division and they supposedly forwarded my info request to them. Will bug them again after NM trip.
We can't wait to get out of this heat. I'm setting in the FC now setting in the driveway, both ACs blasting pretending I'm already in the mountains--wife loading pantry. Good wife!!

Gene · 08-06-2013, 05:14 PM

Thanks for the info Howard. Maybe I'll try it and see what happens.

Can't look worse than the grey. Our shower door is painted some bad match color which is just starting to flake, so that would be the place to start.

Gene

Howard L. · 08-06-2013, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene

Thanks for the info Howard. Maybe I'll try it and see what happens.

Can't look worse than the grey. Our shower door is painted some bad match color which is just starting to flake, so that would be the place to start.

Gene

Let me know if you try a repair to the skin with it. Either way, just looking at how it perked up that plastic outside shower door, it would be a great improvement to h2o heater and Atwood door.