I received the CorrosionX-Aviation about 2 weeks ago and coated my corrosion spots with it. In a few days, the white started turning brown and after about 10 days, I noticed that the raised texture of the filliform had been knocked down by the CX-A.
Now the corrosion looks brown instead of white, but noticeably smoother. BTW, the application is simple: spray on....wipe off. The formula says that it leaves a thin film on the metal, even thought you can't see it.
My overall impression.....it seems to be working! I'll give it more time and keep you apprised of the results.
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lewster
Solar Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
Victron Solar Components and Inverters, Zamp Solar Panels, LiFeBlue and Battle Born Lithium Batteries, Lifeline AGM Batteries
My replaced wheels from April are corroding again. Can I just use bare metals polish on them?
Lew I would love to see pictures of before and after and the tools you used.
My replaced wheels from April are corroding again. Can I just use bare metals polish on them?
Lew I would love to see pictures of before and after and the tools you used.
Hi Carol,
No tools required.....just wipe the stuff on and let it work. I have a bunch of shots that I sent to Jackson Center, but I'll have to find them and then take some after shots. Should be a few days....................
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lewster
Solar Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
Victron Solar Components and Inverters, Zamp Solar Panels, LiFeBlue and Battle Born Lithium Batteries, Lifeline AGM Batteries
I talked to a dealer the other day and he said they "burn off" the clearcoat that has caused problems, polish the aluminum and use Pledge (huh?) for a final coat of wax. Sounds risky near plastic parts. He admitted there were problems from 1999 to 2003, though this thread indicates it went on until at least 2004. I don't know what you would use to burn off the clearcoat, but I seem to recall house paint can be burned off with a special took. Has anyone heard of this approach?
The problem has gone on through at least 2007 and since Airstream "claims" they don't know the cause it is probably going to be on the 2008's also. I have a 2007 20' that has it. Was treated with ACF50 by Airstream but didn't do any good. I'm desperately waiting for someone to find a cure.
I talked to a dealer the other day and he said they "burn off" the clearcoat that has caused problems, polish the aluminum and use Pledge (huh?) for a final coat of wax....
what was this clown smoking?
a/s does make some funny recommendations
like using pledge for the toilet bowl and gasket...
but run fast and far from that shop...
better yet ask him for a demo for the 'burn, polish and pledge' method.
on one of their trailers...
good grief.
i have more to post on the corrosion issue soon,
but it's a sunny day in idaho!
cheers
2air'
__________________ all of the true things that i am about to tell you are shameless lies. l.b.j.
we are here on earth to fart around. don't let anybody tell you any different. k.v.
I talked to a dealer the other day and he said they "burn off" the clearcoat that has caused problems, polish the aluminum and use Pledge (huh?) for a final coat of wax.
This is crazy - aluminum will distort badly when heated, plus loose the heat treatment, melt things, ruin sealant... stay away from that dealer!
I talked to a dealer the other day and he said they "burn off" the clearcoat that has caused problems, polish the aluminum and use Pledge (huh?) for a final coat of wax.
WHAT.........A DRUG DEALER???
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I’m done with ‘adulting’…Let’s go find Bigfoot.
We have plenty of drug dealers in western Colorado, so I wouldn't have to go to Colorado Springs (hint) for clearcoat advice if I thought our local dealers were worth quoting. The whole thing sounded weird to me and I thought I'd run it past the experts.
I got a PM asking me where I was with this, so I'll share where I am right now. 2 emails to Dave Schumann, no reply, corrosion still getting worse and as most folks know, this trailer has been totally pampered. It sits indoors when not in use and I've used all the suggested cleaning/waxing products. This past summer, I have also moved a dehumidifier into the indoor storage, just in case as some suggested, too much humidity was getting to the exposed places where the coating was disturbed in the construction process (since all corrosion on the body of my Airstream seems to be areas where rivets were installed or sheetmetal was routed or cut). On top of all this, the trailer is washed and Walbernized 1-2x a season given my average use listed below.
Sad to report, even with the humidity lowered even further (which it was not high to begin with), kept indoors except when used (about 4x this year, total of 15 days, most no rain or bad weather), the progression of the corrosion continues. At the rate this is growing, my Airstream could be white in color in 7-10 years, or at the very least have these spider veins all over it, looking like something Elvira might own. Not exactly what I had in mind when I forked over 2-3x what an SOB costs. I myself didn’t expect the finish to last forever, but I did expect it to last more than 3 years. No vehicle that I have ever owned has had anything remotely close to this happen all over the body and 2 sets of cast alum taillights and rims in such a short period of time. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. For those of you that have this, you most likely can mirror how I feel.
The suggestions I got from the factory (via general phone and email support) were to sand down and put clear nail polish on the finish...great idea, you know how my trailer would look with this all over? Still wondering what would look worse, clear nail polish all over or spider veins all over. I'd be a big hit at Haloween rallys though....
Other suggestions were to come in and on my dime, have them install the belt line trim over the center exposed rivet line. Good suggestion to mask the problem, but IMHO, then what do I do when it eventually grows beyond that cover piece?
Bottom line, it appears to me there is no known way to prevent this and you basically appear to get it randomly...some have it bad, some not as bad, some not at all. However, more and more of us seem to report this is becoming more and more common. I myself can't see spending more $$$ on a new unit when I upgrade to a larger RV. My plan was to upgrade to a 31' Dinette, but after this, that won't be happening until I have demonstrable evidence that there is a manufacturing process in place and some real world data to back it up that this has been addressed, so that after 2-3 years, this isn't an issue. 7-10 years, I'd have less gripe, but starting at 2 years (and some far sooner)? I don't think this is an unreasonable expectation given the price we've all paid for these hand crafted beauties....
I swear, I love my Airstream, and I've met a number of the folks that build them and/or work for the company, and those folks I hold in a high regard, but the company overall appears to have totally dropped the ball on this one and IMHO, it's not a small thing. I feel sometimes like Cinderella....it's midnight, the warranty is up and I've turned into a pumpkin, as most of us out of warranty folks have experienced. Even if you are in warranty though, the suggested masks and fixes aren't all that exciting either, after paying a hefty sum to have such a cool trailer, is it worth it? There are days I'm on one side of the conversation and others where I'm on the other side. Either way, not a great place to be, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, even if beauty was a horse.
Well, after about 6 weeks of exposure after I applied the Corrosion-X Aviation formula to the filliform, I have not seen any other white spidery growth around the affected areas.
That said, the C-X turned the fillifirm a light brown, and actually seemed to reduce the height of it, but it is not gone....just seems to be stopped in it's tracks.
My next trial is to remove the corrosion entirely and expose the bare aluminum, match the finish of the original surface, re-treat the area and see what happens......in essence, making the area tatally invisible. I fully expect the C-X formula to protect the newly renovated areas. The challenge will be to develop a methodology that is relatively simple to perform and let the C-X do the rest in the way of protection.
I don't mind applying it once or twice a year.......just like waxing.
Stay tuned for the next report (and pictures)....hopefully with-in a couple of weeks!
__________________
lewster
Solar Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
Victron Solar Components and Inverters, Zamp Solar Panels, LiFeBlue and Battle Born Lithium Batteries, Lifeline AGM Batteries
Well, after about 6 weeks of exposure after I applied the Corrosion-X Aviation formula to the filliform, I have not seen any other white spidery growth around the affected areas.
That said, the C-X turned the fillifirm a light brown, and actually seemed to reduce the height of it, but it is not gone....just seems to be stopped in it's tracks.
My next trial is to remove the corrosion entirely and expose the bare aluminum, match the finish of the original surface, re-treat the area and see what happens......in essence, making the area tatally invisible. I fully expect the C-X formula to protect the newly renovated areas. The challenge will be to develop a methodology that is relatively simple to perform and let the C-X do the rest in the way of protection.
I don't mind applying it once or twice a year.......just like waxing.
Stay tuned for the next report (and pictures)....hopefully with-in a couple of weeks!
Lew would you suggest I apply C-X on the entire trailer if the trailer is brand new and has no signs of corrosion as a preventative measure?
__________________ Brian & Donna 08 27' Safari FB SE 03 Avalanche 2500 WBCCI #1199 - AIR #23847 NEU LIFE IS GOOD
2. each sample was partially covered (with tape) and exposed to the out of doors for 2 weeks.
this was enough time and rain for significant rust on the iron, darkening of the galvanized steel and a light layer of 'stuff' on the aluminum and brass.
3. the covered areas were exposed and a patch was 'scuffed into each surface' with a scotch brite...
4. then each sample was treated with c-x. all of the metals was sprayed, coated or SOAKED in c-x.
5. 24 hours later another coat of c-x was applied.
6. the samples were then left outside in midwest weather. temps were 75-98 and it rained about 4 times over the next 5 weeks.
7. to make the test truely fair i left town in the a/s for the 5 weeks of exposure.
8. the samples were undisturbed during that time.
9. upon my return, the iron ALL had the same degree of rust, there was NO difference on the treated metal areas.
10. the galvanized steel all looked the same and the scuffed areas were rusty even with c-x.
11. the aluminum samples all looked the same too with not much visible change.
12. so the aluminum samples were RECOATED with c-x and the next day...
13. a weak salt solution was sprayed on the aluminum (na/cl and ca/cl were used)
14. 3 days later, following a rain the aluminum samples were EQUALLY corroded.
so imo c-x is useless after a short time and with exposure to rain and salt.
the product claims to NOT have any wax or silicones in it...
imo this is a negative.
boeshield t-9 DOES leave a waxy residue, which IS the principle long term corrosion/water protection...
If you ask me (and you didn't ), I think the factory may need to seriously look at getting back into the coating business in some way shape or form. From my exp with this, I am of the firm belief that no matter what you do, it's gonna happen. Waxing and keeping it clean represent only a small part of the overall solution.
In the attached pictures, you'll see sheets of alum, plain as day. Then there is a machine that they have at the factory that punches holes into the sheetmetal for the rivets. From there you'll see what a finished panel looks like and a the attachment process along the way.
When the alum is sitting on the shelves, it's totally coated with the Aloca added finish. When they punch holes into the coated metal, route out holes for windows, doors, etc, they appear to disturb the coating. Once that is done, and if the area disturbed, like a rivet for example does not completely re-seal the disturbed hole, water, humidity, and all things that effect aluminum can get into these areas and eventually show this problem. This is why I believe some have it bad and some not as bad, and some, so far not at all...it's all on how badly disturbed and successfully resealed the disturbed places are completed.
I say this from the standpoint that nearly every single place I have this problem can be traced back to a rivet line, edge, non-coated item or routed out hole. It's the only thing that makes any sense. As I've said, I keep mine indoors and keep it clean and waxed. It's most likely one of the most pampered Airstreams out there, without question. Something has caused this and frankly, if I'm even remotely correct, the only thing that may slow or stop this is for the skins to be re-coated after a part of production to re-seal the disturbed areas. Also, sealing the access door trim pieces and rims would also help. It is possible that adding some sort of gasket at the base of the rivet may also help seal the hole properly, but that won't solve the routed out holes and cut edges that show the issue, that's why I say clear the trailers entirely after production so that all areas are again sealed. Of course, we alll have seen in 10 years of less what the clear coated Airstreams do, but maybe a combo of the two processes? I don't know...all I do know is that a person spending 2-3x more than the average RV should expect less issues with the exterior.
BTW, has anyone else noticed that few, if any, have reported this on the inside of the CCD/SE skins? I may be wrong here and if so, please correct me, but the inside skins and rivets are the same as the outside, yes? Inside of trailers I would assume also get humid, not wet (typically) or exposed to the outside environment......just another thought.....
BTW, has anyone else noticed that few, if any, have reported this on the inside of the CCD/SE skins? I may be wrong here and if so, please correct me, but the inside skins and rivets are the same as the outside, yes? Inside of trailers I would assume also get humid, not wet (typically) or exposed to the outside environment......just another thought.....
Good point, I would also like to know if anyone has seen this on the inside. FYI, I was at JC yesterday having some warranty work done, so I took the tour. While no one else was around, I mentioned to our guide (Don?) that I had read about some cases of filiform corrosion problems on Airstream skins. I asked him if Airstream was addressing these issues. He looked at me with a blank face, and said he had not heard of such a problem. Good salesmanship? ... maybe, but he has worked there for 45 years and seemed like an honest man.
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"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde
Aside from over a half dozen missing rivets, the inside has been spared this cancer.
What I find interesting (depressing) is that not only are the skins coroding, but EVERYTHING that is made of aluminum. The door hinges, the light bexel things. I've mentioned before that some of the bolts on our zip-dee awing show signs of corrosion, and those are not made by AS. Granted, our unit has not been nearly as pampered as twinks, but it has not been near sea water, driven around on winter salt and so on.
Maybe it's global warming. Or the Republicans.
At this rate, I think our Eurovan will outlast the CCD!
Jonathan
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Sometimes I wish I were living in the stone age. Then I would know I'm the smartest person in the world.
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A Dealer???
By the time the Classic is as old as the Safari was when we sold it, it 
), I think the factory may need to seriously look at getting back into the coating business in some way shape or form. From my exp with this, I am of the firm belief that no matter what you do, it's gonna happen. Waxing and keeping it clean represent only a small part of the overall solution.
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