Replace corroded skin?

[submariner]

The 48 Liner i have been working on has on several spot pretty good signs of corrosion. This is however only on the inside. It has been corroding below each window. I need some suggestion of if i should replace the panels or leave it. the outside has a couple minor dents on those lower panels. Any suggestion is appreciated.
I will try to upload a photo in a little bit

[submariner]

here the pictures

[perryg114]

As long as the corrosion is not so bad as to affect the structure, you should be ok. I would scrub it with scotch bright and paint it with a good polyurethane paint. POR 15 will work or a product called Aluthane would be even better. Don't put fiberglass back into the trailer. The wet fiberglass is what caused the corrosion in the first place.

Perry

[submariner]

Since the Liner is undergoing a complete restoration ( not just repair ) would it be ok, to just clean and paint ? how will it hold up in the long run ? will it continue to corrode? thanks

btw. I’m already replacing front and back lower panel as they are badly damaged. As the Liner will be polished, will you be able to see a difference between the old and the new panels ?

[truckasaurus]

I'd replace that skin without a second thought. If you could grind off all the corrosion back to unmarked metal and still have a decent thickness I'd think about keeping it. Always hard to tell from pics but I doubt that skin will have much thickness left once every last bit of corrosion is gone. To get all the corrosion off it you'll have to remove the skin anyway so you're half way there already. It's a nice trailer and deserves a quality repair.

[perryg114]

Aluminum is pretty stable when it is not being exposed to constant water contact. It forms stable oxides and the oxide is self healing. It is a good idea to insulate different metals from each other to prevent corrosion. One way to insulate metals from each other is to paint them. This also seals them off from water. I don't know the extent of the damage but it does not look too bad. Most aluminum of that era was Alclad. A thin layer of pure aluminum is over a higher strength alloy that is less corrosion resistant. If you have the skills and the time to make a panel replacement then do so. The photo on the right looks good to me. The one on the left may have some problems. If you clean the metal well you can see what you have to work with. The corrosion maybe superficial. I would use something like scotch bright. You want to preserve the Alclad layer if it still exists.

Alclad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perry

[submariner]

thanks Guys,

I think i will replace the skin, because i like to do my work right the first time and considering the amount of money as well as time, that is going into a total restoration, it makes sense to replace it from what you guys say.
thanks

[PLVMB]

I would replace it also.

[InsideOut]

The nice thing about a '48 liner is all the panels are "flat"…no compound curves. The edges may have a crimp to them - this can be achieved with a bead roller - I think we got ours at Harbor Freight.

Use the existing panels for templates and replace them as needed. We replaced several panels on our trailer. Frankly, it's faster & easier to replace a panel than to rehab an old one and once polished, you can't tell the old from the new.

Shari