What is this white stuff and how do I kill it!

[OklaOverland]

I'm finding this white corrosion in several places around the outside. (Theres a ton of it on the roof!) If i spend enough time i can scrape it off with my finger nail but is there a safe and easy(er) way to deal with this. pic below

[reinergirl]

Show us pictures of the roof. It's either corrosion ( ie aluminum rust) or failed clearcoat, that would be unusual on a 1963 but not out of the realm of possibility .

[Gnorts]

That stuff next to the red lens in your pic looks like adhesive residue. If you can scrape it off with your fingernail, try a little goo-gone, or some paint thinner (goo-gone is just mineral spirits and perfume) and see if it cuts it. If you have a similar mess on the roof, it may be the remains of an old coating of roof paint of some sort...

[cwf]

You get yourself a "pig" or "cow" hoof. Trim to a "scraping edge".. And watch how good it works. Easier than getting a "MAN-icure"

If "clear coat" it should loosen with solvent like Lacquer thinner. If nothing dissolves it, it is likely corrosion.

Option one... Do nothing and say, "That aint corrosion, that is an Airstream Beard,, they are earned!
Option 2... Scrape or polish off the old "beard".... Polish whole shell. "Clear coat with NYALIC.
Option 3.... Paint it... Like this:

[dannydimitt]

They were coated with clear lacquer back then that failed pretty quickly if not stored out of the sunlight .

[OklaOverland]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Show us pictures of the roof. It's either corrosion ( ie aluminum rust) or failed clearcoat, that would be unusual on a 1963 but not out of the realm of possibility .

Heres the roof. The guy i bought it from had it half way under some trees. The side in the shade doesn't have as much as this side.

[DaveFL]

Are you trying to keep it original. if not white rubberized roof paint might be the simplest solution.

[OklaOverland]

I'd like to see the aliminum again.

[HiJoeSilver]

Put a little paint stripper on a small spot and give it a few minutes to see if it bubbles up. If it does it's failing clear coat.
If it doesn't bubble up it may be where there was clear coat that has worn away over time. Causing uneven corrosion.
Get a small bottle of car polish . Give it a good rub for a while. If the cloth turns black, you're removing aluminum corrosion, and are on bare metal and polishing it slightly.
If it's chalky white it may be where clear coat started to fail and held water on the aluminum causing excess aluminum oxide formation. Generally a heavy polishing will remove most of it, but you may still have slight surface putting in the end. Can still be made to look good though, maybe just not enough to shave in.

[ALANSD]

strip the coat with Aircraft or similar stripper. You can choose to polish then or use a good car type wax to make it look shinier.

[mimiandrews]

I agree with what HiJoeSilver said. That looks like clear coat that has failed (like completely gone) in some places and still there in others.

Fortunately, aluminum oxide forms a protective coating that usually stops further corrosion. If you can get the old clear coat off, the aluminum should polish out.

Be aware that a trailer can be polished back to "original finish" aluminum look with lots less work than the purists put into their beautiful mirror finish jobs. I used a Cyclo with yellow wool pads (moderately aggressive). I had the entire trailer looking good with one pass in some places where the clear coat had been in good shape to maybe three passes where the aluminum oxide was really established. After all, the Cyclo was designed to polish aluminum airplanes.

I took these pics right after I finished polishing. Four years later, it could use a touch-up, but still doesn't look bad.

[Stefrobrts]

I would love to see what it looks like now, after 4 years of exposure.

[HiJoeSilver]

Mimi, that's a sharp looking trailer!

[OklaOverland]

Originally Posted by mimiandrews

I agree with what HiJoeSilver said. That looks like clear coat that has failed (like completely gone) in some places and still there in others.



Fortunately, aluminum oxide forms a protective coating that usually stops further corrosion. If you can get the old clear coat off, the aluminum should polish out.



Be aware that a trailer can be polished back to "original finish" aluminum look with lots less work than the purists put into their beautiful mirror finish jobs. I used a Cyclo with yellow wool pads (moderately aggressive). I had the entire trailer looking good with one pass in some places where the clear coat had been in good shape to maybe three passes where the aluminum oxide was really established. After all, the Cyclo was designed to polish aluminum airplanes.



I took these pics right after I finished polishing. Four years later, it could use a touch-up, but still doesn't look bad.

Which compound did you use? Nubrite? And did you use just one grade or several?

[OklaOverland]

Update. I used "Premium Stripper" from Home Depot and a plastic scrapper and removed all of it. I took some time but you guys were right.