Sources of 'factory' clear-coated aluminum?

[switz]

I do not know if the dealer hoisted the Bravo Sierra flags today or not, but he said the new (last several years) trailers aluminum skin has a corrosion inhibitor blended into the metal as it is made. The problem areas are the knife edges of the "skin" where the cuts are made for the end of a piece and all the appropriate openings. He suggested using "orange pledge" monthly as a way to inhibit corrosion for these areas rubbing the wax toward the joint or edge to build up some protection on the knife edge of the metal.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by switz

I do not know if the dealer hoisted the Bravo Sierra flags today or not, but he said the new (last several years) trailers aluminum skin has a corrosion inhibitor blended into the metal as it is made.

Some BS. "Corrosion inhibitor" is a fancy name for the factory clear-coat. Not blended into the metal, though, just a coating.

If it really was "blended into the metal," that would make it a new metal alloy. The inhibitor would be all through the metal, and a cut edge would make no difference at all.

Look at it like this: A cut edge on chrome plated steel will rust. A cut edge on stainless steel, which has chromium blended in, will not. Same principle.

[Aerowood]

A good corrosion Inhibitor has been around for decades, it's called "ALCLAD" to bad Airstream won't go back to their own history books and see what works.

[Belegedhel]

Well, the warm spring is upon us, and I better get this project on the way before the heat of summer has me cooking in my aluminum tent.

Melody Ranch--anything to share as a followup to your Diamond Brite trial?

[A W Warn]

I tried the rattle cans that Airstream sales for touch up, those I mentioned in post #20. I'm not to happy with the results. The finish does not have the gloss or texture of the original finish. Prepping the aluminum where oxidation had occurred to match those areas that had no oxidation was a problem. I never figured out a procedure that would work. I think the only real solution is to polish the metal to a high gloss, which I do not want. Or, replace the metal panels, which on an older trailer does not make since financially.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

So I am considering replacing my '70's era vinyl coated interior skins with the ever-popular shiny stuff. I reskinned my door with raw aluminum, and now have several blemishes and corroded spots on it where I bumped it with a sweaty shoulder and didn't realize my mistake until the damage was done. I am told that the interior skins that Airstream uses in the CCD version are rendered low maintenance by the fact that they have a factory clear-coat plastic adhered to them. Question is: does anyone know how to get hold of this material?

To my knowledge, you cannot purchase that material, since it's applied to the metal before Airstream ever receives it.

All you can do, is use the 2 part mixture that Airstream has available, BUT, it is NOT THE SAME as the interior or exterior finish.

Andy

[Belegedhel]

In the original post, I was looking to buy the aluminum, not just the coating, which I was aware was some kind of plastic film, not just a spray one clear coat. I found a dealer that could get me the coated aluminum, but it was freakishly expensive, so started entertaining other spray-on or paint-on options. I need to make up my mind which way to go pretty soon, as I need to get some insulation in my walls before the heat of summer gets here... It doesn't sound like anyone is discovering any "silver bullet" so to speak, so it might just be time to clean up my vinyl coated original skins and pop them back into place.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

In the original post, I was looking to buy the aluminum, not just the coating, which I was aware was some kind of plastic film, not just a spray one clear coat. I found a dealer that could get me the coated aluminum, but it was freakishly expensive, so started entertaining other spray-on or paint-on options. I need to make up my mind which way to go pretty soon, as I need to get some insulation in my walls before the heat of summer gets here... It doesn't sound like anyone is discovering any "silver bullet" so to speak, so it might just be time to clean up my vinyl coated original skins and pop them back into place.

That's a pretty cat.


Maybe you could recoat them with a vinyl you prefer.


Brushed Aluminum Vinyl | eBay


http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Chrom...492922535.html


Ken

[Belegedhel]

Hey now! This changes everything! Now I'm thinking faux carbon fiber interior wrap! Problem is, the vinyl wrap costs more than sheets of aluminum...but...Imagine a wrapped interior plastic end cap in combination shiny stuff on the walls...

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

Hey now! This changes everything! Now I'm thinking faux carbon fiber interior wrap! Problem is, the vinyl wrap costs more than sheets of aluminum...but...Imagine a wrapped interior plastic end cap in combination shiny stuff on the walls...

Patent the idea before it catches on, and Airstream starts making all the interiors like that. Good luck with your project.


Ken

[Belegedhel]

I thought I would start a new thread, to detail my continuing journey, but since I started this one, I guess I can hijack it.

Anyway, like the optimist I am, I bought the 10 4'x12' sheets of aluminum to recreate the interior walls of my 21' trailer last spring. In order to get the "grain" of the brushed aluminum all going in the right direction, it meant about 20-25% waste on the sheets that I bought. Of course, that 1 month project I started in May dragged out through the whole summer. I worked as carefully as humanly possible to avoid scratching or leaving finger prints my new sheets. Like the procrastinating idiot I am, I left the occasional finger marks that ended up on some of the sheets during installation, occasionally thinking--I need to clean those off before they leave a permanent mark.

Anyway, started the clear coating process by first abrading my entire interior with fine steel wool. This took the better part of a day with two of us working. The places where there were finger prints corroded into the aluminum really caused problems. By the time I was done, the uniform "brushed" look did not look uniform anymore, despite my best efforts at rubbing the aluminum lengthwise and levelly.

Next came wiping it all down with acetone. Since I was going with the KBS Diamond Clear Finish, I bought the clear coat, metal cleaner, and thinner all in one (expensive) order. I talked to KBS tech support to see if the cleaner was really needed considering everything I had already done. They assured me that I needed to do it, so I went ahead. The following day, I applied the KBS Klean solution in a 1:10 dilution. I soaked a rag with the solution, wiped down the aluminum one panel at a time, waited 5 minutes or so, and then washed it off by wiping it down with first tap water,and on the third rinse, with distilled water. I finally dried it off with a towel and then waited until the next day to make sure everything was dry. The "Kleaner" has acid in it. I started by trying to spray it with a spray bottle, and as it dripped down the aluminum, it "Kleaned" rather non-uniformly--thus the change to wiping it on.

For the Diamond Clean Finish, I first opened up my first 1 gallon container and dispensed a little into a cup before sealing up the can again. This cup
full of finish, I used to try coating some test pieces so that I could see
how it behaved. All seemed well at the time, except that I got a lot of
little fibers from the roller in my work.

So, when I started my application today (about 3 days after the tests
described above), I waited for the driest part of the day, where the
humidity was 57%. This was at about 1:00. I rolled on the coating and got
quite random results on the first coat. On a single pass with a roller, I
would get sections that were perfectly clear and glossy, next to ones that
were quite ripply, almost textured. I decided not to worry about it, as I
guessed that it might just be the "spongy" pattern left behind by the foam
roller I was now using, and I was trying to apply a very thin coat, so
didn't want to go back and work/thicken it. I figured it would fill in
on the next coat.

For the second coat, I waited 2 hours and made sure that the first coating
was no longer tacky. It was now about 4:30 and the humidity was about
60%. As I applied the coating it seemed that it/the layer beneath became
immediately wrinkled/textured. I assumed that the bottom layer simply
wasn't cured enough yet, so waited another hour. Tried again, and this
time, the wrinkling wasn't noticed, but the layer of coating I laid down
immediately developed tiny bubbles--this time, I was applying the finish
with a brush.

So I started experimenting. I brushed some coating on some fresh aluminum, and still got the tiny bubbles. I then prepared some coating mixed 50/50 with thinner, as I had read that in "humid" conditions, thinning may be required. Still got a lot of bubbles. I guessed that maybe my gallon
container had somehow become contaminated (with air or humidity?) as I
opened it, dispensed what I was using, closed it up again, etc.. I got out
the second gallon container, and tried brushing some of that, and it
immediately bubbled as well.

I am at a loss as to what has magically screwed me for the second coat. I put in a request to tech support hoping to get some advice. Will post when I get it.

[PeterH-350LE]

Even if they claim that KBS Diamond Clear Finish can be applied by brush, roller or conventional spray, my many decades of experience with many types of clear coats tells me that ONLY a spray application will give you the results you expect. Brushing and rolling adds to many contaminants, textures and/or brush marks and an uneven film thickness.

[Belegedhel]

I'm with you--you want a uniform coating, spray it...But in this case, the KBS coating requires respiration gear, results in a risk of explosion, etc., and I was thinking that I might get more controlled results from a roller. BUT--the defects I am describing are not just surface brush marks, but the finish itself getting gassy. The weird thing is that the bubbly appearance didn't show up on the first coat, but only on the second.

[cwf]

For me, painting anything is art...black art...

I applaud your "let me TEST" before coating the interior. Brilliant!

As for the "bubbles"... That really sounds like the coating is "off gassing" and drying too fast. I wonder if the "tech" folks could test the cans you have for issues like this? Perhaps the atmospheric pressure affects bubble creation as much as temp/humidity?

For application, roller or brush of any type will cause bubbles. I have never seen anything different. I believe it has to do with absorption of paint by bristles which the. Create bubbles much like a child's toy bubble loop.

So, spraying is the best choice. A HVLP version gun would introduce the least amount of air. It will mean investing in equipment, but may make a 2 day job only a couple hours.

Add to this the verticle and overhead surfaces... Well... A couple light coats would be easier by spray.

BTW, are you sure the test panels were prepped exactly the same?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

I'm with you--you want a uniform coating, spray it...But in this case, the KBS coating requires respiration gear, results in a risk of explosion, etc., and I was thinking that I might get more controlled results from a roller. BUT--the defects I am describing are not just surface brush marks, but the finish itself getting gassy. The weird thing is that the bubbly appearance didn't show up on the first coat, but only on the second.

Spray painting with most any paint, can create an explosive atmosphere.

But, spray paint your interior is the only practical answer.

Just make sure no open flames or sparks are around when you do it.

That's the first rule that's observed when spraying a flammable material.

Sometimes opinions are stated, instead of facts, just to sell a product.

Andy