2005, 22' CCD clearcoat pealing on door hinges and assist handle. Dealer polished hinges and re-clear coated them. They ignored the handle. It is still pealing and corroding. I think it is probably too difficult to remove the handle so they could polish it out. Typical dealer service; take it back and back again until the warranty runs out.
This is only one problem out of many. I just read another post where an owner of a 2004 model was thinking of trading it in because of poor quality, but voiced his his trepidation of getting "another problem unit. I think he refered to it as a " crap shoot". Ironic choice of words! Maybe this is Airstream's strategy to keep moving units. I notice a lot of folks have traded in 1 or 2 yr. old models ( in hopes of getting an acceptable one? ).
Dennis
Problems with my 2003 were written up previously. It seems that the clear lifts where it has been disturbed near rivits, panel edges and curved segments. In addition rock hits and bug splats create small holes as entry points for water. This starts filiform corrosion (looks like worm tracks under the clear). The aluminum wheels have similar problems.
The factory might offer to replace a skin under warranty. However I believe it is likely that the problem will return. If you are particular enough to find the corrosion a problem, you will probably not be happy with the results of the fix - replacing a skin is major work and even the factory does a marginal job.
My suggestion is to Walbernize, avoid salt, store the trailer inside, and learn to live with it.
I share your concern on the Bambi clearcoat problem. I've not had any evidence of peeling but plenty of corrosion sites since the unit was new. In 2002 I brought the Bambi to JC and they replaced, under warranty, four quarter panels and did a fine job. I was quite satisfied.
Since then, the corrosion has continued appearing in many locations, generally on the lower half of the trailer, showing up from under rivet heads, seam edges, under medallions, essentially it can appear anywhere there is a clearcoat break.
I suspect that living on the coast with constant salt air breezes, and the use of brine and salt in the winter where I travel are the biggest causes of my problems.
Last year I started an experiment at work to study the corrosion process, and used some scrap clearcoated aluminum with attached rivets that I got from an Airstream dealer. This was sprayed with seawater, rinsed with freshwater, and then exposed to salt air on a dock for six months.
The corrosion site spreads under the clearcoat and can progress fairly rapidly. The corrosion sites look like monochrome aerial photos of hilly regions, and the corrosion looks like the flooded river valleys... and one I observed on the test panel grew 1 cm in length in 4 months.
I've yet to decide how to stop and then remove the corrosion on my trailer. It is not a structural issue and will not likely be, but it is a serious cosmetic problem. On the test panel, I've carefully cut off the top clearcoat of one corroded area, scraped the corrosion off down to the clean metal, built up the area and then recoated the surface. That was three months ago and it has not failed yet, but a new corrosion site next to it has started and threatens the area I restored.
Based on that, I think flsafari's suggestion of ACF-50 is a good one. I've tried using that sprayed on a 6061-T4 aluminum frame which was clearcoated and intended for use on a buoy. The ACF-50 was applied after the structure was showing corrosion starting at corners and through-holes. Four months after application, the corrosion has not spread.
But I'm not sure how to apply ACF-50, which goes on as a fogged spray to all areas, on an Airstream. In my Bambi the ACF-50 may not easily get under the medallions and seams, but it could. It may be effective to intentionally break the clearcoat atop the corrosion site to allow the ACF-50 to enter, but I have not tried that.
Any experience with this product, or suggestions to other discussion sites where there is experience, would be appreciated.
__________________
Marshall Swartz
2001 19-ft Bambi
2006 Honda Ridgeline RTL
Greensburg, PA - Falmouth, MA
Aluminum Filiform corrosion on Airstream coated aluminum
The corrosion I see on my Bambi appears to be the form known as filiform corrosion. This happens when aluminum is exposed to chloride ions (water and chloride from road and seasalt) and a low oxygen environment (under the clearcoat).
For anyone interested, here are some links that may be of interest on the subject: (If you're doing a search on Aluminum, remember in many parts of the world the metal is spelled "aluminium" with "nium" on the end, not "num".)
From the Journal of Electrochemical Society, a technical paper entitled: "Investigation on Filiform Corrosion on Coated Aluminum..." with highly detailed description of the processes and pictures of the filiform corrosion: http://www.electrochem.org/publicati...JES-B403_1.pdf
As far as applying the ACF-50, I just shoot some into the cap on the spray can then use a q-tip soaked in the stuff to apply. The fogging mentioned on the can and website is for large are applications like inside aircraft wings etc. Your thread was really a great one on the subject.....and this stuff really seems to work. I used to fly helicopters in the Gulf of mexico and we used it A LOT. Oh yeah, I have been using it on the Safari for over a year and I don't see any evidence that it affects intact clearcoat in any way. While it won't "repair" any spots and make then shinny/new, it does stop the big C cold.
Jack
I have heard some good reports on ACF-50, although my personal experience with aircraft has not been so good. I consider ACF-50 similar to WD-40... both provide very short term corrosion prevention.
I talked to the service manager of my local dealer and from what I'm gathering, his body guy seems to be hesitant in wanting to tackle this. I got the distinct impression that they probably want me to go to Jackson Center for repair.
Jackson Center's reply to me is below:
"As a temporary fix, so it doesn't get any worse, I would clean and apply a small amount of clear coat over the spot. Then I would get it into Bill Thomas so he could strip and recoat the panel or make the appropriate repair."
I've talked again to the dealer and once I get back from a planned trip I will go up with the trailer and we will make a determination on the best course of action. My gut feeling is that we will end up at JC since I don't think the environment my dealer has is condusive to refinishing. There is no doubt that he can replace a panel but the suggested strip and recoat is probably beyond his technical prowness.
The service manager suggested using clear finger nail polish to seal the spot. I'm thinking about buying a $5 bottle of automotive clear coat.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
Look through my earlier thread on my clearcoat peeling problem. I had several panels replaced at JC under warranty for corrosion. My conclusion is that if the peeling is minor you should NOT have the panel replaced. The replacement process is NOT as good as new. I like your idea of trying a small bottle of clear to seal the spot.
Excellent discussion on using ACF-50. As a distributor of the product, we recommend the marine version called Corrosion Block. If you go to our website, you will see ACF-50 and Corrosion Block links on our index page. Click on the Corrosion Block link and scroll down until you see the link to using Corrosion Block on RVs. Lots of great suggestions to deal with corrosion on your vehicles. Website: http://www.corrosion-control.com
Look through my earlier thread on my clearcoat peeling problem. I had several panels replaced at JC under warranty for corrosion. My conclusion is that if the peeling is minor you should NOT have the panel replaced. The replacement process is NOT as good as new. I like your idea of trying a small bottle of clear to seal the spot.
Well I bought some automotive clear coat and applied a small amount over the spot and overlapped it so it adhears to the surrounding good clear coat. We just got back from a 9 day trip up to Wisconsin and all is well at this point. I'm going to wash the trailer this weekend and re-examine the spot. Then a trip up to the dealer for his opinion.
To be honest, if the automotive clear coat can deal with this small spot, I'd be happy. I really am in a muddle whether to allow this to be "fixed". As noted by dmac, the cure may be worse that the original problem.
I'll report back once my dealer gets a chance to look this over. The question from me is whether this drop of clearcoat can stay attached.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
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