Exterior Surface Corrosion

[McPost]

I have a 2007 Bambi that is stored outdoors, but covered. I live near the Gulf Coast. Recently I have started seeing corrosion like shown in the attached photos. It is located mostly near the seams. I know there is a clear coat on the exterior, so I have tried to be careful not to damage this. Is the clear coat just starting to wear off? Is this type of corrosion (which looks salty) unique to coastal areas? It doesn't dissolve or wipe off just with water. Is there some type of chemical that can be used to remove it? Thanks, Jeff

[Pitou49]

Welcome on the forum
You can make a resurch on filiform see this tread :
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...ams-31743.html

[SafariSS]

Jeff,

I live in Houston as well and have seen the type of corrosion you posted pictures of. It is an issue with late model Airstreams for sure, just do some searches for "Filaform" corrosion. Basically it is corrosion on the aluminum that is made worse by the clearcoat as it traps moisture and corrosive elements under the clearcoat. Repairs are tricky and time consuming. I have a Safari 30 (2005 Model) and keep it indoors however I bought it new in Florida where it sat on a lot for a year. It has some filiform on it, however in 8 years it has not gotten any worse with its indoor storage.

I did some repairs on the cast aluminum pieces under warranty several years ago and they still all look good. The dealer buffed down to bare aluminum and re-cleared.

The repair on a the panels is tricky. I think it has to be super fine sanded and re cleared, then buffed.

[Howard L.]

Jeff, go to the thread shown above by PITOU49. Everything you ever wanted to know about your problem is there. I've repaired some stuff almost as bad as yours and posted those results. Scan back the last year at least and you will find most of what you need to get started. Filiform corrosion, KSC Corrosion Technology Laboratory -- Filiform Corrosion ,is easy to stop and keep stopped if you maintain. Our problem with the Airstream is, if we remove it, the skin color under the Alcoa applied clear coat is a different color and in some ways, looks almost as bad as the corrosion. I've found a pretty good solution, not perfect, but looks as nice as you can probably get. It's work, but to me it was worth it. info posted in the above Forum thread "corrosion problems with new Airstreams". Good luck.

Howard