Sprayed vs. Baked on Clearcoat

[ricksre]

At a recent RV show, a factory rep said that for the past few years the aluminum panels came with a baked on clearcoat finish rather than the previously Airstream applied spray on finish.
He was unsure of when this began.
Anyone have an idea of what year Airstream began finishing their trailers with the new baked on panels?

[mello mike]

year was 1999.

[rseagle]

Anyone know how long this baked on clearcoat is supposed to last?

[drno]

i have a 2002 which is pealing in multiple places-contacted airstream and they said i could drive 500 miles ,leave my trailer for 3-5days and it can be refinished in tucson at oasis--the catch THEY WON'T PAY FOR IT. i would have thought the "new and improved "finish would last greater than 3 yrs.

[ricksre]

Wow! That's not long at all. I would have thought the new process begun in 1999 is superior. Maybe just easier to assemble at the factory?
Any suggestions on how to preserve a fairly new clear coat?

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by ricksre

Wow! That's not long at all. I would have thought the new process begun in 1999 is superior. Maybe just easier to assemble at the factory?
Any suggestions on how to preserve a fairly new clear coat?

It seems like if the coating is breached, it will start the peel from the inside out. A lot depends upon environmentals, where the trailer is stored, how often is it washed. Salt exposure, bird droppings, acid rain, UV, etc., all have an effect. Do you wax it, Walbernize it? I think all of these contribute to the life expectancy of the clearcoat.

The factory went to the prefinished panels because the EPA forced them to change clearcoat forumlas due to emission requirements. Once they started screwing around with the forumlas, things went to hell in a handbasket.

While there are some with problems with the newer finish, its nothing like what was occuring on the trailers built in the 90's.

I know I wash my trailer before every outing and after every outing. It gets Walbernized in the spring and again before storage in the fall. My 2001 was in great shape at trade in time, and I expect the same with my current unit.

Jack

[Sky]

Hi, I am kind of new here and an Airstream wannabe. I frequently read the forums to learn about Airstreams. I hope you don't mind me asking stupid questions, but what exactly is the clear coat for? Is it just to keep the aluminum from oxidizing and keep things shinny, or does it serve some other purpose? Does Oxidized aluminum look that bad? Seems like a lot of work if it just lasts a few years.



Thanks for any replies J

[Sky]

Hey Sky, go to
http://www.airforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=15810
There is some good discussion there. Also check out the other threads in the Exterior Restoration Forum.

Cheers

[Sky]

Thanks dude!

[drno]

spoke to airstream service after alcoa contacted them for me. he said the coating on the newer trailers was ppg 1000.

[rseagle]

What is ppg 1000?

[markdoane]

Don't look under Pittsburg Paint Group, I think it stands for poly(propylene glycol) with medium (1000) molecular weight.

[captzemo]

Even amoung the various Polyurethane paint systems used as marine coatings - clear coat is not used as it contains no UV filtering agents - and therefore breaks down quite rapidly in the noon day sun ! In some applications Clear Coat and Color coat may be mixed to give a somewhat ' softer' appearence to the finish - but it too breaks down more rapidly than a pure color coat finish.
If anyone knows of a clearcoat with UV filtering agents - I would sure like to hear about it .
All the Best
Ken

[Tarheel]

I made a strip canoe with a clear epoxy finish. The epoxy has no uv protection and I had to use a clear poly with uv. If anyone knows of a user friendly clear finish for bare aluminum I would for one be glad to hear. The clear poly had a nice amber tone which was fine for a wooden boat, but not for an aluminum trailer.

[redeagle313]

Originally Posted by captzemo

.
If anyone knows of a clearcoat with UV filtering agents - I would sure like to hear about it .
All the Best
Ken

Having worked with paints, sealers, and other automotive coatings for 20+ years, I can tell you that automotive clearcoats have little or no UV resistance. In auto finishes over steel panels, it is necessary to have enough UV protection in your base and primer coats to protect the electrocoat primer. The clear coat adds depth to the appearance of the unit, but no UV help.

I am not sure of the chemistry of the clear agent used on the Airstreams, but it would not seem to need UV inhibitors, as it is not protecting any subcoatings. It would seem that in the forming process of shaping the front and rear of the TT, that the clearcoat would be stressed and more likely to fail in those locations. But again, I do not know the chemistry of the product and its application parameters/uses.

[rseagle]

The end panels on the new Airstreams, that have the Alcoa applied clearcoat, are stressed when AS stretch forms them. Our dealer noted to us that the end sections are a lighter shade than the side panels, that don't get stretched. I would expect that the clear coat on the end panels will deteriorate faster than on the side panels. I don't know if there is any clear coat on the white roof sections.

[ALANSD]

Propylene glycol isn't that a shampoo and deodorant additive? I have heard it was cancer causing in those uses.
Wouldn't a good sealant applied soon after purchase and maintained regularly keep that clearcoat from peeling? I managed a car dealership and the new cars had paint problems constantly from enviromental pollution, like acid rain. We protected the higher line cars with a sealant and found it to keep the paint a lot better while they sat outside a long time waiting to be sold.

[captzemo]

I for one do not know very much about sealers -- though I have used paint sealers to "seal" whatever was on the car or boat - before spraying with a polyurethane color coat ... Hope someone can explain the chemistry -
All the Best
Ken

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by 65GT

I was guessing that seeing as they have 2000, 2001 product numbers, that maybe 1000 was a custom material specifically for use on Aluminum (not a typical automotive body part (at least until recently)).

Leo

I don't think they do custom stuff for aluminum. They have a whole division that does coatings for aluminum. None of the aluminum coatings had a DU number. I'm puzzled.

Everything I've seen on ppg 1000 leads me to believe it might be an additive or modifier for a urethane type clearcoat. Maybe the Alcoa rep was just giving the Airstream guy 'part' of the information. That wouldn't be unusual, in my experience.