Clearcoat repair

[dmac]

My new trailer already has a few bug splats and stone chips on the front that have penetrated the clearcoat. Water/salt must have oozed through, starting filiform corrosion under the surrounding clearcoat. They are less than the size of a dime now, but is there a way to fix this to slow down the inevitable? Perhaps clear touch-up paint?

[Chas]

Wow, not much help here but I feel a little better dealing with the all the filiform corrosion on my 74. I doubt if there is any way to really stop it short of spot sanding the areas and touching them up with some clear.

Why wait for the inevitable, just go ahead and strip the whole thing and get polishing!

Chas

[Inland RV Center, In]

Dan.

Call Airstream customer service.

The new type plasticoat "CANNOT" be applied in the field, or for that matter at the factory either.

There is no material available to touch up the new paint.

Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com
airstreamcandy.com

[Bubbla]

Yes there is. It is called Glysten PC from POR 15.
Call Chris at 800 457 6715 and let him explain it, or try this link.

www.por15.com

[74Argosy24MH]

Sounds like warranty work time to me. Could be a bad batch of metal if it has started to corrode under the clearcoat already. I would get it on record with Airstream and let them do the repair.

John

[Pete Salvesen]

Try Rustolium silver paint on the affected areas. You won't be able to see the diff. My 89' was bad from the top to awning rail. Rolled it on, you almost have to touch it to tell. Good Luck, Pete

[BobbyW]

Pete;

I don't think he would want to paint a 2003 model with Rust-Oelum paints.

The newer models have different aluminum finishes and final coating system than the older models. The metal is burnished and cannot be polished either. See it here....>>> Safari

Dan;

I would take it to the Airstream Service Center near you for consultation.

-BobbyW

[Inland RV Center, In]

It would be interesting to see a photo of a clearcoat, even the old clearcoat, touched up with "any" color of silver.

Having a new trailer still in warranty looking like a "spotted leopard," would surely generate considerable conversation, all of it I would think, being negative.

Andy
inlandrv.com

[JeffandSuzanne]

HELLO ANDY/INLAND RV. . .I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT 1998 WAS THE LAST MANUFACTURING YEAR BEFORE THE CLEARCOAT PROCESS WAS CHANGED. WOULD YOU OR ANYONE ELSE ON THIS THREAD HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE OR OPINION OF USING GLYSTEN PC FROM THE POR 15 COMPANY ON PATCHES OF WEATHERED CLEARCOAT ON A 1998 EXCELLA 1000? THANKS.

[dmac]

I left my trailer with Shorewood RV in MN for 3 weeks. They did nothing to fix the skin corrosion, the filiform corrosion on the aluminum wheels, the rusted license plate bracket, or the rusting tongue. They said there is nothing that they could do, and I should contact the Airstream factory (who had previously asked me to contact the local dealer). I'm going to take some digital photos and email them to Airstream and see what they offer up next.

[Tinsel Loaf]

Andy is correct.
There is no way to repair the new AS coat.
I have talked to AS service and the dealer and you can only replace the panel. Seems like a shame, but sooner or later someone may come up with some sort of fix.

[dmac]

So the next logical question is: Is it worth having the panels replaced, even under warranty? i.e.: Are the blind rivits as good as the originals? Will the seams be sealed as good? Will they need to drill all new rivit holes in the inderlying structure so it becomes swiss cheese, and about as strong? Is clearcoat failure inevitable so after all this it will fail again in another 6 months?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Dan.

We stand corrected, about the newest "clearcoat" finish.

Your "clearcoat" finish, can be stripped and reapplied, using a similar product.

Most of the questions you asked pertain to labor. So to answer them, "It depends on who does the work."

Unforunately, in all areas of craftsmanship, we have "butchers" and we also have "artists." It's up to you to determine who you are dealing with, and what they can and cannot properly do, on whatever product that needs the work. It can be your home, car, trailer, boat or what have you.

Airstream has very little to no control over what a dealer may or may not do. All dealers are an independent business, separate and aside from Airstream.

The "Way of life," has more than one definition, unfortunately.

Andy

[mswartz]

My 2001 Bambi had some obvious problems with filiform corrosion on the bottom quarterpanels after only 8 months. After watching it progress, I brought the Bambi to JC where the four panels were replaced under warranty. At that time I was told that this was the first they had seen of this corrosion on the newer Alcoa aluminum.

Filiform corrosion radiated from numerous rivetholes, and especially from the front medallions and the rear taillight bezels. All were replaced under warranty and I think they did an outstanding job.

Riveting was done well, and I've had no problems with them-either from mechanical fit or corrosion issues, and it's been three years and 20+ thousand miles of year round travel in the Northeast and Midwest.

That said, I am seeing more filiform corrosion starting again, and have discussed with Jim Parrett at A/S my evaluation of "Corrosion Block", the Lear Chemicals product for neutralizing the corrosion, which according to Lear is in the same product family as ACF-50 aircraft corrosion control chemical mentioned elsewhere in the forum.

I applied Corrosion Block on the filiform areas on my Bambi and could tell that it was penetrating the corrosion track as it turned from white to dark grey. It's been three weeks since I first applied it on a test area and the filiform corrosion has indeed stopped. It had been spreading at a rate of about 2-3 mm per week in pathlength.

I've not noticed any problems with the Corrosion Block damaging the clearcoat, medallions, plastic or other surface yet. I've applied it in the morning of a day expected to be sunny and hot to assure penetration to the entry point of the filiform track, and this seems to work well.

Find this with a web search for "Corrosion Block". 12-oz spray can was $13.00, of which I used possibly 1/4 can while applying it to every exposed rivet and lap seam on my 19-ft Bambi. It goes a long way.