Patina

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Not recommended...the problem is if a stone dings the surface (and it will), it will result in a chip in the clear coat, which means water will get under the surface of the clear coat causing corrosion of the aluminum. More importantly, it will corrode faster under the clear coat because the water is trapped. Then you would have to sand the clear coat off the entire trailer in order to have it look uniform. Also, the damage from the corrosion would be more pitted than if it had not been clear coated.

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Thanks Betsey great answer, i guess our minds are made up we will walbernize once or twice a year and be happy to do it!

Anna&Steve
550 Classic #269

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

We just figured out you need to spend more time removing walbernize then putting it on the more you work at taking it off the better it looks,after 2 years and 4 not so good walbernize treatments we might have got it right,it might look almost as good as it did when we picked it up we will let you know when we are done.

Anna&Steve
550 Classic #269

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Glad to see Camp-Inn has finally realized that Walbernize is not made for brushed aluminum. My Walbernise went in the trash last year.

The main thing is to protect the skin from staining. I begged Cary to put a coat of wax on it before I picked the tear up, to no avail. It rained the first night and the streaks started. It went down hill from there. It didn’t get quite as bad as Ken’s pic, but was trying.

To date we have spent 1 hour per night spent in the tear (140) trying to keep it looking nice. The cover on the manual should have said:

WARNING

DO NOT leave Camp-Inn until you have washed your teardrop with Dawn dishwashing liquid and applied one coat of Woody Wax. It will take less than 2 hours.

The fist night, if the tear is still clean, apply a coat of Woody Wax Metal Sealant. If the tear needs a bath, wash it with a mild car wash soap or Woody Ultra pine. NEVER TAKE IT TO A CAR WASH!!!!! Some presoak/soap will make it look like Ken’s pic in minutes. For real.

A week later, give it another coat of Woody Wax and then another coat of Metal Sealant the next day. The second coat is easier as the valleys have somewhat filled in.


The above would have saved us over 100 hours of nasty work and $200 for a buffer. A double coat lasted us 10 months, 4,000 miles and 35 nights camping with NO streaking or stains.

Woody’s will lighten up the aluminum a bit, but nice and evenly. Going from stains to new looking is another long story. There are other protectors on the market that are probably as good, and may be cheaper, but after 10 months, I know this one works. It protects raw aluminum which is what you get from Camp-Inn.

Hilditch

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Ken,
Are you going to order some Woody Wax? Let me know what you think.
I just fully cleaned our trailer with Walbernize. It looks ok, but stains still exist. I was wondering if the WW would take care of them. From the link you provided, it seems that may be so.
Hilditch, what do you think? Our trailer is about a year old.
How much goes how far? Ours is a 550.
Steve

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Hello Ken & Steve,

Woody’s does NOT remove stains. That’s why you get brass wool. Steve, you can try a few coats on your stains & see what it does. You may get lucky depending on the stain. Give it two or 3 weeks. Woody Wax protects the aluminum from getting new stains. It will even out dark areas from sanding or buffing in a couple of weeks by itself. No special prep except a bath with Dawn and removing the tag & bumper. Oh, and removing all the stains.

On a 550, each application takes 4 oz. of wax or sealer. Keep it very thin.

Aluminum: Comes in numerous grades from very soft & porous to hard & brittle. Softer grades are easier to work and cheaper, but being more porous stain easier and deeper. Camp-Inn uses a soft grade. A harder grade costs more and is more difficult to work, but repels stains better and does not stain as deep. Airstream uses a harder grade (And Alcoa adds a non cracking clear coat.). The same stain on an Airstream may be 5 microns deep, where it would be 20 microns deep on a Camp-Inn. I haven’t found the magic stain remover, so I have to remove the material that includes the stain and refinish. Process- wet steel wool 00, 000, 0000 (= to 600 grit); sandpaper 800, 1,000, 1500, & then rubbing compound is real close to the SS fenders. Not fun. If it ever happens again, I’ll try some aluminum pontoon cleaners first.

Walburnize: Think of it as a mild liquid rubbing compound with a little liquid wax thrown in. Designed to remove 5 microns or less material (read stain) on Airstream grade aluminum. No wonder it’s so much work to get it to remove 20 microns! Its protection properties are minimal at best. I think Pledge is better.

We are now done with our second coat for this year. Will give it another coat before heading to Key West next April, and maybe another when we get home. It held off the salt spray and gull droppings this spring.

Hilditch

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Hilditch,
Thanks for the info. When you say give it two or three weeks, is that between coats? Or is Woody Wax active after treatment.
The stains I have are very slight and not noticeable in most lights.
Again thanks for the lesson. I knew had more to learn, I did not think I would learn it so fast.
Thanks,
Steve

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Steve,

Your welcome. It is active after treatment & appears to stay active. Right now my tear looks blotchy, but in a couple of weeks it will be all evened out to the light side. I give it a day between the wax & the sealant and a week between coats to let it harden. The sealant mixes with the wax and acts as a hardener like in a clear coat. Light stains will probably vanish. In a controlled test I found two complete coats to be 4 times better than one dual coat at repelling pollution, tree sap & acid rain over a two month period on my deck.

Hilditch

PS: If you don't like the price, ask yourself what your time and a good looking tear is worth?

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Hilditch,
The price is not a problem. I have spent much more to get much less on many things.
Steve

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

I must confess that I am not nearly as particular as some when it comes to the aluminum finish. Our plan is to let the aluminum age until it looks like an old Airstream. We wash it often, and may even do the waubernize or wax after a year or so, but it would be WAY too much work for us to try to keep it looking brand new - after all, it is raw alumunim. (my two cents worth)

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Yes, yes, yes, yes. The bumper comes off in two minutes with a socket and goes back on just as fast. MUCH easier to do the back and you can do both sides of the bumper on a table if you want. I don't think Woody's would hurt anything. In Pickens County, GA they don't know what a licence plate is, but they are more than happy to sell y'all a tag for yo cahr.

Oh, and I second Woody on using the blue paper shop towels. They are great. Fold them & you have 8 sides.

Hilditch

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Evan,

Didn't I have a post here concerning your plans to let the aluminum age like an Airstream?

Hilditch

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Hilditch, Check out the search function. Upper right, I found it.

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Ah so. Thank you Steve. I forget where I've been. It's the OAT (old age thing) that I caught at the Tenn. Tear Jerkers site.

Hilditch

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Yes, Hilditch. I mentioned that on this thread about 5 posts up.

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Anna & Steve,

I don't have a photo of an unprotected tear, but here's a pic that is close to what you could expect on this grade of aluminum.



Ours looked like this last summer, 80 man & woman hours ago.

Hilditch

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

That's one scary photo, Hilditch. Even though we are planning on letting our teardrop go with the "natural Airstream" finish, I hope it won't end up looking that bad.

Could the boat look that way from sitting in water? Seems to me that would be a major factor, especially if the water has minerals or salt in it. I know there are some Camp-Inns out there that have been weathering for a few years now - does anybody here have photos of one of them?

 

Re: Patina & Walbernizing

Evan, I did find a photo of our tear at 54 weeks old, which is parked in the garage when not camping. This was after Walbernizing/ProtectAll and too many trips through the car wash. The tear had recently had a bath and was not dirty. The stains got darker and two months later we started the steel wool.



Hilditch