From: Graham James ([email protected])
Date: 26 Dec 2002
Time: 20:56:00
Remote Name: 195.92.194.12
I am partway (five years!!) through restoring a 1930 AF tourer. The aluminium body skin has suffered from electrolytic corrosion where water has got in between the steel body shell and the ali skin underneath the doors and around the wheel arches. There is also some pitting corrosion on the inside of the back. The corrosion has penetrated through in few places under the doors.
I have removed all the obvious corrosion with a wire cup brush in an angle grinder (although it is difficult to be sure it has all gone given it is white corrosion on white metal).
My question is do you have to treat ali corrosion like rust where if you don't get rid of it all and repaint properly, it will come back, or, given that ali does not corrode easily in the air, can you get away with something less.
Removing all the bits with evidence of corrosion would mean a lot of cutting out, refabrication and welding which I would rather avoid, but I don't want it bubbling up in few years.
I have read that corrosion stops if you stop it getting wet - will seam sealer do that? Also I have heard that Landrovers have cracked electrolytic corrosion by using some form of sealing tape between steel and ali.
Presumably other seven restorers have cracked this problem - any info gratefully received.
Graham James